GREAT BBQ AT KANSAS CITY'S SMOKEHOUSE BAR-B-CUE

As we got into the car, I wasn't singing "Going to Kansas City" for any reason other than anticipating a return to barbecue heaven on hearth.  I was looking forward to Kansas City's renowned brand of barbecue--a craving I've had since our last visit here more than two years ago.  Rob, Michael, and I decided on an early dinner,so we headed for Smokehouse Bar-B-Cue in Zona Rosa, Kansas City, Missouri as it is exactly the craving satiator I was looking for. 

The restaurant's cavernous setting has a set of double entry doors, and once you leave the street and enter through the first set, you are transported to a separate universe of special offactory delights.  The splendid aromatic combination of spiced and rubbed hickory smoked meats and sauces fondle your receptors until hunger and desire are overwhelming.

I am not exaggerating.  We’re certainly not the first to discover Smokehouse Bar-B-Cue.  Go on a weekend and expect a wait.  We were lucky on a Monday, early, and were seated immediately. By the time we left, the place was filling up.

The wait staff is knowledgeable and friendly.  The restaurant, a family-owned business with two other locations, is redolent of comradery and good cheer, so it is at once comfortable and familiar.

Our drinks of choice were beers.  Rob went for the hoppiest IPA, Firestone Union Jack IPA, brewed out in Paso Robles, CA. (another delightful place) Michael and I went local,  KC's own Boulevard Brewery's Pale Ale for him and Boulevard Wheat for me, after a sample taste to make sure this beer would do.  I really liked choosing a Boulevard brew as we had a wonderful tour and tasting at the Boulevard Brewery on our last trip to KC.  This choice was like coming home.  I drank it throughout our Kansas City stay.

Boulevard Wheat is served with a slice of lemon.
Great beer!

Trying to satisfy those barbecue-hungry taste buds in one meal is tough, but we were determined.  After suitable deliberation, we all ordered the Chef's Special which includes pork spare ribs, baby back ribs, bone-in chicken, burnt ends, thick slabs of toast, and two sides.  Here Rob and I agreed on Cheesy Corn and Hickory Pit Beans.  Michael joined us in the corn but went for the cole slaw instead. 

WOW!!!

Generous is an understatement when I describe the portions.  The meats were juicy, tasty, fall-of-the bone deliciousness, dowsed in a delightful sauce at once tangy and sweet, thick and sticky, a pleasure to enjoy. I’m smiling even as I write this!

The secret of great barbecue is in the sauce.  Smokehouse's is sweet, spicy, thick, and sticky.  It's tomatoey and sharp.  It clings to the meat, and there is no need to add anything to it.  It's wonderful.  If there is any left on your plate or in your bowl of beans, you take a piece of your thick hunk of toasted bread and wipe it up and eat it.  It's too good to allow it to be washed down some drain!

Do you know what burnt ends are?  This is part of the uniqueness of Kansas City barbecue.  Burnt ends are considered a delicacy. It is the thoroughly cooked point end of the brisket, separated before or after the rest of the brisket is cooked, so the ends are crispier with a decidedly well-done flavor. At some smaller barbecue restaurants, burnt ends are not offered everyday because they don't cook a sufficient quantity of brisket. Not to worry at Smokehouse. They cook plenty.

The beans, too, slow cooked in a savory, thick sauce, were delicious.  Ever try Cheesy Corn? It is so unusual, creamy and mixed with a thin melted cheese sauce.  The corn is sweet and crisp, not overcooked soggy kernels, and the sauce does not overpower; it compliments. It's a side I fondly remembered just as soon as I saw it on the menu. Scrumptious and different.  I’ve never seen it on any of our other barbecue junkets outside Kansas City. Here it is a menu staple but prepared differently in different restaurants.

What a dinner! What a welcome to a great week in Kansas City!

Dessert?  Are you kidding? Sometimes there really is too much of a good thing! 

Take my word on this--Smokehouse is a great place to go if barbecue is your thing! 

KANSAS CITY--PART III THE END OF A DELICIOUS VISIT

Great place to tour and taste

OK, it’s SMILE TIME because Kansas City, Missouri is also home to the Boulevard Brewery.  Though only established in 2009, this Brewery sees itself as rivaling that other Missouri brewery, Anheuser-Busch.  In fact, for a short while after Anheuser-Busch was sold to InBev, an international company, Boulevard was the largest independent brewery in Missouri. 

