Ole Smokehouse in Madrid — Restaurant in Town of Madrid

Growing up in the Northeast, barbecue is a flavor of potato chips. It's the brown sauce that goes on chicken or burgers before charring them on a propane grill. Down South they know you only get barbecue if you see a woodpile out back. Since I first saw that woodpile out back the Ole Smokehouse I knew they were the real deal. Everything that passed through their smoker on the way to my plate turned to mouthwatering gold every time. The brisket, the wings, the pulled pork all melt in your mouth and leave you tasting & smelling like a campfire.

But I hadn't made my way out there in years, and I was shocked and scandalized to hear from coworkers that their fare had taken a turn for the worse recently: slow service, overcooked (or undercooked) food, no sense of concern when they complained. I decided to head a fact-finding mission to Madrid to investigate.

The bartender greeted me within a minute of sitting at the bar. She immediately poured me a beer. I ordered the hillbilly burger rare with twice baked potato and an incredible appetizer, deep fried pork belly with cajun ranch. The pork belly was perfectly crisp, melting in the mouth, perfectly paired with the zesty dipping sauce. Ordering rare in the North Country usually gets you either medium or well-done, so I was pleasantly surprised to bite through their incomparable pulled pork into a red-centered half-pounder patty. The generous twice baked potato featured cheese, bacon, scallions, and sour cream: not the prettiest presentation I've seen, but looks don't matter when it tastes like heaven.

Rumors of the Ole Smokehouse's decline have been grossly exaggerated. Everything is as good as...

Maybe it's me but when I hear the name Madrid I think of the movie Wild Hogs and this restaurant is just as note worthy! You can smell the delectable smoked meats in the parking lot (the smoker is out back). It's a hopping little place. The beef brisket was by far my favorite but the pulled pork was moist and flavorful. I had the baked beans (really good) and the smoked rice (really enjoyed it). The building itself reminds you of the wild west. The staff was friendly and attentive without being pushy. We both had combination plates which was more food than I could eat. I had the chicken and beef and my dining companion had pork and beef. Out in the middle of n no where but soooooooo worth the drive. (Will do again).

Ok, so Part Two and this is equally as "wow" as the first. After eating there we decided to have them do the food for our hunting camp wedding and wow just wow is all I can say. Our guests LOVED the food as did we. We had them prepare the food (pulled pork and beef brisket) and had a friend pick up the food on the way to the wedding. The food was hot and well prepared. We had ample food for the price and it was tasty. So I DOUBLE recommend them - whether you're eating in or whether you get them to prepare food for an occasion they do not disappoint.

All...

Others tell me it’s a decent place for dinner, so I’ve tried it a third time - but again it was another bad experience. We both ordered prime rib - hers was supposed to be well done, but it came rare. My prime rib was cooked correctly, but it was the toughest piece of meat I’ve ever been served - I even struggled to get it cut into pieces with the steak knife. Her green beans came to the table cold and uncooked, so her whole plate had to go back to the kitchen. I waited for her plate to come back, so that I could eat with her, but after ten minutes I ate and finished my dinner. The waitress asked if I wanted dessert, so I ordered some hoping to eat it while she ate her dinner which still hadn’t come back. Her plate and my dessert came and the waitress cleared all my dishes and took all of our utensils, so there we sat without any way to eat any of our food. When we finally got the waitresses attention, we explained that we were not having a good dining experience - but she didn’t really care, wouldn’t even consider adjusting the bill. We ended out taking more than two hours for this dinner. Strike three - we will never go there again. If you haven’t been to the ole Smokehouse before, don’t set your...