WICKED WEED SMOKEHOUSE — Restaurant in Painttown Community

Let's start out with the appetizer: It came out with the meal, which defeats the purpose of an appetizer. We ordered a pretzel with pimento beer cheese dip (it was also supposed to come with a mustard BBQ sauce, but that was missing). The pretzel was warm, soft and salty--as expected. The dip was spot on as it was tangy, warm and was perfect for the pretzel. This was a bright spot. I still Would have liked it to come out BEFORE the meal, but alas.

The meal: This is supposed to be a smokehouse, so of course you have to order BBQ. My wife opted for the pulled pork, sweet potato fries, and potato salad. The pulled pork was salty and slightly mushy. Sweet potato fries were a tad under-salted. The potato salad was a spot-on Southern-style potato salad and was tasty. I got the sampler (3 meats, 2 sides). I chose the brisket, pulled pork, and ribs with sweet potato fries and collard greens. The brisket tasted like there were parts of it that were over-smoked, with that gassy, artificial taste. The edges had the perfect seasoning. The pulled pork was as described previously. The ribs were chewy and not at all the fall-off-the-bone ribs you would expect. I asked for two sauces, the peach bourbon and the sweet honey BBQ. They were served ice cold, which was unexpected as it brought the temp of the lukewarm meat down even further. The collard greens had the right vinegar level, but they were overly sweet. The collards needed some level of saltiness and perhaps a slight kick of pepper or mild heat.

The dessert: We ordered a flight of three to share and the three ordered were the bourbon pecan pie, the banana pudding and the lemon ice box pie. The bourbon pecan pie filling was absolutely delicious, but the crust was a little overdone. The banana pudding was chock full of banana pieces and was very down-home delicious. The lemon ice box pie was disappointing. It was served somewhere between room temperature and ever so slightly chilled. The crust was underdone and tasted of old grease. The filling tasted more like a very mild key lime, and again, it was just too warm for a lemon ice box pie.

The pour on the beer was small for the price but the cocktail my wife had was the right size for the price.

Overall, the above was about $115, not counting tip for decent service.

Final thoughts: Wicked Weed screwed with an awesome menu from a couple of years ago that featured salmon, Hickory Nut Gap Steaks, and a delicious bucket of chicken. I left longing for the old menu because Wicked Weed just does not cut it as a smokehouse BBQ. This place went from a 5 in food to a 3 in just a couple year's time.

Tip: The best ribs at Harrah's casino is actually at Guy Fieri's. They underprice their ribs but overdeliver with about a rack and a half for the price of a single rack. The meat there is fall-of-the-bone tender and their pretzel bones are far superior to the pretzel appetizer at...

I’m stretching it to give this place a 3. It’s more like a 2-1/2. Late dinner last night at Harrah’s in Cherokee, NC. Once we were seated it was obvious they were short-staffed. It took a while just to get our drink orders in. I know this is a little thing but it plays into the larger picture. I asked for limes for my water. It takes the guy a while to come back with lemons. Before I can point out the mistake he’s in the wind. So I just go up to the bar and get the limes myself. We ordered corn muffins with honey butter for an app and I will say they were very good…but no plates and, again, no one around to ask for any so we have to use our napkins. Finally, the food comes out. My wife had ordered a turkey platter with potato salad and fried okra. She gets tater tots instead of the okra. When we finally catch our waiter to tell him about the error, he says, “oh yeah. We just ran out.” He did offer to bring another side but there was nothing else she wanted, so she refused. I ordered the brisket platter with tots and slaw. The slaw was good. The tots were just ok. They would have been better if they had been more than lukewarm. However the brisket was dry. Like REALLY dry. I had to dump sauce and slaw on it to choke it down. But I was hungry so I pressed on. You may be asking if I expressed any concern to my waiter about any of this. I would have, if I could have ever stopped him in time to say anything. I also knew that having them make any substitutions would just make our wait that much longer and we were tired after a long day. I never saw a manager checking on tables either so there was really no opportunity to do so. Some positives: I liked the overall atmosphere with college football playing everywhere (I’m a sports nut) and the hostess was very nice. But that’s about as much as I can offer up. This was my first (and probably only) visit so maybe it was an off night.But I’m sorry, Wicked Weed. I can’t...

The wait staff was doing the best they could and were super nice and friendly, but the food was spoiled and horrible. My son's chicken tenders were served raw and red in the middle. Our "wedge salad" was an old looking hunk of green leaf salad straight off the shelf of a grocery store not trimmed, old, not washed. The onion on the salad was droopy and rotten. Nothing like the menu description. My avocado slices were so old they tasted like aged cooking oil, and disintegrated in my mouth almost making me sick. The blue cheese dressing tasted like rubber. The sweet potato fries were cold and seemed like they took them from someone's used plate and served them to us. I was shocked we did not get food poisoning. And I am not one to write a bad review. I was petrified to eat two bites of the chicken salad sandwich that came next. I paid for the meal. But I cannot believe this place stays in business. This resort markets itself as high end, but there is no where to eat that I would even categorize as acceptable. The "food court" is just o.k. The Food Network gimicks are a nice touch. But clearly the executives are out of touch. The menus are way too eccentric. Guy F's are too expensive and I question the quality of the chef's work after Wicked Weed for those prices. I won't pay that for raw, dirty, spoiled, and under cooked food. Ramsey needs to do a show and major overhaul on this resort. There is not even door dash here. Someone compared the burgers at Wicked Weed to McDonald's? Please do NOT insult McDonalds. The fast food business is soooo much better and more polished than the...