But Boulevard has since been sold to a Flemish company, so it only retains the title of being the largest craft beer brewer in the Midwest.  It is the 12^th largest craft brewer in the country.  BTW, the sale price was reputed to be 100 million dollars, quite a return for a man began by delivering his beer in his pick up truck to the local Mexican Kitchen restaurant.

As it grows, Boulevard is a combination of the old and the new

Boulevard is famous enough that Ben Affleck wore a Boulevard t-shirt in the movie Gone Girl!  When I spotted that, I was really elated.  I love when stuff like that happens!

But enough with background, we went to tour and to taste, and that is exactly what we did.

The original brewery, an old brick factory building was updated and redesigned and among other areas of growth and improvement, eight huge 300 barrel fermentation tanks replaced the six 105 barrel tanks.  There’s nothing old fashioned about Boulevard, and the tour took us through areas of shiny, gleaming metal, a hospitality atrium, glass walkways, and ended in the tasting room where any additional questions could be answered as we tasted the different beers. 

While we didn’t have lunch there, Boulevard also maintains a restaurant.  It did have an interesting gift shop, however, and you could even mix and match your own 6-pack.

It was a good informative tour and a good tasting, so if you are in Kansas City, this should be on your hit list too.

And finally, how could we come to Kansas City and not go for Kansas City-style Barbecue?  The city has one of the highest concentrations of barbecue restaurants imaginable, and it would be a high crime to ignore the specialty of the area.

Two aspects of KC “cue” that differ from other types are that it is famous for its burnt ends, the chunk at the end of the meat not really sliceable.  It’s cut off, cut into chunks, dipped in sauce and devoured!!!!  The second difference is that Kansas City barbecue sauce is a little sweeter, and so the entire flavor of the meet changes. 

I admit we tried to go to Oklahoma Joe’s, re-named Joe’s Kansas City Bar-b-que, the Zagat rated #1 “Cue” joint and arguably the most famous one.  We knew about it through Anthony Bourdain and Man vs. Food both on The Travel Channel. Oklahoma Joe’s began life as part of a gas station (begun when the gas station owner closed his chicken shack and leased it out for a barbecue place) and in partnership with a famous maker of smokers, Oklahoma Joe.  The original gas station location is still open, but it has some brother restaurants around town as well, and the Kansas City partners have long since bought out Oklahoma Joe. 

When we called to ask about waiting times, the answer was about 2 hours.  Just too long a wait for us.  Joe’s will have to wait for another visit.  But we have to remember that burnt ends are Tues. and Wed. for lunch and Sat. for dinner?  They go fast.

We headed to the Zona Rosa area of Kansas City, Missouri and SmokeHouse BBQ.  You might have seen this restaurant featured on Good Morning America.  We waited there too, but this place is cavernous, and we were soon seated. 

We ordered some appetizers:  “Zucchini Slabs” and “Battered Onions” and “Cheddar Dipped Cauliflower.”

Then platters:  Baby Back Ribs or Pork Spare Ribs Combo – with choice of one: 2-pc Bone-in Chicken or Burnt End or Pulled Pork served with choice of 2 sides.   Here was our introduction to Burnt Ends.

Those lovely chunks of meat are the burnt ends

I thought everything was scrumptious!  Jen and Michael said this was nothing next to Joe’s.  How delicious could that be?!!!!  But I did learn why burnt ends are so incredibly popular.  Wow!  Are they good!

We’ve had barbecue in, among other places, North and South Carolina, Virginia, Memphis, and Texas.  This was different.  We had great barbecue in St. Louis, MO too, but I didn’t know enough then to compare.  And St. Louis is about 250 miles away.  Do they serve KC style?  I’ll have to visit and check it out.

Some similarities and some differences here.  One was bread.  Corn bread and rolls in some places, white bread in Memphis, and white bread here in Kansas. That just looks odd to me.  French Fries in some places, but here, in Missouri, creamed corn was an option.  This addition really struck my fancy because are we were in the mid-west, the Corn Belt, and that’s exactly what our meal reflects.  I liked that a lot.

But those big chunks of burnt ends.  That was a grand difference.  And I liked the sweeter barbecue sauce too. 

