Blue Ember Smokehouse — Restaurant in Little Rock

Let me preface this by telling you that I'm a certified bbq snob. 23 years of judging bbq competitions (including Memphis In May World Championships) has taught me a thing or two about how bbq should look, smell, feel, and taste. So when I tell you my ribs were the worst I've ever had at a restaurant, I know what I'm talking about. I noticed 3 things within the first 15 seconds that had me doubting my choice. When the preparer pulled out a half-rack in order to cut it down to my half-pound order, (1) it looked grey. Like concrete grey. I'm sure there was rub seasoning on it somewhere, but I couldn't tell by observing. (2) The tongs used squished the rack, and the juices looked like water. Like they were using a steam table to keep them warm (BTW-bad for ribs). (3)He tried to cut the rack down to the desired weight by pushing down between two bones. Didn't work. Finally, he got what he needed using a slice and rip approach. Hence, the jagged edge in my photo. At my table, I flipped my 2 bone spare-rib rack over and finally saw the rub. But it was thinly and unevenly applied. In other words, no 'bark' that is the hallmark of good 'que. The 2 bones pulled out of my rack cleanly and effortlessly. In other words, overdone. The flavor was ok, but without a bark to give the rib a spark, it was just a well smoked, plain rib. I also had a sweet potato, chock full of aluminum foil. The foil wrapping the spud was so thin and the sweet potato cooked to the consistency of firm mush that the tongs used to grab it from their storage tub broke through the foil and drove it into the tater. So, two items were ordered, two strikeouts. But, it's a new place and they have other items I'd like to try. I'll return, but it won't be for ribs or...

This will be a long standing establishment in West Little Rock. Let's start with the service. The service is like Chick-fil-A. In a sense of friendliness and patience with the customers. Eager to assist and meet your needs. Which makes you feel welcomed and appreciated as a customer. The atmosphere. The atmosphere is that of a come in and eat type feel. Initially, it may take you back to your childhood of getting your lunch from the school cafeteria but it's convenient to not hold up the line. You go from meats, slide down to sides and salad. And then you pay. Now for the food. My wife and I ordered 1 lb of brisket - tender. And the original sausage. For the side we had baked beans and coleslaw and potato salad. The brisket was indeed tender slightly fatty but not too much fat. You can see the char on the meat, being tender. You can tell it was well rested and ready to serve. The original sausage, I liked it but my wife, not so much. She wasn't crazy about the meat casing. Me, I liked it. Now the side. The baked beans were good. And the potato salad was good. My wife is picky about "who made the potato salad?" So if she ate it, I'm pretty sure you'll like it too. The coleslaw. In my opinion it was bland. You tell it's a recipe that's being used. But with a little salt and pepper will give it just the flavor you want. All in all, this place should do fine and be around for a long time. Here's my pictures...

I was super excited to see that we were getting a new BBQ spot nearby. The first time my wife and I went was for opening weekend. Unfortunately, something I ate there made me very sick shortly after. 🤢 We think it was the coleslaw, which seems to have come from a can; it’s not fresh. I still gave this establishments a second chance by returning there a few weeks later… I went for lunch to get some chicken and turkey, but their truck had not delivered, so I chose ribs. For $18, I received a very modest portion of fried okra, a fountain drink, and three unusually small 🤔 yet mostly fatty ribs that were portioned from a small rack of I don't know 🤷‍♂️ , and then the protein was weighed on their super special calibrated meat scale, (God forbid your portion of 1/3rd rack of ribs exceeds being overweight by 1 gram), 🤦‍♂️ensuring exacting and precise weight of the protein before it hits the biodegradable - and hopefully digestible paper barrier on your food tray. You will eat that paper. 🫵 I don’t foresee this establishment surviving one year just based on the lack of value alone vs. your hard-earned dollars being handed over. For now, I will stay the course with Whole Hogg BBQ and Wrights BBQ for the outstanding flavor, generous enough portions, and overall exceptional quality. Hopefully Blue Ember can realign and become something great. That’s actually what we’d really like...