Smalls Smoke Shack ... and more!

Smalls Smoke Shack has been mentioned in the openings, closings & once in the "best fried chicken" thread by my friend GWiv. I haven't posted in awhile (crazy busy summer at work), so here's a thread for them...

These are the same folks that have been slingin' fusion-Q from the Brown Bag Lunch truck for a couple (?) years. The truck started out doing American Texas style BBQ, according to Joaquin Soler when I met him a year or so ago at his truck. He transitioned to doing more fusion BBQ like Brisket Bibimbop, mentioning that was more his culinary style...and culinary style is something he has much of.

The storefront opened up a couple weeks ago (1 week to the day on my visit), so I stopped in to check out (specifically) their buttermilk brined fried chicken and homemade biscuits.

The storefront, as suggested in the name, is SMALL. It has a ton of character, and reminds me of our first space - built by the owners, done with a small budget, just enough done to open the doors, details to be finished later. While the store is clean, I'm sure there are a few things they'll do as they grow - like adding barstools for the dining in crowd (sidenote: I am weird and actually prefer to stand while I'm eating - so the current setup with high countertop and no stools is perfect for me).

The fried chicken is made to order: buttermilk brined, crunchy, well seasoned crust - juicy, cooked to perfection, and DELICIOUS! It's fried within 30 seconds of being overdone, which makes it very crunchy, and adds a slight bitterness that goes well with the spices in their breading. I thought it was cooked perfectly, and I wouldn't change a thing about it. I won't throw out a "best" award until I've had it a few times - but it was the best fried chicken I've had in recent memory.

I ordered 1/4 dark, mentioned that I didn't want fries (didn't know at the time how awesome the fries would be) - but I'd love a biscuit. Biscuits are only served in the AM, they were out at noon, so I opted to keep the fries and I'm glad I did. They were interestingly seasoned and served with house-made ketchup. The house-made ketchup was certainly unique. Very sweet, interesting flavor, and it shows chef's creativity. Everything here has a lot of personality in it, and I love that. If everyone cooked the same, eating out would be boring. I also ordered an elote with spicy japanese mayo. I took the food to go, and planned on chowing while driving - i was in a hurry - but when I opened the box, it looked so great I gave it the proper respect of eating while sitting stationary in my car - just outside the restaurant.






Chicken was delish, elote was well charred and served with a tasty japanese mayo. Fries were killer. They also have a rotating veggie special (day I was there, japanese green beans) that I'll try, toasted garlic rice (of the day) , and I can't wait to try the homemade biscuits. Nice work folks, I was very impressed with my first visit.

smalls. smoke shack ...and more!
4009 n. albany avenue
chicago,il 60618
312.857.4221
http://www.smallschicago.com
hours.
sunday & monday: closed
tuesday-friday: 11am-9pm
saturday: 11am-8pm

Just had dinner from the aptly named Small's tonight. We ordered from work, myself and three co-workers. Between us we had the Pulled Pork Platter, Brisket Sandwich, and two orders of Bi-Bim-Bop, one with a fried egg, one without.

I had the eggless BBB (I just don't like eggs when they look like eggs. Gimme a Quiche and I'm fine. Put a sunny side up number in of front of me and I'll gag), and it was spectacular. It came with Korean Chili Paste and Kimchee on the side, so you can control the heat. The meat and vegetables are served separate from the rice, to be mixed in as you please. At first glance, the meat-to-rice ratio seemed a bit skimpy, but once it was mixed in, I didn't have a single meatless bite.

As for the meat itself, Small's Smoked Brisket, it was brilliant! Luscious, moist, and flavorful with a few crunchy bits that swept me away to LC's in Kansas City and a heaping mound of their Burnt Ends. It was so addictive, I kept eating well beyond the point where I was full (sorry Mrs. Roadhouse, no leftovers tonight).

The other Bi-Bim-Bop diner, the one with the fried egg, was equally enthusiastic, declaring the meal, "Delish".

The guys with the Pork Platter and Brisket Sandwich were over the moon. One guy even said it was better than Smoque. i don't know that I would go that far, but I will say they are definitely in the same league.

