Smokey Barque- Frankfort BBQ

I stopped by downtown Frankfort for lunch today and had a chance to try the newly opened (for two weeks) Smokey Barque.

They have not yet worked out all the kinks, which is understandable, but there is definite potential. BBQ is cooked on an Old Hickory rig, using Apple and Hickory woods. The owner, Tommy, mentioned that he tries to model what he does after Mike Mills of 17th St fame, and with his version of magic dust being applied to everything, one can definitely see the influence. I thought the style of his dishes reminded me a bit of Smoque, which is a pretty good thing.

I had the Ribs and 2 meat combo. The meats were served unsauced which was a nice show of confidence and all too rarely seen down here. The pulled pork was good, but the chopped brisket that was served was excellent. The ribs were baby backs (though he also serves spares) and were expertly prepared, nice bark, toothsome, and not overly dry. The sides needed a little work, with the cornbread being way too dry (though not overly sweet), and the beans with burnt ends were completely devoid of burnt ends.

These things can be fixed however, and there is a lot of potential for Smokey Barque to become very good.

Smokey Barque
20 Kansas St.
Frankfort, IL 60423

815-277-2502 phone
www.smokeybarque.com
closed mondays
Tues-Sat 12-11
Sun 12-9

I also ran into Smokey Barque for lunch about a week ago. I opted for the slider plate and tried a brisket, a pulled chicken and a pulled pork sandwich. I liked the fact that the customer gets to choose which of the seven barbeque sauces to use with their food. I also thought the chopped brisket was very good. Had the potato salad as my side, and I enjoyed it very much. I was on a lunch break from a class, and didn't have time to linger or ask any questions, but I hope to get back there again soon with the family for a meal. I was also pleased to see that they had a couple of vegetarian options for my daughter.

Suzy

I went back to Smokey Barque last night with my husband for dinner. Both of us opted for the same thing -- St. Louis ribs, with hush puppies and fried pickles as our sides. We also got an appetizer of deviled eggs.

The place was hopping and we were told there would be a 30-40 minute wait for a table, unless we were willing to eat in the bar. We have eaten in the bar when the restaurant was under different ownership and had no problem with that. Our server told us that due to the holiday happenings in Frankfort that day, they had more business than they were expecting and food was coming out of the kitchen a little slower than usual. It was well worth the wait.

Ribs were excellent, meaty and flavorful. My husband had a great time trying the different barbeque sauce offerings, all served on the side, while I was happy to eat mine with no sauce at all. These were no meat-falling-off-the-bone ribs -- they had some chew to them, which I appreciated. Fried pickles came with a house dipping sauce, which complemented them very well. Hush puppies were light and not greasy.

I am anxious to go back and try some other things on their menu. I think this is a great addition to the other south suburban barbeque restaurants and am happy to have them in the area.

Suzy

Went back yesterday and was able to try some dishes that I was unable to previously.

The good: Special for $2 pints of Great Lakes on tap. Smoked turkey was exceptionally tender. The hush puppies were very good too. Brisket was well prepared. Also enjoyable was listening to the servers explain to any patron considering the ribs, that these are NOT fall off the bone ribs. Apparently, quite a few people have been either confused by the smoke ring or complained that the ribs aren't meat jello.

The not so good: This is the second time (out of two attempts) that the beans with burnt ends were served without meat of any kind. The St. Louis ribs were nearly the consistency of jerky. While I like an aggresive rub, this rub really overpowered the smoke flavor and was caked on.

Smokey Barque is still a work in progress, and hopefully makes it to its potential.

Good deal, menu sounding good brisket plate $10.50 ....rubbed with our "smokey dust" may need to sniff and taste some of this soon.

do we know what kind of smoker they are using?old hickery
good to here that you guys are liking it .i will have to try soon
most new bbq places are a south bound train.

Any recent intelligence on this place? We are doing a bike ride on the Old Plank Road trail tomorrow and ending in Frankfort.

Thx, Jen