For those that don’t know, this is a chain restaurant that makes good and sometimes really good BBQ, tonight’s dinner was very good. Dinner for one was the pulled pork platter which came on toasted garlic bread and with two sides. I was at a loss of what to choose but thanks to my waiter’s advice, I had the mashed potatoes with gravy and the seasoned steamed broccoli. Both complimented each other and the pulled pork. I would have liked a little more pork on the plate as I wanted to make open faced sandwiches with the garlic bread and the meat and was not able to cover both slices of bread. Would have liked a divot in the potatoes and more gravy - it was very flavorful. The pork was really good, from the smoke ringed skin that tasted like bacon all the way through the juicy cooked meat itself. The garlic bread, I only just liked. I think it’s a premade toasted frozen product that they heat up as needed during meal service. The garlic bread fit the meal but I would have liked a buttered and toasted Brioche bun instead. I’m not sure if this is good or bad but the sports bar/ restaurant vibe with all the BigScreen TVs doesn’t lean towards a BBQ Joint feel but it was clean and there were locals around the huge center of the room bar.

Now the service… It was wonderful. I had Mike as my waiter and though he looked harried (an unfortunate perpetual look that wait staff can’t hide behind a mask with anymore these days) he stopped and answered questions about the menu, what sides would work best, and even asked me how done I wanted the broccoli - cooked with a bit of a snap still, not a chew. Every time he walked by my table he checked on me - while carrying a huge platter with plates of food, walks by, “If you need anything sir, I’ll be right back”. At the end of dinner I voiced my opinion about the serving size of the pulled pork and he apologized (No need - I understand restaurant economics) Mike listened politely to my experience of another Smokey Bones restaurant and was honestly curious about the quality comparison - both really good, again, my opinion. Finally after all that he asked if I was interested in dessert - ironically after our conversation… I closed out the night with a huge creamy banana pudding because I was still just a little peckish and I Loved It.