The Smoking Apple — Restaurant in Lindon

First-time visitor to this restaurant. I had high hopes going in and was really hoping to give this place 5 stars for everything. Now, if I were rating this restaurant solely on service, it would be 5 stars across the board. Fantastic service and a very friendly staff. Nice work, team! Now, let's get to the food.

I ordered the two meat plate which comes with two sides and a bread option, roll or cornbread. I ordered the brisket, pulled pork, smoked baked beans and mac and cheese. I am a sucker for mac and cheese at BBQ restaurants and tend to order it more times than I care to admit.

The meats were fairly okay, not great but okay. The smoke flavor on the pulled pork was not very prominent and there was a hint of a smoke ring. It had a decent bark and a good bite. Overall, I like the pork I make at home better but I didn't hate it, about 6.8 out of 10. The brisket was more like pulled brisket, I was expecting sliced brisket so when I was served shredded/pulled brisket I was slighly disappointed but it wasn't too bad. More of a peppery flavor akin to what you might find in Texas. Decent bark and flavor throughout. Overall it could have been better, but it was okay, about a 7.3 out of 10.

Now onto the sides... I was really disappointed, and not impressed at all. The Mac and Cheese was almost identical to the Bob Evans brand you can get in the freezer section at a grocery store, or what you might find at a buffet or at KFC. I was expecting something made from scratch and more specialized like a smoky bacon mac and cheese or something to make it stand out, but no, mass-produced freezer section mac.

The smoked baked beans were about a 7 out of 10, they were doctored up a little and had chunks of BBQ meat throughout. Overall, not bad.

The corn bread wasn't very good. It had an odd flavor that I couldn't place. My wife didn't like it either and thought it tasted like it was made with old ingredients.

My wife had the coleslaw and potato salad. The coleslaw was fairly fresh looking, but was on the bland side. The potato salad tasted exactly like Reeser's potato salad, out of a tub from a grocery store.

In my humble opinion, a great BBQ should not only serve up great meat, but they should also serve up equally great sides. Places that put the effort into good sides definitely stand out from the crowd and, unfortunately, this place fell well below the mark with its sides.

Now, onto the raspberry barbecue sauce. Not good. It makes me glad I didn't order the baby back ribs because they come with this sauce. Why not a peach, apple, or pineapple bbq sauce? Those fruits pair much better with what they serve.

The house bbq sauce was actually pretty good. On the sweeter side, yet a little peppery, not bad. It made the pulled pork taste a lot better.

Now, the bread pudding. Pretty darn good, actually! Between myself, wife, and son, we all loved the bread pudding. It was basic and came with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream with caramel drizzled on top. It was our favorite part of the meal.

The atmosphere almost gives you the divey hole-in-the-wall vibe but on the positive side. I have had some of the best BBQ ever from the most hole-in-the-wall places across the country so I was not put off at all by the interior and atmosphere of the restaurant. It's definitely not upscale.

All thing considered, the spotlight of this place was the staff we interacted with. I think thet are some of the most friendly people I have interacted with at a restaurant and I got the vibe that they all enjoyed being there exhibiting positive and upbeat attitudes which is hard to find anymore. Seriously, nice work there.

6 out of 10 overall. Will I be back? Probably not. The food wasn't terrible but failed to meet the mark in many ways which was...

My wife and I are from Alabama and this is the first BBQ place in the entire state of Utah that actually reminds us of southern bbq. My wife had the pulled pork which was moist and flavorful. I had the brisket, and while the menu says it includes the ends that can be a bit fatty, it was the perfect blend of fat and meat to create an amazing taste, just like the south. The cornbread reminded me of my grandmothers cornbread where the cinnamon streusel over the top provides a great flavor to the bread itself. It crumbled like real cornbread and was fantastic. The sweet potato fries also have a hint of cinnamon, giving it just the right kind of flavor without compromising the yam itself. The beans had the most delicious smoke flavor, with a hint of sweetness and meat chunks that would make anyone craving a sweet protein to enjoy every bite. The BBQ sauce was great too, and if you like a little bit of spicy go for the jalabama sauce. It is the perfect spicy sauce for just about any of their meats, especially the chicken. It was a quaint location, again reminding me of the south. It even had a broken window that seemed quite nostalgic. I am sure there is a story there so maybe the owner can share that. Overall, I can’t wait to come back and enjoy a piece of home once again. Definitely going to bring my best friends for dinner in the very...

Customer Service: They were absolutely amazing. We came in less than 30 minutes before closing and were going to get take out so we wouldn't keep them late, but they encouraged us not to worry about it because they would still be closing for an hour afterwards. We did, and we never felt rushed in the slightest. They were quick with our food. They even let us use both coupons we had even though it says one per day on it because they knew it was expiring the next day. They were just so cool, helpful, and kind.

Food: Absolutely delicious. The options were full entree size. We got the loaded fries with pulled pork and the loaded mixed fries (regular and sweet potato) with chicken. It was all delicious. I thought they'd just be an appetizer, but it turned into dinner. We couldn't even finish. The pulled pork was my favorite, the chicken was my husband's favorite. I definitely recommend the sweet potato fries. The roll was a good roll, but the corn bread was more like corn cake. That crust was divine! Very crumbly, but SO good. I'm a little sad I forgot to sample their impressive array of sauces, but the food was so good, I had no reason to think to enhance it. We will definitely...