Smokin' Joe's Bar-B-Que in Townsend, TN

I came home for a few days to celebrate Independence Day and my birthday and so my parents decided to take a short family trip to Great Smokey Mountain National Park. Located somewhere in the Appalachian mountains on the Tennessee side of the park, Townsend is a small, sleepy town (out of T Mobile's service range, as I came to find out) where life really seems to be the definition off slow. Not that it's a bad thing.

Now barbecue, true barbecue is an absolute must when you visit the South (and sorry to offend any Texans, but barbecue is pork, not beef). Smoked low and slow to soak in all that delicious wood flavor and southern hospitality, good barbecue is probably one of the things I eat the least yet crave the most.

Drive up to Smoking' Joe's parking lot and you see the smoker going - you know you're going to get the real deal!

You know you're back in the South when you're sipping real sweet tea out of a glass mason jar. You know, the pound-of-sugar-and-a-whole-lot-of-love sweet tea, probably much too sweet for most other parts of the country, but hey, it tastes like home!

Pork ribs 

Sides // fried okra + coleslaw + potato salad + hushpuppies

Sliced smoked chicken breast // green beans + baked beans 

I'll have to admit, we underestimated the portions and ordered way too much food, enough to feed us for dinner PLUS a cold lunch the next day (and trust me, the ribs were still good cold). All the meats were absolutely delicious and perfectly perfumed with delicious smokey essence. Chicken was tender and moist and the ribs were meaty and falling off the bones.

They offer a couple different levels of spice to their sauces, so I had the smoke (spiciest) sauce on the chicken and my parents got the spicy sauce on the ribs. And yes, the smoke was spicceeyyyyyyy~ I'd skip it next time because I thought it overwhelmed the delicate smokiness of the meat.

While the food was very satisfying, I do have a gripe a little bit about the service; maybe it's because I was expecting a bit more hospitality or maybe it's because I've been working in the restaurant industry for so long, but I just thought the service was a bit less than friendly. Our food took more than half an hour to come out, which makes absolutely no sense considering that everything should have been pre-cooked in the kitchen. We suspected that the server forgot to put in our order since a couple tables that sat after us got their food before us, but she didn't say anything so innocent until proven guilty, right?

Nonetheless, I still felt all my fat, protein, and smoke requirements met for the next few months. I'm happy.

Smokin' Joe's Bar-B-Que

Barbecue, southern | $$

 7753 East Lamar Alexander Parkway
Townsend, TN 37882

Smoke & Barrel in Adams Morgan, DC

I know, I know it's been a month since I've last posted, same on me. To sum up my last month in one word: orgo (aka o-chem, organic chemistry, call of death). But excuses aside, I am determined to keep myself accountable this month and aim for three posts a week - sounds pretty doable right? 

Updates aside, here's a very late recap on one of my latest food adventures!

I've mentioned a few times before, but one of my best friends is vegan, so I am constantly on the look out for new and unique vegan-friendly restaurants to try out with her. Smoke & Barrel came up on my radar from a relentless Yelp search for a new brunch place to try out and immediately was drawn in by the vegan options. Did I mention that this is a BBQ place? Mind. Blown.

Located in Adams Morgan just a few steps away from some of my favorite places to grab a casual bite (Tryst, Amsterdam Falafelshop, Donburi), Smoke & Barrel's bare wood tables and exposed brick gives it a very "ripping-meat-off-the-bone-with-my-bare-fingers" rustic feel. I dig that sorta stuff.

My friends and I were the first table in for brunch that day, so we snagged a table on a sunny balcony and by the time we left (albeit two hours later - more on this later in the post) the restaurant was absolutely packed.

Vegan wings // muddy style // 9.95

To be quite honest, the vegan wings were what prompted me to visit Smoke & Barrel. They're drumettes of soy-based meat substitute wrapped around a small wooden dowel and can be served up wet (with BBQ sauce), dry (with spice rub), muddy (wet + dry), with chipotle honey butter, or with buffalo blue cheese. While I can't say that they taste like meat (but then again, I've never had meat substitute that actually tastes like meat), they were absolutely delicious and my friends and I immediately decided to order a second plate. Too bad that by the time we ordered, the kitchen was out of wings. There was only one other table in the restaurant at this point (who were also informed that they could no longer order the wings), so there were only five vegan wings in the kitchen the entire day? My friends and I had a good laugh at this.

Huevos rancheros // two eggs + pork + salsa + cheddar on a corn tostada with home fries + black beans // 10.95

Two eggs breakfast // two eggs + bacon + home fries + texas toast // 9.95

Chili cheese tofu scramble // vegan chili + vegan cheese + home fries + texas toast // 10.95

Classic BBQ sandwich // chicken + coleslaw + BBQ sauce + pickle + collard greens // 10.95

To be honest, aside from the wings, none of the food particularly "wowed" me. My chicken sandwich was decent and plentiful, but it lacked any of the smokey notes that I was craving. Not to mention a few bites in I realized that the meat tasted stale, like it was left over from the day before. 

The biggest thing that I was disappointed in though was not the food (after all, I don't think brunch is the best representation of a BBQ restaurant) but the terribly slow and inattentive service. We waited for a good half an hour before anyone came to take our orders, asked for the second plate of wings three times before being informed that the kitchen was out, and sat staring at our empty plates for a good 45 minutes before anyone came to drop off the check. Maybe they were just understaffed that day or still training their wait staff, so I don't want to be too harsh, but I couldn't help but feel extremely wary of coming back.

Smoke & Barrel

2471 18th St NW
Washington, DC 20009