Holy Smoke BBQ — Restaurant in Hartselle

After a day of working nearby, I stopped in to Holy Smoke BBQ for a late lunch. I'd had this place bookmarked for a while so I was excited for a chance to try it. The restaurant was empty at about 1:30, but that's not too surprising - not exactly usual lunch hour lol. They have a drive through and a dine in area, but I wanted to enjoy the air conditioning and decompress, so indoors I went.

I was greeted warmly by a woman at the counter. Her sunny and helpful disposition was the highlight of the experience; all of the service was great. She chatted with me and told me she could answer any of my questions and she was also kind enough to bring my food out to me.

They have a medium-large size menu for a bbq place. Not knowing what to really expect, I went for what I view as the "safe" option of a loaded bbq potato and a drink. They serve Pepsi products, which is more than okay for me. I don't remember the exact price but I remember thinking it was pretty reasonable for what I got.

The potato was very large but I was sadly rather underwhelmed. The butter substitute and sour cream were served on the side, which isn't my preference (I think it works better if you let them melt into the warm potato beneath the meat and cheese), but my main problem was I thought the pork just wasn't that good. There were a lot of tough and dry pieces and it didn't have a ton of flavor. Lastly, the bacon bits were the bright red kind you sprinkle on a fast food salad -- not what I was hoping for when the lady at the counter told me bacon bits came on the potato. On the bright side, the potato was cooked nicely, very hot, and was quite large.

The restaurant was mostly clean and cool although there was a fly or two dead on the windowsill by where my table was pushed up to the wall.

Overall, this is an average bbq spot compared to the several I've tried in the Hartselle area. If I return in the future, I'll probably try a different meat or new sides...

I should have known this was a mistake when I couldn't smell it from across the street.

What smoke? What flavor?

I got the brisket family pack. I was impressed by the price. I am not impressed with the food.

I was served what looked like cold cubed roast beef that they called brisket. I do give a little grace here because sometimes a cow just won't take the flavor you intend, this could be caused by old bruises or diet. Either way the meat was tough and bland. It looked like the fat was trimmed too thinly to grant the meat any flavor or moisture.

The sides were awesome. Beans were seasoned with pulled pork. The slaw was the perfect balance of sweet and tangy. I don't care for the BBQ sauce. These sides give them a spare star.

I've had worse but I've also had better. If you're ever in Madison follow your nose. I won't be...

We have been eating Holy Smokes BBQ for years. I moved locations with them. When we went to order our usual pork family pack, substitute the vinegar slaw (can’t eat) for potato salad, we were told it would be $1.00 more. We have always substituted but never been charged extra because you can’t eat vinegar slaw. I thought this must be new because last time (2 weeks ago) I wasn’t charged. I said really we’ve never been charged extra for this but I was going to order it anyway until the employee let me know “I have been here 3 years I don’t know what to tell you” slightly rude. I wasn’t rude back or mention we have been eating there longer than that. They have always been kind, helpful, courteous until now. Maybe he was having a bad night. We decided to order dinner elsewhere and find a new...