DOC's Commerce Smokehouse — Restaurant in Milwaukee

Visited Docs because our friends said they found a BBQ place comparable to the south. We just thought it was average. You can find better seasoned BBQ and homemade sauces at local BBQ food trucks.

Food: Overall, the food was Ok, 3/5. We got the biggest platter they had to offer (the Meat Coma) and some burnt tips.The portions were more than enough for 4 people, it can easily feed 5-6 people. Ribs: Has more bite to them and do not fall off the bone. Pulled pork: Ok. It was moist on the inside portions, but dry on the outside. Brisket: Great! You can see the smoke ring, crispy and charred on the outside, moist and delicious on the inside. Usinger sausage: Average. Burnt tips: They were not burnt at all. It was tossed in the Memphis sauce, which was very vinegary. The color was orange red. If the color of the sauce can be seen, it means the tips were not burnt. Fries: Very good. Crispy and seasoned well. Mac & Cheese: Below Average. The macaroni was overcooked. It was mushy and left a lot to desire. Sauces: The sauces all tasted very similar. Very vinegary and very little kick in the "spicy". No one in our group found a favorite sauce.

Service: 3/5. We went a little after the downtown lunch rush. There were 6-7 other tables. We arrived before a 2 top showed up but the server waited on us after them. Ok, not a big problem, we knew what we wanted. Frank greeted the 2 top (2 feet next to us) and was very friendly. It was their first time, too. He then immediately turned to us and asked the same stuff, but not in a friendly way. Is he having a bad day? Went through the drink orders. Drinks were brought, and he took the 2 top's order immediately. He returned 5 minutes later to take our order. Look, our parents taught us to have manners and say please and thank you. Frank never once said you're welcome or tried to be friendly toward us. After our food was brought out, he remarked "That's a lot of food." We tried to joke back but he shut us down by walking away. Our group thought he was just having a bad day or maybe he didn't like that we had a toddler with us, but they were not making a mess or being noisy. The 2 top had an elementary aged child but he was very nice to them. He always joked and laughed with them, was very patient, but was very cold toward us.

Service and food left a lot to be desired. We will not be returning and will not recommend it to others. The search for true southern BBQ in...

Bucked the trend of eating at the Millertime Pub to try something different. We decided on DOC's Commerce Smokehouse and boy were we glad we did! Let's start with the establishment. An open setting with lots of hightop and standard seating and a bar with outlets for AC and USB charging. 40 beers on tap, including Bell's and Founders,, and a HEFTY collection of hard liquors too. $15 gets you the special today of "Burnt Ends", or the Brisket. (There are other choices from pulled pork, to BBQ chicken and such too, but this is what I ordered), and $3 gets you two more bones of ribs!

We'll start with the basics: the meat is JUICY, with a crisp bark, a strong smoke line, and is dry seasoned well without being underwhelming, or too strong. The meat is not "fall off the bone", but isn't tough to pull off the bone either. Basically, the perfect rib. Of their sauces, I liked the ketchup-based "Doc's Original" for it's sweetness over the more vinegary "Memphis Classic", but I didn't need either because the meat was great on it's own. The Burnt Ends were fantastic! The extra bark was great, and the meat was still juicy (like a medium-well steak for doneness.) I got the Brisket (combination of fatty and lean) and I found that the lean was better for me than the fatty, but even though I'm not a fan of eating fat (texture more than flavor) I still found them enjoyable.

The home-made chips are seasoned well (Memphis rib, or other seasoning) and the House-made onion dip was great too (purple onion, green onion, and a little seasoning too.)

The Mac and Cheese was creamy, mild, and prepared with great texture to the noodles too.

The plates also came with white bread and sliced pickles... I didn't try the beread, and the pickle was... a hot, spiced sweet pickle? Of the things I tried, my only disappoinments we're basically garnishes, so I'm very happy.

Also, Sprecher Brewery root beer on tap!

They also have some limited edition/release Fredrick Miller Chocolate Lager (Dark Stout) on tap and my friend thought it was great!

I would DEFINITELY recommend this place based on...

Pulled Pork Sandwich: Doc's Smokehouse was founded fairly recently (2016) in Dyer, Indiana, but they have a second location in Milwaukee. They pride themselves in keeping with southern tradition by using only hickory smoke, spice, and lots of time as the ingredients to prep their meats. I can tell you firsthand that it shows. The pork on my sandwich was juicy, tender, and flavorful all on its own. Doc's meat was definitely the star of the show, but sadly the accompaniments could not hold their ground. Starting with the bun, it was entirely forgettable and dry. For this reason I added some of the Alabama White Sauce to it. Short tangent, Alabama White Sauce is made with mayonnaise and apple cider vinegar. There are numerous variations, but typical flavorings include mustard, Worcestershire sauce, sugar or honey, garlic and/or onion powder, and lots of black pepper. I'm going to be critical of the lousy bun here because why offer something like that when it takes away so much from the phenomenal pork? I was also disappointed by the macaroni and cheese side. It was neither creamy nor flavorful. I found it to be bland and devoid of flavor. As much as I love sandwiches my advice would be to just stick to the meats at Doc's. Their pulled pork was some of the best I've had making it an easy Doughboy approved, but their carbs clearly need some work. A generous just okay for the macaroni and cheese as well as the bun. Doughboy_Food_Reviews All the staff we encountered were friendly and our waitress Danielle did a nice job. My only criticism of the restaurant itself was the way they provide you with silverware. Forks, spoons, and knives are all thrown together unwrapped into a single cup for everyone at your table to grab (we had seven people in our party). I found this to be a little unsanitary and would encourage them to provide individual silverware. The pulled pork was a 5/5 as was the service, 2/5 for the bun & macaroni and cheese, overall score 3.5. Dined Saturday...