I recommend SmokeHouse BBQ, but there are wiser and more experienced taste buds than mine.  I am anxious to do a “flight” of KC BBQ.

Before we left Zona Rosa, we drove around to see the buildings outlined in lights in this section of Kansas City.  It was the crowning part of the evening, so to speak.

KANSAS CITY LIGHTS--PART II

As I said in Kansas City Part I, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, and we've come to Kansas City, Missouri to celebrate Jen!  Missouri is the “show me” state, so off we go to see what it can show in terms of celebrations!  First stop—a dinner celebration.

Cooper’s Hawk Winery and Restaurant is delightfully different and full of spirit and energy.  As we walk in, we are greeted by bright lights, a smart décor, wine barrels and wine bottles, and places to taste and nibble.  People are at all the stations, tasting wine, buying the most scrumptious looking desserts, checking out some fantastic wine accessories, and making the place lively and gay.

Upstairs in a balcony setting so one can look down at the bustle is the dimly lighted restaurant, surprisingly quiet and peaceful.  It’s just the place for a relaxed dinner and good conversation.  Rising up in certain areas from the floor below are stacks of wine barrels reminding us of where we are and of some of the loveliness we will enjoy.

Our table for six is by a window overlooking the beautiful, lighted city.  For the holidays, three areas of Kansas City outline its buildings in lights, and it’s a great sight.  It’s impossible not to be impressed.  Below us, bundled up people walk the streets, sometimes waiting for a horse-drawn carriage to pass in front of them, sometimes stopping to peer into decorated shop windows.  Everything about the evening is primed to induce smiles.

We begin our dinners with wine flights—a tasting of four lovely wines brought up on wooden holders and served to us on long paper coasters.  Each glass sits in a circle, the description of the contents written below.  I like that because it’s such a great game to try to find the different tastes—the components of the wine which are subtle but evident if one tastes diligently enough. Mine is a red flight:  Sangiovese, Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, and Cabernet Sauvignon.  Each one is lovely, and it is always fun to taste and talk and compare.  Accompanying the flights is a platter of cheeses, spreads, and flatbreads.  Totally great way to begin a great dining experience.

Dinner is superbly done and presented, but I’ll share the photo of what was written on Jen’s special dessert.  Lovely.  And each couple shared a dessert.  How could we resist on this special night?  Sweets on a sweet night.

But the night isn’t over with dinner!  Out among the other folks enjoying the crisp winter night, we decide to take one of those carriage rides.  Not necessarily on my bucket list, but the truth is that except for one time in Charleston, South Carolina when I spoke at a conference and took a carriage ride with a friend, I’ve never done this—not even a romantic ride through Central Park.  Never done it with Rob.  Here I am with five people I love—all together. So this is pretty special, and all six of us ride through that holiday city, that lighted city, that very happy city, and laugh and take photos and enjoy making another memory together.

What a lovely way to spend an evening!

KANSAS CITY--MISSOURI AND KANSAS--WE PACKED A LOT IN A FEW SHORT DAYS PART I

Kansas City, Kansas was beautiful in December.  At three different sections of the city, buildings outlined in bright holiday lights reflect the sparkling joy of the season.  We came not as tourists but to attend Jen’s graduations, we had a scant three days to enjoy the city with our family, and thanks to Michael and Jen’s guidance, we made the most of it.

Of course there was a lot of just being together for the first time since July, but we really packed in the touring too. 

This was the former prison at Ft. Leavenworth.
Look at that guardhouseat the end of the wall.

We took a brief drive through part of the very famous Ft. Leavenworth, the oldest active military base west of the Mississippi River.

It’s  much more than the prison that is the reason for its fame, and as it turned out, we never did see the prison complex that is used today.  It’s at a far end of this large military installation. We did, however, enter the building that WAS the prison years ago although today it houses, among other much more gentle things, an art framing studio.  The door to the building, however, is a very solid reminder of what once was located where we stood.  Very solid. 

Guess this door might be an unpleasant
reminder to some

We passed the military cemetery too, rows and rows of reminders that the men and women who walked these Ft. Leavenworth grounds and now rest here are those who protected our freedoms—some making the ultimate sacrifice.  It’s a beautiful cemetery, very peaceful and open.

