Minuteman Smokehouse & Grill

Just picked up my order of extra well done wings with extra wing rub!! They are fantastic a must try, best wings in the area!! Can’t wait to get them again. Super awesome staff. Thank you.

Friendly atmosphere with excellent food. The corn bread was sweet and moist and wonderful. The brisket: tender, lean and flavorful. The meat loaf gravy contained large fresh mushroom chunks. We were disappointed by the service speed: we waited a long time for our food to arrive and to receive the bill. The desserts looked good, but we didn't get a chance to try them.

I've stopped by Minuteman a few times over the years due to its super convenient location - if you're hiking in the Basking Ridge or Jockey Hollow area, this isn't far out of the way at all and is just a minute or two off 287. I came by to pick up some sustenance this past Sunday afternoon after a gloomy, muddy hike at Lord Stirling Park a few minutes down the road. Their weekend hours are as convenient as the location - they open at noon (honestly, when is the last time you had a 10AM BBQ hankering?) and close at 8PM, perfect for a post-hike meal. This place is casual enough where I definitely could have just gotten dine-in (with this type of food, your wait time is pretty low) but opted for pickup instead. The girl at the front was very nice and helpful, directing me to the online menu nearby, and processed my order immediately upon receipt. I'd say the food came out in about seven or eight minutes - very quick. I ordered the pulled pork ($13), a pint of mac and cheese (I think $8 or $9) and a piece of cornbread (around $1.50). The pulled pork was excellent - it's tender, juicy and scrumptious. In my experience with pulled pork, you often have a few bites of charred edges that are close to inedible or a few random super fatty portions that look like they'll cut your life expectancy down a few months if you ingest them, but everything BBQ-wise was great, as it should be with this genre of food. It's the one part of the menu they need to be able to hit out of the park, and they do. The mac and cheese was really good (it reminded me of Ikea mac and cheese, which is definitely not an insult), though I wouldn't say great. It was a LITTLE dry, and I wasn't crazy about the fact that you didn't have it available as a cheaper, smaller side option. I definitely recall being here pre-COVID and having it as a side for a few extra dollars. So I sprung for it but I don't know that I would do it again. The cornbread was okay, and that in and of itself was a little disappointing. I remember coming here for lunch in the past and being blown away by the sweet moistness of the cornbread but this was on the drier side and a little tasteless (which I feel is always the knock on cornbread). I'm willing to acknowledge that some of the taste/moistness may have been lost in transport, so I'd still give that a shot again the next time I dine in. The price point may seem a little high on its face, but I think there should be an expectation with BBQ that you're going to pay a little more for the prep work. This is a strong option in an area that doesn't have a lot of (if any) BBQ establishments, and you can't go wrong with decor featuring a Sir Mixalot homage (see attached).

Great BBQ right here in NJ, great food and very friendly service. The owner often makes the rounds, chatting with customers. Make sure to order the lobster Mac & cheese. I love the brisket (fatty end) and the meatloaf with mushroom gravy. The jambalaya is great too for those who don't want BBQ. Best appetizers are Cajun crackelins' and hush puppy shrimp. Don't settle for the hot BBQ sauce, make sure to ask for the ghost pepper BBQ sauce, it's awesome!

Jalapeno sausage was good. Flavor and smokiness can be stronger tho