Smoque N Bones

On Saturday night, a friend and I decided to try out dinner from Smoque N Bones, a new BBQ place now open at the corner of Queen and Bellwords. I’d first checked it out on Friday and noticed that the small place was packed. I also noticed that they did takeout so I decided that it would be best to go that route.

The waitress warned me up front that it would be a 30-minute wait but we were okay with that; the food did smell great. Then we learned that Smoque N Bones was out of quite a few things. Then my friend discovered that there was no sampler plate. And then we got our bill: $40 for a half rack of ribs, a side of macaroni, a side of yams, a side of string fries and the breadbasket (I don’t eat mammal and the non-mammal meat on the menu was a side of shrimp or a half chicken, which I didn’t feel like).

By the time we got home with our food, we were feeling less than thrilled with our dinner choice. And then we opened our five takeout boxes. With the exception of the ribs, the quantities all looked miniscule. We had made a mistake, hadn’t we?

Then we started eating our food and we found out that it was pretty good, for the most part. My friend liked the ribs though he did comment that they were on the salty side (they also didn't come with any sauce). The half rack cost $15.50, which my friend thought was a bit on the steep side though there was enough meat to fill him up.

I also had enough food to fill my belly, even without a protein. The fries in particular were excellent, thin, crispy and nicely seasoned. The mac and cheese was good, though nothing special, and the breadbasket was mixed. The “cheese straws,” which weren’t at all straw-like, also weren’t very cheesy. The corn bread and biscuit though were much better. There was also this amazing cinnamon butter for the latter. That butter actually might have been the best part of my meal.

In the end, we were satisfied with our food though I don’t think either of us will be returning to Smoque N Bones anytime soon. The food didn’t wow us, at least not at the price we paid, and the restaurant clearly has some kinks to work out, which is fair as it is brand new. But maybe in a few months time, when the crowds die down and we can actually get a table, we’ll try it again. The drinks described in the BlogTO review about this place do sound pretty amazing after all.

If you're a big rib fan, you'll likely want to check this place out at some point though I wouldn't rush out to check it out.