National World War I Museum
The Liberty Tower stands 217 feet high
Notice the giant sculptures on either side of the tower.
Each one is a Sphinx, eyes covered

Kansas City, Missouri is also the home of the National World War I Museum, and it is an institution not to be missed.  Trip Advisor rates it the #1 attraction in the city, and some reviews rate this museum as one of the most comprehensive museums in the country. There’s no doubt in my mind why.  

It is designed so well that any visitor will get a good idea of what led up to the Great War, why it was truly a World War, why the United States became involved, and how the war affected the world to come.  

It’s all done in creative and interesting ways: exhibits involving WWI artifacts in the forms of vehicles, weapons, and uniforms, for instance, dioramas, videos, interactive exhibits, and a constantly changing program of special exhibitions, discussions, videos, etc.  When we were there, mid-December, they announced a special program pre-viewing the new season of Downton Abbey! If you are a Downton Abbey fan, you know the connection.  That’s something I would have loved to attend!

Transportation

ye old Ford

a fighter plane

Some of these insignias are still used in today's Army

This diorama was used in conjunction with a terrific video presentation

Aren't these marvelous!
Decorative envelopes become art work bringing letters from home to cheer the weary soldier at the front

A foggy day in Kansas City from the Memorial Court

Guides at the museum are friendly and knowledgeable, and the entrance fee includes a trip to the top of the Liberty Memorial Tower.  The view from the top of the tower over Kansas City is amazing in nicer, clearer weather than we had, but it was still worth going up.  On the flat roof up there, called the Memorial Court, we saw a wedding party using the view as a backdrop for photographs.

Fundraising for the museum's construction began in 1919 soon after the end of the war.  Money came in quickly.  Groundbreaking and dedication was in 1921 and attended by luminaries from around the world including then Vice President Calvin Coolidge.  Present were 60,000 American Legion members and a Kansas City haberdasher named Harry Truman.

The building is an example of Egyptian Revivalist architecture, and looming overall are two colossal sphinx-like statues.  They are on the Memorial Court, and their symbolism is very moving.  To give you a better idea of size, each weighs 615 tons.  They epitomize the mood of the museum, built soon after the war and remembering the tremendous sacrifice so many made.

One sphinx is named “Memory.  It is on the southwest side of the court facing east toward Flanders Field.  It hides its head to forget the pain and suffering of war. 

On the southeast side, “Future” covers its head and faces west.  It covers its head to symbolize the cynicism and skepticism of things to come. 

These sculptures were dedicated in 1925, and certainly are as symbolic in today’s world as they were so soon after the War to End All Wars.

Rising above the Memorial Court is the Tower. Into the base of the tower are sculpted four Guardian Spirits representing Honor, Courage, Sacrifice, and Patriotism.  Each includes a symbolic element.  Honor is characterized by a wreath; Courage by a helmet; Patriotism by a civic crown; and Sacrifice by a winged star on the forehead.  Each figure also carries a sword, representative of necessary military guardianship.  Believe me, it is awesome, quite moving, and very sad.

There is so much more to the museum including, as you enter, a glass bridge through which you see fields of poppies, and you are, of course reminded of John McCrae’s 1915 poem which begins:

“In Flanders Fields the poppies blow,

Between the crosses, row on row

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.”

The glass bridge over the field of poppies
This is how you enter the museum
It certainly sets a solemn mood.

It’s a museum to visit often, and our short time did not give us an opportunity to appreciate all it has to offer.  But should you visit Kansas City, know that this is a must-see destination.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, so with all the things to do and see in Kansas City, we had to have a celebratory dinner at a great place, so off we went to Cooper’s Hawk, right in the middle of a city celebrating the season.  I’ll write about Kansas City at night in Part II.

THE FLIGHTS FROM HELL!

We've just returned from the flights from Hell! Except for the return flight from Kansas City which is

reminiscent of my golf game--just as I am ready to smash every club in my bag, I finish the last hole nicely and decide I have enough potential to come back. Here’s my story; everything I put forth here is absolutely true.

Rob and I were booked on JetBlue out of Newark for Cancun. TSA pre√, so no long security lines. Not the most convenient flight possible, a one-stop and relatively lengthy layover, but ok.

If you've ever been to Cancun airport, you know it's an offshoot of Britain's Bedlam prison, but no problem. It’s busy because this is the resort crowd landing and everyone and everything is heading for the sun--including Rob's luggage.  Only one problem; we arrived in Cancun; Rob’s luggage went to Montego Bay, Jamaica!