We put the menu into our "keeper" folder and plan to go back ASAP. FWIW, I hereby declare Small's Smoke Shack an official player in Chicago's growing culture of "Real" Barbecue!

Buddy

I'm Buddy's co-worker who had the pulled pork (with the corn and garlic rice), and all I can say is- this place is the truth. It's been a LONG time since a BBQ joint in Chicago actually exceeded my expectations and impressed me. This place did just that. The pulled pork was some of the best I've had in quite a while; decent bark, well seasoned, perfectly moist. It didn't need sauce, though that mustard/bacon stuff they sent along with it was quite tasty. The corn was on point (though I didn't care for the Japanese mayo that was thankfully on the side), but the real revelation may have been the toasted garlic rice. Now I do love garlic, and this has a LOT of garlic in it, so they were preaching to the choir a bit... but I'd happily eat it again tomorrow.

Bottom line, even after just one visit, we work in a neighborhood were several spots have lines running down the block (and deservedly so)- this place may be line worthy too. Time will tell.

So put it on your list (and then maybe bump it up a spot or two).

I'll be back to try the chicken... Soon.

Sean

I tried Small's Today and I can tell you this a first rate restaurant in a small operation with no seating. The head chef was shouting out orders like a 5 star restaurant with 2 cooks making the food. It was very interesting too see such a small place with a kitchen run like a fancy restaurant. I tried the hickory smoked brisket with CHARRED ELOTES(Corn) and Fries. I thought the food was great and very much attention to detail and quality for such a small carryout restaurant. One thing I wished they had was BBQ sauce instead of Asian spicy mayo and ketchup with my order.

Smoked Brisket with CHARRED ELOTES(Corn), Texas Toast and Fries


View of Kitchen in small waiting area


View from the outside

I ate there a couple weeks ago, and got the pulled pork sandwich. I thought it was pretty good, but I didn't care for the mustard that they served with it (who serves mustard with pulled pork?). Actually, let me re-phrase that: I didn't care for the combo of mustard on my pulled pork sandwich (I would have liked some vinegar-y carolina sauce), it would have been good with pastrami on rye. I definitely enjoyed the bark on the meat though, but I felt it didn't have much smoke to it, tasted more like roasted pork. I thought the fries were pretty good, but the ketchup was kind of gross. Thought it tasted like they put Coke in it or something.

Overall, it's pretty good, and I guess this is probably some BBQ/Asian fusion, so my complaints should probably be taken with a grain of salt.

mdpilam wrote:who serves mustard with pulled pork?

Pretty much anyone from South Carolina.

A friend and I went yesterday . . . but didn't realize there was no seating (and the accommodating bar next door doesn't open until 4pm) so we left and ended up at Monti's instead. They did say they would be adding seating, but I didn't ask when. Of course, there's probably only enough room for 2 tables of 4 in there anyway. FYI - there is a small bus bench outside that could seat 2.

As for the mustard sauce for the pork, if you've never tried it, you must . . . provides a real nice contrast to the smoky pork.

I just had the brisket, fries, and elotes. It was all outstanding, including the sauces (Asian spicy mayo, ketchup--apparently made in-house, and the tiger cry sauce for the meat).

As for the comment above about Smoque, I like Smoque but have never swooned over it like some. With that in mind, I much prefer this--definitely more flavorful. I'm just worried this place will get discovered and overrun, with lines out the door. (There was no one there when I went at 11:30 AM on a Saturday.)

I showed up a few weeks before they actually opened and got to meet the crew and shake some hands. I also got to eyeball the kitchen. Looked great and efficient back there. I think they are using this

Soler said his smoker could hold about 400 lbs of meat which doesn't match these specs. Of course he could be wrong.

http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20130605 ... k-with-bbq

scottsol wrote:Soler said his smoker could hold about 400 lbs of meat which doesn't match these specs. Of course he could be wrong.

http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20130605 ... k-with-bbq

I saw a smoker to the left of the stove, taller than a counter top. Maybe there's two of them! I definitely saw the "Southern Pride" nameplate on it.

Makes sense, especially since the brisket is supposed to be smoked with hickory and the pork with cherry wood.

