Smoke & Fire BBQ — Restaurant in Siesta Key

I visited Smoke & Fire when they opened Sat 6/14 for the 1st time. It was fairly quiet for the first 30min, then it got busy with a line to the door. People need to know a couple Very Important things before coming: 1st, they are Only Open 3 days a week (Fri/Sat/Sun). Fridays they don't open until 5: 00pm, this is why they Don't have Brisket on Fridays. Instead, they do other specials to make up for it. *(SO DON'T GO ON FRIDAY IF YOU WANT THE BRISKET, LOL). On Sat & Sun the Brisket is 1st come 1st serve until it runs out *(so is everything but the brisket will go first)! 2nd, EVERYTHING is Made in House "Homemade" *(other than soda, water, & wine).

Now onto the Review: I started with the Inferno platter of 4 meats, for which I tried the brisket, quarter chicken, pulled pork, & pork ribs. It came with 2 sides, 1 mini cornbread muffin, 1 homemade pickle & some pickled onions. They also have three sauces to choose from: 1 Spicy, 1 Sweet, & 1 Signature. I ordered 2 additional sides for a total of 4. They were the bourbon beans, potato salad, coleslaw, & smoked gouda mac. However, I did not try their collard greens, only because I'm not a collard greens guy lol. With that said I'm of the belief that the sides are just as important as the meat at any barbecue joint. And I was glad to hear they're all homemade! All 4 sides were Very Good, but I would personally rank them: #1 Coleslaw *(diced not shredded coleslaw, with a combination creamy & vinegar base. Which was a perfect balance for people that may only like one or the other), #2 Bourbon Beans *(You MUST like/love bourbon to order these beans, because Bourbon is the predominant flavor. Something I liked & felt went very well with all their meats), #3 Gouda Mac *(nice fat noodles & really good flavor. I just wish it was a bit more creamy & less pasty. Which can be hard to do with homemade Mac & especially depending on the Gouda used), #4 Potato Salad *(It's not at 4 because it was bad. I actually liked it quite a bit, but just felt the mustard/vinegar flavor was a bit too dominant). Now for the Meats, they All were Amazing, but I would rank them like this: #1 Brisket *(It is Not Lean lol, it is Perfectly moist & juicy & fatty & spectacular! Some of the best I've ever had in Florida!), #2 Pork Ribs *(they are cooked to perfection the way pork ribs are Supposed to be cooked. Meaning, they have "tooth" or "chew" to the meat. Something anybody that knows real competition ribs, would understand is important. This does not mean they are tough! They just don't fall off the bone or melt in your mouth like brisket, because they're not supposed to. However, they pull completely off the bone clean with your teeth & taste fabulous as well!), #3 Chicken *(smoked chicken done right. It was super moist & super tender. However, if you're a skin eater, you may not like this skin. Because, their skin is not completely rendered to crispy. Instead it is still a bit fatty, which is why the chicken is so moist. Also with their dry rub on the skin, some might find it overly salty or hard to eat because of it. With that said, it's because of how the skin is prepped & cooked, that makes their smoked chicken so damn moist & flavorful!), #4 Pulled Pork *(again not 4 because I didn't like it. Very flavorful, very moist, & very tender. I really only put it at 4, because pulled pork is easier to find cooked right & good tasting other places too. Unfortunately you can't say that about the other 3 meats). One of the best things about All 4 meats, was that they were flavorful & delicious on their own, and did not need any sauce to be good. As real barbecue should be! The sauce should never be a necessity, just a compliment. And All 3 sauces complimented their meats very well. Also their Cornbread w/ unique butter, desserts, smoked salmon dip, & homemade pickles were All Very Delicious!

I CAN'T WAIT TO GO BACK AND TRY MORE!!! *(ESPECIALLY DINOSAUR BONES & PORK BELLY BURNT ENDS! BECAUSE OTHER THAN BRISKET. THEY ARE TWO OF MY FAVORITE THINGS IN BARBECUE & ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND OR...

So, I’ll start by apologizing for not posting any pictures. Honestly, I started tasting and couldn’t stop. Before I realized no pics, there was nothing left to photograph!

Earlier this year, we drove out to Texas and did a BBQ crawl through Louisiana, Alabama, Houston, Austin, Lockhart and San Antonio. We ordered the same thing at every spot and tried them all. Some great spots out there on another level.

Today we gave Smoke & Fire a try and I can tell you, they are on fire legit. As long as they keep doing whatever they did today, I would say they are right there with some of the best.

Brisket was super flavorful, moist with nice seasoning. We got a mixture from the point and flat without even asking which was awesome. Cooked to just the right temp and rested properly before slicing. Served at proper temp and not cold. Not oily. If I could change one thing, a little more crust on the bark maybe. When you wrap, it’s normal for the bark to soften and I think the benefit outweighs the softer bark.

Pulled pork awesome flavor. Nice bark and flavorful throughout. Well seasoned. Tastes like they add tallow to the pork after pulled to enhance the flavor and they don’t over do it.

Chicken was good. Skin could have been a little crispier but well seasoned and meat was moist and flavorful.

Ribs were the star of the show I think. And I’m normally not a big rib guy. These were barked up nice! Great flavor. Fantastic dry rub. Nice bite with a little kick at the end. Really, really good. I would bet these would place in any Texas rib competition.

Sides pretty good. Beans maybe a little heavy on the bourbon, but nice change from the overly sweet beans you normally get. Potato salad was well done. Collards I really enjoyed. I like them a little undercooked and flavorful so these were spot on. Mac and cheese looked good but I didn’t have any due to allergens.

Place is large and the covered outdoor porch is nice. Parking great.

I saw last week the owner was out in Austin exploring. Que out there is on another level and I’ll say you guys are very close. Whatever you did today, just keep doing that. If you have to make any adjustments, keep them minor and don’t ruin a great thing. I’m definitely headed back. Hands down, THE best BBQ in the Sarasota...

I had to pause for a week before writing this review. I don't at all want to hurt a small business knowing that I myself am a small business owner as a chef and baker.

I have to be honest and what I ate at Smoke & fire was absolutely the worst inedible bbq I've ever eaten.

I arrived early before opening on a Friday night and was met by what I now would say was the owner's son.

Very pleasant young man who was putting the final touches around the restaurant before opening.

I had mentioned how I came to try the brisket that I read so much about.

He replied " I'm sorry but we don't have brisket on Fridays".

I had to think to myself " you're closed Monday through Thursday each week?" And you don't have time on Thursday each week to prepare the brisket for Fridays?

That as a chef didn't register to me. Why wouldn't you in those days off prepare one of your signature dishes to be available when you open on Fridays?

So I ordered the 3 meat and 2 side combo at the counter

Chicken,ribs and pulled pork with their 14 hour bourbon baked beans and coleslaw

I sat on the porch and I realized right away the off-putting smell of cigar smoke beginning to spread to the BBQ space. As someone that never smoked this was really an unpleasant experience.

The food: The BBQ has a salt rub on the meat that is so overpowering that even though the meat is tender as salt breaks down the tough tendons etc, it renders the taste not consumable to someone that doesn't use a lot of salt in their day to day diet.

The chicken was dry which is easy to do with smoking chicken.

The 14 hour bourbon baked beans still had a full strength of bourbon that after a forkful I had to put to the side.

The coleslaw was an average tasting coleslaw that you would find at any fast food type place.

I apologize to the owner for this 1star review but I have to be honest with what I had on that particular day and time.

The food was reasonably priced at around $30...