An hour and a half later, after locating the proper airport personnel since JetBlue has no representative in

Cancun airport, we’ve filled out the forms and are promised that the runaway luggage will be on the first flight

to New York’s Kennedy Airport in the morning and then on to Cancun. ETA: Tomorrow afternoon.

By the time we make it out of customs, our driver has left and we are stranded at the airport. Amid pre-trip

warnings from every travel source available including our resort to not take unregistered airport transportation, we are a bit bewildered. Then an angel from Marriott approaches us. He sees our transportation voucher, recognizes it and knows our driver who coincidentally lives in his neighborhood. He phones him and our guy is back in a few minutes. Whew.  He’s actually stationed at the airport and calls for our car and we are whisked off to Temptation Spa and Resort.

Thank goodness for those light-weight zip-off travel pants that Rob is wearing. Unzip the legs and he’s in light-weight shorts which he will have to wear until the next day.  Zip on the legs and he is all right for dinner. 

Meanwhile I unpack and discover my luggage is severely damaged. A zipper is ripped and shredded, but in all the tumult at the airport, I did not notice the protruding twisted wires and did not report it.  Not to worry,

JetBlue’s disclaimer clearly exonerates the company from all responsibility, and I will have to find a repair shop when I get home.  But mishaps occur.  We can roll with the punches, but now is the time for a welcome drink and a little relaxation and enjoyment. 

Rob’s luggage arrives late the next afternoon, and as always, our stay at Temptation is lovely…

Until it was time to check in online for our return flights.  Rob checks in with no problem, but I am not allowed. I am told I have to report to the JetBlue counter at the airport.  ???????????????  Remember, I am TSA pre√.

We leave the hotel in plenty of time, and the driver drops us at the terminal and leaves--the wrong terminal. This one appears to cater to flights within the Spanish speaking world, and we need to get to the flights heading elsewhere.  I am able to converse in Spanish a bit, but my hearing is not good enough to understand the responses, and Rob doesn't speak Spanish at all.  It’s like a Laurel and Hardy movie as we try to decide on the next step. 

Looking obviously bewildered, we are approached by several men offering taxi services, but we remember those travel warnings.  There’s a sign for a shuttle to other terminals, so we get on line and wait and wait and wait.  Then another angel appears (remember the Marriott guy?).  He’s a van driver from Hertz, and he offers us a ride in his van.  This we gratefully accept, and within ten minutes or so I am in front of the JetBlue check-in counter trying to find out what the problem is.

She checks me in promptly, but when I ask why I, a TSA pre √, flier had to check in at the counter, she shows me a series of SSSSS on my ticket.  She says I was “chosen at random.”  So much for Homeland Security.  Prior to flying they check me out, decide I’m safe enough to fly without taking off my shoes, etc., and now they are going to check me out again while who-knows-who gets on the flight with who-knows-what.  What a waste!!!  What inefficiency.

But I had no idea of how I would now be checked.  Rob sails through quickly, and I am throroughly wanded and x-rayed.  My hands are swiped.  My tablet is swiped.  They go through my carry on literally piece by piece.  I finally made it to the gate, but while Rob is allowed to board, I am again pulled aside and totally wanded and my hands are again swiped—now in front of all my fellow passengers who must wonder what kind of suspicious criminal is flying with them!  But, hey, I’ve never felt any governmental agency runs efficiently, so why should the hapless TSA be any different.

Eventually we are settled on the plane, but bad weather in New Jersey delays our departure.  We finally taxi to the runway when the Captain tells us there is a computer problem in the left engine and we have to return to the gate so it can be repaired—maybe.  We sit on board, and more than an hour later the computer is fixed and we taxi out and take off. 

We arrive in Newark at 2:30AM, two hours late!  We first begin luggage and customs.

We have reservations to stay at Wyndham Gardens Hotel where our car is parked, the trunk full of winter

clothes because we have an 11AM flight out to Kansas City, Missouri for our daughter-in-law’s graduation from Command and General Staff College and also for her Master’s Degree. 

We check in, go to out to bring in the clothing so we can switch suitcases, and then we head to the Business

Center to check in our United flight.