Airwaves Full of Bacon 2: Texas BBQ Meets Filipino Food
A podcast with the owners of Smalls Smoke Stack.

Regards,

eelton wrote:I'm just worried this place will get discovered and overrun, with lines out the door. (There was no one there when I went at 11:30 AM on a Saturday.)

A line out the door is better than them closing because no one is going there!

I can't wait to get in there... I was a huge fan of Brown Bag Lunch truck and became friendly with Joaquin during my many visits to his truck. Dearly miss having his brisket and pork as part of my lunch rotation. Awesome food and a great guy, so I really hope they do well with smalls...

Kindred Hospital is 8 minutes away on Montrose. If all the pinoy there knew Smalls exists they'd have a captive audience for their cuisine.

Fifille and I had dinner here a couple days ago. I had the BBB which I just loved. The egg was a bit well done to my taste but I can understand why they do it that way. She had the brisket which was very very good as well. I still prefer Smoque's brisket but these guys are damn impressive considering they had been open for 7 days when we went. I look forward to trying them again.

The banana ketchup and the pickled sides really put the BBB over the top for me. The attention to detail here is wonderful.

blipsman wrote:I can't wait to get in there... I was a huge fan of Brown Bag Lunch truck and became friendly with Joaquin during my many visits to his truck. Dearly miss having his brisket and pork as part of my lunch rotation. Awesome food and a great guy, so I really hope they do well with smalls...

Ditto. I am torn between cursing the absence of elotes, kimchi, and tiger cry salsa right outside of my South Side office or toasting Joaquin and company to the skies with many repeat visits to Smalls.

I did finally stop by smalls on Friday, and picked up dinner for my wife and myself. Despite seeing a number of new items on the menu, we ended up sticking to old favorites for this visit. My wife had the pulled port platter with elotes and the veggie of the day (some sort of (not bok) choy), while I got the brisket with elotes and the french fries. I think Joaquin's smoked briskets is truly among the best in the city (along-side Smoque and Barn & Co.) and I've missed it since he parked the Brown Bag Lunch Truck a few months ago. And I love his Tiger Cry sauce with it. The pork was a good as I remember, though my wife didn't share much. She enjoyed the mustardy sauce that comes with it... I'm not wild about it because I'm not really a fan of any mustard-based BBQ sauce). I thought the fries were great, hand cut and with an unusual seasoning on them (something Indian, perhaps?). If only I didn't have a 20 min. drive home so I could have tried them hot out of the fryer. We both loved the elotes, charred a bit on the outside and the spicy asian mayo sauce to add to it.

Next time, definitely want to try the ribs and fried chicken... from the comments above, the fried chicken sounds like it's a winner. And when talking to Joaquin on Friday, he raved about the ribs in a way that he's clearly proud of them. Given how good most everything he puts out is, that really says something!

Mrs. As and I stopped by for lunch last Friday. We split a brisket sandwich and half a fried chicken.

As stated above, this is serious brisket. Go get some, right now. The pickled slaw is fantastic (Mrs. As thinks it is in rice vinegar for the pickling)>

The fries are dusted with chinese five spice I think. Also a winner. Not at Mr. D's level but who is?

Fried chicken: I enjoyed it. Mrs. As thought it underdone. There is some asian spice to it which I lack the palate to identify.

One last thing: The texas toast is amazing. This is the first decent piece of texas toast I have ever had. Lots of butter and a nice char to it.

Lunch was $21 bucks or so with the chicken breast left over. We live in the neighborhood so we carried out and ate at home. Did not have any drinks.

I am not all that familiar with this area, though I am very interested in trying Smalls.

A question for anyone who knows the neighborhood, would you suggest California Park, Paul Revere Park or Horner Park as possible picnic locations, if I wanted to dig into the food ASAP and not sit on the bus bench right outside of Smalls?

LHS wrote:I am not all that familiar with this area, though I am very interested in trying Smalls.

A question for anyone who knows the neighborhood, would you suggest California Park, Paul Revere Park or Horner Park as possible picnic locations, if I wanted to dig into the food ASAP and not sit on the bus bench right outside of Smalls?

