Smoke and Steel — Restaurant in Bangor

Visited for the first time on Friday to have dinner and throw axes. We weren't aware when reserving our time for throwing that you couldn't order anything but appetizers and drinks at the throwing area. So upon recommendation, we arrived an hour prior to our reservation to have dinner.

We arrived, were seated, and placed our orders (drinks, appetizers, and meal). Our appetizers came out fairly quickly.

We started getting concerned when appetizers were cleared out, it was getting closer to our axe throwing appointment, and the entree still hadn't come. Our waitress indicated our meal would be out in just a minute or two, which came and went. Next, a person whom I assume was the manager asked us if we hadn't received our food yet, and we indicated apps...yes, entree.. no. She went to investigate and after a few minutes also said it would be right out. We indicated our concern about being told nothing but apps and drinks at axe throwing, and she and the waitress said "No you can bring it over there, and if it comes and you're not finished by the time you have to go, I'll help you carry it over"

Just before 7pm the entree still hadn't come, so we were told they would just bring it over. All said and done, our entree was brought over a little after 7:10. We had no utensils, and asked for some.. 10 more minutes pass, no utensils. We went directly to the hostess and retrieved our own utensils.

To review the food: the appetizers were good. The sodas we ordered were pretty terrible and tasted mostly like carbonated water, which we did mention. The entree was not terrible, but took an hour to receive, and by the time we retrieved our own utensils, was starting to get cold. Our entree was a shared pick two plate of pulled pork, brisket with sides of baked beans, tater tots, and an extra cornbread muffin. Nothing I would assume should take an hour to prepare.

Between everything, the entire order, including dessert and excluding the cost of axe throwing was over 70 dollars for two people, which isn't the most terrible, but for what we received in quality and service, didn't add up.

With allthat occurred, we received not even a simple apology, just got ushered from one spot...

Upon entering I was not sure if it was a restaurant or sports place but I was greeted by the hostess/manager (not sure) who told me they were still serving food at 8pm on a weeknight. I was seated at a two person table by a male host and the table had a slight wobble as well as the chair. I opted for the other red chair which did not have a wobble. My server was Jenn. She was excellent. She took time to understand my needs and wants and provide exceptional service. I saw that there was all day happy hour on thursdays and that was a big savings with BOGO apps (lowest priced one free, all apps). I asked Jenn for recommendations based on seeing that lots of the appetizers had ingredients that were in the other apps too, for example the brisket in the quesadilla in the fries and the nachos too. Or the fries for the poutine in the popcorn chicken app. Jenn helped me narrow down my choices to 2 smaller sized apps, the poutine and the quesadilla with brisket. My drink was lemonade with blackberry flavor. They have pepsi products and had lots of lemonade flavors to choose from. The drink was refilled promptly upon jenn asking if i wanted more, and was a complimentary refill. She even gave me some lemonade to take home. The poutine had the right blend and balance of cheese curds and gravy and fries, making the fries moist but not drenched. The quesadilla was greasy but good, the brisket inside tasted like quality meat. The quesadilla dripped out when i picked it up and bit into it likely showing excess grease oil or liquid. The sour cream was welcomed but the salsa tasted generic like from a national brand, to be honest. I took 3/4 of my apps home. I wanted to save room for their dessert offerings, and the peach cobbler did not disappoint. Served with local vanilla ice cream, it was just the right size and the perfect mix of fruit and grain. I was told the manager from tennessee makes it. The place doubles as an axe throwing lanes place and I'm sure that would be fun to check out another time. I saw a banner outside by the road saying a 10 dollar summer special for axe throwing. This place is a hidden gem off the...

Our first time going here. It was okay. I'm not a brisket expert by any means. It just didn't seem flavourful at all. If it was smoked it really didn't taste like it. It was very dry but dipping it in the beans helped. Pulled pork fat didn't render down too well on the portion I received. I'd say it was 25% fat and it wasn't a very good texture to chew on. I question how long it was smoked. Potatoes were cold. The serving was small but really no smaller than Moe's. Beans tasted like Bush's grilling beans with jalapeños in it. Corn bread on par with Jiffy mix. $26 and I finished it easily. She got the brisket burger. The brisket was again, dry and flavorless. The bacon on the burger was rubbery and under-done. I took a bite of it and it just didn't work as a burger. Maybe if there was a beef patty and thin slices of brisket atop it might work. It just balled up in your mouth. The burger my son got off the kids menu was very good. Our daughter had the half portion of pulled pork. She received a very good portion of meat and fries. I'd consider the kids menu as an adult. I tried the fries and they were very good. Possibly one of the best fries in Bangor.

The sauces were bland and possibly watered down. I sampled all of them and really couldn't make a determination after eating everything. I was soaking the brisket and I just couldn't taste it well. The Carolina sauce needs way more vinegar.

Would I go back? No. Maybe in a year if they last. 50% of new restaurants don't give good first impressions but some improve very well. I hope this is one of them. I never tried the axe throwing so I can't speak for that. Moe's still beats this out. I hope this place improves and makes it through. There was only a 15min wait on a Saturday at 4pm. I was expecting 2+ hrs with such a new restaurant. We really need more options in Bangor. Especially barbecue. I'm kind of interested how the chicken is...