Smoke Joint Catskills — Restaurant in Town of Rockland

My wife and I were traveling from NY to Cornell in Ithaca. We were halfway done our 4-5 hour trip when we saw a giant billboard sign on 17 West. On a whim, we decided to give it a go because we needed a break. We were skeptical at first but we were delightfully surprised by the experience we had. The owner moved here from Brooklyn, bringing a smoker purchases many years ago and still running in top form, at least by how good the food tasted.

We ordered the half rack of ribs and the pulled pork sandwich. There is outdoor seating available and you order in the front. They have a single bathroom located inside the building. The food was ready within ten minutes and half of it disappeared before I got to take the photo! Both options were delicious and we were tempted to order the whole menu.

The owner came by our table and the other guests to ensure everything was taken care of for our meal. We had such a pleasant conversation and were happy to support the local business.

We are planning to go back again on our way back from Ithaca to NY. It's a great pit stop if you are traveling to Cornell. I'd highly recommend stopping by here, especially for all the students traveling back and...

We arrived right at opening time and was greeted with welcoming smile. I’m not a huge fan of barbecue usually and am a very picky eater myself, but was very pleasantly surprised myself with the order that we got. It was so good I basically inhaled the 3 ribs my stomach could afford to enjoy. The side we got was mac & cheese (was a bit soggy but still creamy, still good,) corn on the cob (the mayo sauce on top was so good, i wanted to pack the remaining half to go so badly) and corn bread (my husband finished the whole thing by himself) oh and the cole slaw- divine! You can tell they are a family business and everyone is chipping in. The person working the register was so nice and sweet, she walked to us twice to make sure I got my sweeten iced tea. One more reason for me to support them, beside the very significant reason that this is the best food experience of our long weekend trip in the Catskill area! Will make a visit next time we go through the area for sure!

Oh and the bathroom is clean! You never know nowadays. Have both indoor and outdoor seating area to choose from. I’m already wishing I bought some for to-go, sitting here writing...

Stopped in yesterday while traveling home from the NYC area. It was a cooler day, which kept me inside and missing the nice seating area and pavilion-esque structure outside. You can tell this is a smaller, family run operation by the character of the property; this is not a commercial style where you get smoked meat done in several hundred pound increments. It is a smaller homemade batch style where the pit master can improvise and adapt as changes in the wood and the meat keep them on their toes. There was a nice smoke ring on the meat which was refreshing to see; evidently I wasn’t in love with the spice rub on the bark of the brisket but that is 100% my specific palette, and not reflective of quality- there’s a different spice blend for every person. I also found the sauces available a little on the sweet side for me, whereas I prefer a smokier style but they were certainly still fine for use with the brisket and BBQ dry rub fries I had.

I think this property would be best enjoyed on a hot summer day where you could sit outside, but even the second to last weekend open I still had a quality meal at a...