Smokey's BBQ & Lobster Pound — Restaurant in Trenton

This was a case of a lot of good, some great, and one big miscue. First, the positives. We asked what they recommended when we walked in and the answer was brisket. And wow was that an excellent choice! As a Texan and brisket connoisseur of some note (in my own mind), this was amazingly perfectly done. The two sides we chose were fries, which were obviously hand cut and wonderfully crispy; and the beans, which were good, if just a little on the sweet side for my taste. And there was more smoked meat in the beans then you'd get on a meat plate some places, which made for a nice smoky element to the dish. Now for the big swing and miss: we ordered the house smoked sausage. What we got were hot links. Maybe this is some sort of regional confusion, but I've eaten BBQ all over the place and I have never tasted "smoked sausage" this spicy. Those are called hot links in my experience, to signal that they are super spicy. So if you like spicy hot links I would recommend their smoked sausage. Otherwise, no. For dessert we got a slice of blueberry pie right out of the oven. Not the best Maine blueberry pie we've had, but certainly good. Atmosphere is ultra casual, with mostly outdoor seating. The plasticware was another negative. Not that I mind a casual place having plastic forks and such, but this was the really cheap bendy stuff that could barely accomplish slicing the sausage. Honestly not even adequate. Overall this one is probably 3.5 stars for me, but I'll round up to 4 for the...

This place was great! Okay guys, let me just tell you that your waitress rocks. She can work those tables like a magic show. She has a system and it works. ( sorry i don't know her name) but we were impressed. Now, the food...let me say these words without my mouth watering...SMOKED LOBSTER! I know, I died and gone to heaven. The only issue I had was eating those steamers...SMOKED sounded good, right? but, i didn't know what that long black tail, and small glass of broth that came with the bowl of steamers was for. I didn't eat them! (I know) I wasted all of them, to embarrased to say I didn't know. When arriving home from my trip, sharing my photos of smokye's with my brother, he was in disbelief that I didn't know how to eat steamers. So, he kindly explains. This is for anyone that doesn't know....here you go. Use your fingers to pull off the skin covering the siphon of the clam. Discard with the shells into the shell bowl. Grip the siphon with your fingers, swirl the clam around in the hot broth (it will help to warm up the clams and to dislodge any remaining grit or sand). Dip the clam into melted butter and eat! OMG wish I knew. I have to go back and try again. Its only an hour flight...maybe mid summer I'm will...

First, the menu is exactly the same as Acadia Lobster but with a different business info at the bottom. Either they’re owned by the same business or they shared the word file.

Second, the food was fine. The ambiance was weird when we were there, there is ZERO ventilation where people are ordering (and obviously no one was wearing masks!) so that was weirdly distressing. (We’re vaccinated but it was super strange to be inside a tiny dark room with 10 people who’s vaccinated status was questionable and the door wasn’t even open.)

There were also no trash cans. No where to put used trays. 🤷🏼‍♀️ I had to go back in and ask what to do with stuff at the end of the meals. And the patio needed a good sweeping cause the spiders and ants were intense. The salt, pepper and sauce bottles were are grossly sticky, as were the tables. Had they been really busy I probably wouldn’t mention it since I know everyone is understaffed, but the guys working there were out throwing around a football when we pulled in.

The kid at the counter seemed to be capable and the food came out fast. The fries were soggy. The pulled pork was great and my burger was tasty.

So it was okay. But with lots of things other good places, we’ll skip a...