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Wednesday, Nov. 04, 2009
Loud crowds could’ve deterred these diners, but Smoke’s staff saved the day
Savvy staff at Smoke turned what could have been a hellish dining experience into a hot night.
By Christopher Kelly
DFW.com/Ron T. Ennis
A rib dish and pickled beet carpaccio at Smoke.
Ron T. Ennis
A rib dish and pickled beet carpaccio Ron T. Ennis
A note to the restaurateurs of Dallas-Fort Worth: If you want to transform a one-time diner into a customer for life, find a way to turn his frown upside down.
Consider our recent experience at Smoke, a gourmet barbecue spot that just opened in the Hotel Belmont in Oak Cliff, from the folks behind the terrific bistro/café Bolsa in the same neighborhood. When we arrived a couple of Saturdays ago, the dining room was occupied by a number of boisterous UT fans, celebrating the team’s triumph in the Red River Rivalry. The manager warned us that things might get a little noisy.
Deafening turned out to be more like it. After 10 minutes, our group of five asked to be shifted to a picnic table on Smoke’s outdoor patio. The manager readily complied — and even supplied a couple of chairs with backs for the members of our party who didn’t want to sit on a bench. Frown No. 1 was now a smile.
The table switch, though, seemed to cause a snafu in the kitchen. A series of plates arrived: It turned out they weren’t intended for us. A few moments later, our dishes finally arrived — and half of what we ordered was missing. Ten minutes passed as we waited and waited.
But just when all seemed lost, the frown was again turned upside down. A manager arrived with the remainder of our food. He apologized and offered to buy us a round of drinks. Then another manager arrived, with still more apologies — she said she would be comping some of our dishes. (If you think this is because they knew we were reviewing the place: The reservation was made under a friend’s name, and no one said or did anything at the table that might have tipped the staff off.)
We probably would have forgiven any food mistakes at this point. But the dishes proved so consistently superb that there was no need. The menu is divided between traditional barbecue items and gourmet-style items, like grass-fed beef hanger steak ($23) and smoked duck breast ($22). We opted for the barbecue items, which are ordered via a Scantron card, in various combinations of sandwiches and half-pound orders.
Among our favorites: the beef brisket sandwich ($6), a splendidly smoky chopped brisket, topped with thick, tangy pickles; the beer-can farm chicken ($8, half-pound order), a juicy tangle of pulled chicken with just a hint of heat; and the andouille hot links ($8, half-pound order), cooked to crackling perfection on the outside, ferociously spicy on the inside. (Note to barbecue die-hards: There is no sauce, which seemed unusual at first. But the flavor, tenderness and moistness of the meats made the idea of sauce superfluous.)
The sides proved just as impressive. The coleslaw was flecked with bits of blue cheese that complemented but never overpowered the jicama and cabbage. The hominy casserole was an excellent, creamy version of the Southern classic. Only the russet fries disappointed. They come dusted with some sort of cinnamon flavoring and fall into a strange no-man’s-land between French fries and sweet-potato fries. (Prices of all the sides range $4-$10, depending on size.)
We were so stuffed that we planned on skipping dessert. But suddenly the waitress was hovering. "We’re so sorry about what happened before. Dessert is on us."
The four versions of pie we tried ranged from the sublime (mescal and key lime meringue) to the ridiculously sinful (hot fudge and abuelita chocolate), and you get to choose from one of four toppings. We recommend pairing the peppermint crème fraîche with the fudge pie, and the caramel sea salt with the coconut and marshmallow cream pie. (The slices are $7 each.)
In the end, an evening that might easily have been miserable in a less savvy restaurateur’s hands turned into one of our most enjoyable meals in recent memory. Excellent food, reasonable prices, an attentive staff: It’s exactly what all restaurants in town should be striving for.
We even made friends with the noisy UT fans while waiting in line at the bathroom.
Smoke 901 Fort Worth Ave., Dallas
214-393-4141
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