It should be fairly easy to find parking on California, just north of Irving Park Rd, either on the street or in the lot at Horner Park. Horner is huge and is a great park. I'd head there.

Darren 72, thanks for your recommendation.

welp.. i know where I'm going this week! everything looks incredible here.

Second visit to Small's tonight as I work my way around the (thankfully) limited menu. Tonight was Fried Chicken Night.

First the good:
The Chicken is amazing! Intense chicken flavor surrounded by a crackling good coating that provided a lovely textural contrast to the moist meat within. I'll put Small's Fried Chicken in the same league with Stroud's of Kansas City. Definitely a different style and approach, but in terms of flavor quality and general execution, this ranks with the best.

Now the bad (because if all I did was sing Small's praises, what value would that praise have?):
The 1/2 Dark Dinner comes with a side of Fries and Small's version of cole slaw. Each side had its pluses and minuses.

The slaw is more of a sweet and sour cucumber salad, reminiscent of some cold Korean salads I've had. Very tasty! The problem? It came in a one ounce plastic souffle cup. And it wasn't even a full cup. This stuff was so good, the small serving seemed to taunt me, "Nyah-nyah, this is all you get." I wanted more, dammit!

I really don't want to compare them to Smoque, but the size of the slaw side served there (3-4 ounces?) seems more appropriate to the size of the rest of the order. I know, I know, Small's ain't Smoque and they can do what they want, but the slaw serving was so small (and so good), it was almost a disappointment.

The other disappointment was the Fries. Don't get me wrong, they're probably top notch spuds fresh out of the fryer. Trouble was, they didn't hold up to even a short (five minutes) ride from counter to eating place. The flavor and intent were obvious and pretty good. But they were limp from the steam of the Chicken by the time I opened up the box and had my first bite.

Small's is exactly as its name describes: small with not a lot of seating. Ergo, most of their business is going out the door and will not be consumed until reaching its final destination. That's a problem if your Fries can't survive the trip.

Not sure how to solve that problem, but these guys seem smart enough to tackle the issue as long as someone makes them aware of it. So that's what I'm doing.

In spite of these minor issues, I'm already planning my next visit. I've tried the excellent Brisket via the BiBimBop, and today's Chicken was outstanding. Next up, Pulled Pork or Ribs. Anybody got a coin I can flip?

Buddy

my first visit to smalls was a mixed bag. the fried chicken was as outstanding as expected- even though we ate white meat rather than my preferred dark. there was no dark meat available at 1:30 on saturday, and we didn't want to wait. it was incredibly moist all the way through and the skin was delicious and crisp. unfortunately, the chicken was the only sure thing. the fries were nicely browned but in no way crisp. the supposed slaw was that tiny, but tasty, little dish mentioned above, of pickled cucumber. the brisket sandwich was a total disappointment. the meat was all gray strings; no smoke and no taste. the texas toast that it was on and which accompanied the chicken looked promising and the grill marks smelled delicious, but the 'toast' had all the texture of wonder bread. we also ordered the market vegetable, which was chinese longbeans with garlic and cinnamon. it was pretty good, particularly the more charred bites. the tiger cry sauce was weak and added little to the brisket, or anything else.
i'd like to see smalls maybe add some fried fish to their menu, since they do that so well. i'll have to try more BBQ, but that brisket sure left me skeptical about their smoking abilities... (and horner park, about 3 blocks due east is a perfect place to eat your food).

Got there last night (Saturday) @ 7:30. We were 4th in line and 3 or 4 were waiting to pickup. Placed our order, 1/2 dark, 1/4 white and pulled pork platter. Out of brisket and fries. 30 minute wait for food. Went to LLL next door. Nice dive bar with great beer. Already a table of ten there chowing down on Small's. Got our food. Loved the chicken! Garlic rice was good but really wanted some fries. The bread was pointless, at least with the chicken. That "slaw" is really great but as said before, it's about three bites. I want more! My wife liked the pulled pork but said the portion was small. We enjoyed the elote. Very good. Being that we're from a west burb, it's quite a trip. I thought the chicken was worth it and being able to go to Lizard's to eat and drink is a definite bonus.

