I stopped in at about 7 last night (Friday) hoping to get a slab but was told they wouldn't be ready for another hour. Got a beef and a pork sandwich instead as well as a slice of sweet potato pie.

As someone else mentioned, the meat is very finely chopped - almost minced to a hamburger-like consistancy. Not to my tastes, I like pork pulled and beef sliced. Beef would be better if it were brisket, it did have some unchewable gnarls of gristle in it.

I asked for mild and hot sauce on the side. They were tasty but I couldn't tell which was which. Buns were good - soft and fresh, slightly sweet but not enough to interfer with the taste of the meat.

Fries were good - probably would have been great if traffic had not been so slow on Roosevelt Road. They had cooled a little too much by the time we got home. Also, only the top layer seemed to have been salted.

Pie was good - could have used some ice cream or whipped cream but our fridge could not contribute.

In summary, I live just about half way between The Depot American Diner and Smokin' Ms. What could I possibly have to complain about?

hi guys thanx for the reviews bad or good we need to know because if you only knew how passionette the owners are for a very successful buissness.I worked for these little italian owners since i was a teenager. We need your feedback in order to be the best that we can be and i believe we will be one of the best in the chicago area i will say we are a little rusty but everyday we will think of something and say oh yeah thats the wat we used ti do it and correct it.I suggest before you order ask the owner for a sample before you order and he will let you taste it before you order it.We are going to succeed and we are going to get things done right and when we make a mistake we will correct it mistakes happen in this type of resturaunt BBQ is a hard thing to conqure and we will get it right because we are here to stay we want you to enjoy our BBQ and our employees. Every customer is a friend in my eyes and im sure the owners eyes as well and remeber if we make a mistake with your order we will fix it.Please continue with your comments good or bad and keep comming in we are back in the swing of things..

P.S SANTANDER i knew that was you when you orderd the beff and pork to eat there by yourself.I never let the owner know about my suspicion until i got home and knew that you had to of posted something since he gave you the grand tour(it's not like there is much to see you get what you see).By the way i stole the owners nephews laptop so he can't post unfounded remarks anymore HOPE TO SEE YOU SOON!

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a little feedback - take off the caps lock, please ...

Candy, Smokin M's is very good and I hope to be able to visit there again soon. I agree that sampling before ordering is a good idea, especially if someone plans to order alot of the same thing.

thanx and sorry about the caps but i have bad eye sight so it is easier for me to write in caps. I thougt this was about resturaunts not critisizam about caps but i will keep it small so the feedback i recieve is about our bbq not about caps

candy wrote:thanx and sorry about the caps but i have bad eye sight so it is easier for me to write in caps. I thougt this was about resturaunts not critisizam about caps but i will keep it small so the feedback i recieve is about our bbq not about caps

FYI, when you type in caps on the internet, it means that YOU ARE YELLING. It's just common netiquette.

candy wrote:thanx and sorry about the caps but i have bad eye sight so it is easier for me to write in caps. I thougt this was about resturaunts not critisizam about caps but i will keep it small so the feedback i recieve is about our bbq not about caps

That's cool.

Also cool is your sporting attitude toward receiving positive as well as negative criticism of your biz. I have been impressed by the spirit and good nature of the crew both times I've visited Smokin M's, and that attitude makes me hopeful that you'll work out the kinks.

Incidentally, not sure what browser you're using, but with Firefox, you can go to View, then Text Size, and click Increase Ctrl++ to bump up the size of the text displayed on the screen.

Hammond

Thanks Hammond at least you understand! So FYI to everyone else i understand now so back off the cap comments and maybe back to the subject

Another way to increase font size is if you have a mouse with a little scroll wheel in the middle. hold down the CTRL button and scroll to increase or decrease the size.

gottcha thanx for the kind info much appreciated!

candy wrote:By the way i stole the owners nephews laptop so he can't post unfounded remarks anymore HOPE TO SEE YOU SOON!

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best move you could have made..he wasnt helping you all that much in the marketing dept

every new restaurant has growing pains and BBQ can be pretty hard to nail consistently as it is .
I think feedback to owners is the best thing you can do. Im sure they are dependent on customer feedback .
Congrats to Jimmy (and Liana) on getting this place open. Ill be stopping in soon to check ya out.

BTW - my offer of some free sample bottles of Head's Red BBQ Sauce still stands l

Burt Moccio of Smokin' M's is interviewed briefly in tonight's Dish, which you can subscribe to here:

www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/New ... r-Sign-up/

I have been back a couple more times.

Tried the wings - they were very small, no much breading and cooked to a crisp state. Once you got through the crisp, there was not much meat. I will stick with Harold's for chicken wings.

Tried the ribs - very meaty, well cooked, tender but not sliding off the bone. The sauce is so-so. Didn't mind it the first couple of times I had it but by the time I had it with the ribs, I had had enough. Will keep geting the ribs but might use Lem's sauce.

if the ribs are properly cooked they should be tender but not sliding off the bone..sounds like these were properly cooked

Yes, that is exactly what I meant.

ppezalla wrote:Yes, that is exactly what I meant.

sorry....i read it wrong..thought you were wanting fall off the bone..my mistake

[edited to de-snark]

Alas. My friends liked Smokin' M's well enough tonight (extremely friendly service, pleasant visit from fellow poster BP, pork sandwich very tasty), and my own platter was still par for the course - extremely overdone links, tasty but dry tips, and knockout fries which are worth the price of admission. A new annoyance was a distinct odor and flavor of fish on one of the links, which must have been the border between realms on the crowded smoker. Burt's only got the one smoker, and it's a beaut, but I wish things could be phased a little bit more so that the flavors didn't overlap.