We finally connect with United only to learn that our non-stop, three-hour flight has been CANCELLED, and we are rebooked on a one-stop, seven hour flight that leaves later in the day and will get us to Kansas City in the evening.  BUT we have the option of finding another flight, which we do—a one-stop (in Chicago), five-hour flight that requires our taking the 7:30 AM hotel shuttle back to Newark Airport.  Total sleep time = 1.25 hours.

When we get to the airport we make sure to arrange for ground transportation for us in Chicago’s bustling, huge airport.  Rob’s knee will just not make the long walk to our second flight.  No problem says the woman at the desk as she puts through our request.

We arrive in Chicago, get on the golf cart, and the driver tells us he doesn’t have us on his list and we have to get off.  No way, we tell him, and although he threatens calling security, when we tell him to go right ahead, he calls, instead, for another golf cart; we switch, and we are driven to the second gate, a long ride plus an elevator ride. 

We board this plane, fall asleep, and wake up in Kansas City, in a wonderful, compact, easily negotiable airport, find our rental car, find our hotel is only minutes away and no more than ten minutes from Jen’s apartment. 

On the ground, this second leg of our Cancun/Kansas City trip begins, and it is totally delightful.  TOTALLY!  BTW, our trip home was very nice.  We had our non-stop to from KC to Newark, and took a taxi to the Wyndham, tossed our luggage in the car, and it wasn’t long before we were sitting in that familiar diner on Rt. 17 eating Chef Salads.

Flying has become a torture.  I rather drive an entire day than go through the trouble of a flight.  How do you

feel about this?

FRIDAY'S FOTO: A TWO-FER OF HOLIDAY SPIRIT IN KANSAS CITY, MO.

In different areas of Kansas City, Mo., buildings are lighted and festivities go on
as everyone enjoys the holiday spirit.

It was a magical evening.  Here's Cinderella's carriage.

LET'S EAT--Bandana's--St. Louis, MO.

We drive up to Bandana’s in St. Louis, MO—you know, The Show Me State—and the air is rich with a smoky barbecue smell! Show me the barbecue!

It had been a long, late-night weekend, wedding reveling, catching up with long-lived friends and meeting new ones. The rainy, chilly day has been spent talking, and we arrive at the restaurant ready for dinner. Our friends take us to Bandana’s, a bit sorry for us after we whine that we just don’t get good barbecue up north (actually Missourians refer to our part of the world as up east).

Bandana’s is a neat-looking place—lots of wood and with that great, friendly atmosphere we always experience in the Midwest.

As an aside – In the ladies’ room, a woman commented on the weather. I said that I found St. Louis almost balmy as we were initially delayed at Newark Airport by an iced jetway. That led to a discussion of September 11th. How far, she wanted to know, did I live from NYC? Was I impacted by 9/11? When I acknowledged that our town lost eight people, she squeezed my hand in commiseration. “If only we could get Bin Laden,” she said.

We walked out of the restroom together, and as we passed her table, she held out her hand to shake mine, and she introduced herself; I did the same, and I walked back to my table with a smile on my face. This was a really nice moment.

Anyway, back to Bandana’s. Bandana’s Barbecue’s registered slogan is “Smell that Smoke.” You can because they use a real wood pit smoker. Some of their meats cook for five hours, and some cook for fourteen hours. The meat emerges with a reddish color—and a magnificent taste. For you barbecue lovers, Bandana’s uses a “dry rub.” You can add your own special Bandana’s sauces ranging from their original to a spicy.

Much as we would have enjoyed combination platters so we could sample several meats, that was an impossibility. The platters were huge. Rob and I ordered different luncheon platters and then split the meats.

I ordered the Bar-B-Q rib plate: four hefty ribs, succulent and meaty. My two sides were a sweetish BBQ beans with pieces of pork and a great sauce, and something I’ve never had before—fried corn on the cob served with skewers so I didn’t get any of the buttery covering on my fingers. Also included were two huge slabs of delicious, buttery garlic toast. The price-$7.29.

Rob ordered the Bar-B-Q pork plate with the same sides. Two ribs to him; some pork for me.

Our friends went their own ways with chicken, but Robyn ordered a dinner platter, Bar-B-Q white meat chicken that came with that mouth-watering garlic bread, fries, and cole slaw. It was humongous! She packed half home to bring to hubby, Eric. Great gal! He loves this restaurant too, but he just couldn’t join us.

According to their take-out menu, you can Smell the Smoke in fifteen different locations! Love that mid-western air!