A flip of the coin Tuesday night determined my next meal from Small’s would be the Pulled Pork. I ran over to pick up my order, and when I came back out, just a few minutes later, my battery was dead. I then had to make the choice: Wait the 45 minutes to an hour for AAA to show up, jump my car, then drive back to work and nuke my meal, or use that waiting time wisely, eating a fresh, hot dinner ala trunk.

No choice really. I threw a linen table cloth over the trunk, lit a couple of candles and jumped in.

First, the Pulled Pork. This was some of the moistest restaurant Pulled Pork I’ve ever eaten. Surpassing almost anything I can remember eating in Kansas City or here at home, this was some richly flavored, decadent pig. Not quite as much smoke flavor as I normally like, but the overall depth and savory taste were outstanding.

The Bacon Mustard Sauce was unlike any mustard based BBQ Sauce I’ve ever had. Almost no sweetness, with a hint of heat, the mustard is definitely the predominant ingredient over the bacon, but still very good. As pointed out above by Digamus, as good as the sauce is, the pork is so flavorful, it is unnecessary.

Next up; Elotes. Lord have mercy, this ain’t the stuff sold out of the carts on 18th Street. This was real, fresh corn, right out of the husk. Instead of a mushy hunk of frozen “horse corn” that’s been soaking forever in a cooler full of hot water, this was beautifully grilled with a lovely char and mouthwatering sweetness complimented by the blackened bits where the fire lingered a bit.

Like the Mustard Bacon Sauce, the Spicy Japanese Mayo, served with the Elotes, was quite tasty, but unnecessary.

Finally, the Toasted Garlic Rice. What a delicious, textural delight! Crunchy, toasty bits contrasting with the more tender elements make this rice a winner. Great overall flavor, but one quibble: If you’re going to make a point of including the word “Garlic” in the menu listing of this item, I expect an assertive hit of Garlic in every bite. This was not the case. Still, excellent taste, fantastic texture, just pump up the Stinking Rose and I’ll be happy.

Looking back on my previous post regarding the limp, but tasty Fries, I have a suggestion for the lads at Small’s: Potato Salad. Potato Salad is a staple at most Southern and Texas ‘Que joints; far more than Fries. Look how these guys reinterpreted cole slaw as a kind of Korean Cucumber Salad (BTW, still too good and too small a serving). Imagine them coming up with an Asian interpretation of Potato Salad! Maybe laced with Kimchee! This solves any problem of limp Fries. And like the slaw, it can be made ahead and kept cold until needed. Lordy I hope they read this.

That’s it for this edition. Next up The Filipino Glazed St. Louis Ribs. And maybe the vegetable of the day. You never know, it might be Potato Salad.

Buddy

Went Tuesday to get my fried chicken fix. Wanted to get half white, half dark, but they were out of white.. they were also out of brisket. no biggy, just got half dark and a side of the corn. The corn was great.. and the chicken was good. As noted, the batter is very thick, and crispy with the meat nice and juicy. I wouldn't say it's the best fried chicken though,I think the batter could have used a bit more flavor, and spices, IMO. It was sort of bland. Overall though I enjoyed the meal and look forward to trying other items in the future there.

Made my second visit to smalls last night, and based on Joaquin's recommendation during my first visit, I went with the ribs. I ordered the full slab and I got a HUGE slab of their St. Louis cut ribs. I've never seen St. Louis cut this giant. The rub and smoke flavor was excellent. The meat itself was a little tough, like they could've used some more time in the smoker or in an oven. Not sure how the size of the slab compares to what they typically served and if that made a difference. I still have about 1/3 of the slab left, so I plan to heat those up wrapped in foil and see if that also improved the texture a bit. While they appeared to be glazed with a sauce, the ribs were served without any sort of BBQ sauce on the side. I definitely like to taste any ribs I order dry to get the essence of the meat, but I also like to be able to dip them in some sauce, too. I went with the same sides as last time -- fries and elotes -- and they were every bit as excellent last night. My wife again went with the pulled pork and elotes, but this time got the garlic rice. She enjoyed it all greatly... I never even got a taste of her pork.

Next time... definitely trying the fried chicken.