All the times I've visited Uncle John's - three of which have included kitchen visits and every other time fervent peers through the window - the smoker has only contained a few of the same cuts, in the very center. I've seen photographic evidence of multiple types of meat at the same time, but never chock full to the edges. Anyone in the know: does Mack have some big stove / heating unit to keep the staged cue ready for serving? It's clear that not everything is coming right off the smoker to you. While I like the fact that SM gives it to you hot and fresh, the quality is still too unpredictable for a slam dunk recommendation, but I appreciate the warm welcome and fries as always.

stopped in today for lunch..business seemed good..they were getting a good number of super bowl orders and had a few customers while I was eating..had the tips and links combo..everything was great and Bart, Candy, and staff were very friendly.
I think they will do well..

It was nice to meet Santander at Smokin M's the other evening. Also, it was nice to notice how busy it was there. I'm hoping that Smokin M's will continue to get busier as more people discover the place. I really like Smokin M's, although I recommend to anyone who likes smoked bbq, that you should order the sauce on the side, because Smokin M's uses alot of sauce on the food after it has been smoked. I've learned that I don't need sauce there, since the smoke is plenty of flavor and that the smoke really is the main charm of the food.

So, what is the best time to go there, or what times are not good?

BTW, I've never been to a Famous Dave's, but apparently they serve brisket, which SM does not? Is Dave's brisket any good? (The place on Harlem around 25th St.)

Famous Daves is what it is..not particulalry bad but not a true representation of really good authentic BBQ IMO. Being that its a chain expect very generic BBQ. But until we get more places in the burbs like Smokin M's expect Daves lot to be consistently packed.
Not sure if there is a specific time thats best for Smokin M's. I stopped in around 1 pm. yesterday and food was fine
l

SM's does have a beef sandwich but is (unfortunately) is not brisket. Dave's is pretty good, it is smoked and is tasty.

In this neighborhood, you can also get brisket at Wishbone but it is waaay behind Famous Dave's. A couple of sad slices of meat on a not-all-that-fresh bum with a dab of sauce. Despite the pink neon pig & BBQ sign over the door, I have never smelled any smoke near Wishbone.

Head's Red BBQ wrote:Famous Daves is what it is..not particulalry bad but not a true representation of really good authentic BBQ IMO. Being that its a chain expect very generic BBQ. But until we get more places in the burbs like Smokin M's expect Daves lot to be consistently packed.ll

Bill,

I have a hard time reconciling a BBQ man having anything but scorn for Famous Dave's, the baby food Q* they are serving is a blight on the legitimate BBQ landscape and should be derided with the same energy as Italianesque olive garden, Sombrero style Mexican and food mall Chinese.

Good food is not about the least common denominator.

Enjoy,
Gary

*Overly sweet mushy pablum

Gary:
I never said I liked Famous Daves nor would I recommend it but I stand by my description of it .

Like I said ..it is what it is..its generic bbq..not terrible but not all that good either
Just add to the list of other mediocre BBQ chains like Smokey Bones .
For those in the city you have other choices like Smoque and Honey 1 but out in the burbs you have the above mentioned. Im glad to see that changing with places like Smokin M's too.

Scorn is a pretty harsh word that I have hard time directing at any restaurant except for place that would knowingly serve tainted food and get someone sick.

Im sorry if you think less of me as BBQ man because of my statement ..thats your perecption and you are entitled to it.

Well, thank goodness we now have fine bbq establishments such as Smokin M's and SmoqueBBQ, that hopefully someday, will become the mainstream in Chicago BBQ, so that no longer will Chicago BBQ be known for the awful oversauced "baked" ribs. Chicago is blessed to have such wonderful bbq smoke enthusiasts such as Mack, Bart, Barry, Al, Mike, and everyone else who is trying to make true "smoked" bbq great for us here in Chicago.

BP wrote:Well, thank goodness we now have fine bbq establishments such as Smokin M's and SmoqueBBQ, that hopefully someday, will become the mainstream in Chicago BBQ, so that no longer will Chicago BBQ be known for the awful oversauced "baked" ribs. Chicago is blessed to have such wonderful bbq smoke enthusiasts such as Mack, Bart, Barry, Al, Mike, and everyone else who is trying to make true "smoked" bbq great for us here in Chicago.

BP - I agree 100 % with that

Head's Red BBQ wrote:Im sorry if you think less of me as BBQ man because of my statement ..thats your perecption and you are entitled to it.

Bill,

Sorry if my statement came off as me having anything but respect for you as a BBQ man. It is because I know you to be a top notch BBQ person that I was surprised you would, even in a left handed fashion, recommend Famous Dave's.

Enjoy,
Gary

Gary - like i say..i would not recommend it. I just answered the question on daves. Just my thoughts and hope it didnt come across as an endorsment. Just an honest opinion. I woudl hope the words mediocre and generic would steer some one away