Smokin' Oak Wood-Fired Pizza and Taproom — Restaurant in Washington

I can appreciate any pizzeria that tries to cook as authentically as possible. Smokin Oak is a brand new pizzeria in the area, but it is attached to a franchise, which made me hesitate to even try the pizza to begin with. This place reminds me a lot of Blaze Pizza and Mod Pizza. Even though I don’t drink alcohol, I can appreciate that they have a taproom as well. It adds to a very nice social environment with friends and/or family.

Of all the pizzas I’ve had in Washington, Missouri I would put this place at the top of my list of favorites. I do have a few criticisms, but nothing that would turn me away from trying this place again. It is my tradition to attempt any pizzerias offering of the classic Margherita pizza, which is the classic Neapolitan style pizza offered at any self-respecting pizzeria. One thing that lacks significantly is the availability of fresh mozzarella. Many restaurants in the US are bringing this staple of Italian cuisine into their offerings and it isn’t even that expensive to find fresh mozzarella. Having fresh mozzarella from Bel Gioioso or Galbani would immediately improve their offering substantially. Shredded mozzarella just does not give the same flavor profile that one hopes to get from this pizza, especially if it’s highly pasteurized and extremely dense.

The only other criticism I have is the handling of their dough. The dough itself tastes great, and has the perfect Ratio from what I can see. I don’t however appreciate how they press the dough down and handle it it shouldn’t appear as a thin membrane by the time you are attempting to launch it into the brick oven. I ideally you wanna work your way from the center pushing all the air out to the edges so that you have a nice soft and crunchy outer crust. Also, tossing so that the dough spreads out as a disk parallel to the floor is better than a perpendicular toss because it allows for a more uniform distribution outward and does not create an oblong shape.

In summary, adding fresh mozzarella and handling the dough better would significantly improve the pizza offering. The sauce seems fine but I would recommend switching to something like Cento which is more flavorful if you are using canned tomato sauce. That being said it’s still a great pizzeria, better than anything I’ve tried so far in this area. I’m always in the search for a great pizzeria so that I can take a break from making my own at home. I thoroughly enjoy it, but it’s nice to have others do the work for you and still get a reasonably...

Great building nice atmosphere but tables were unclean. Also music was generally fitting the atmosphere but would have odd songs occasionally. Also the styrophome boxes need to be accessible to customers instead of us waiting in line for them. Also no one working was smiling, and manager just hovers around them. It's probably just because their new but he could be cleaning tables or something other than making workers nervous. I'm sure that will change as time goes on though.

The pizza is good, only complaints I have is they should have some sort of dipping sauce to use for the crust as it's quite plain. Also the pepperoni is so big that it covers the whole slice. The first peice i grabbed the pepperoni, sausage and cheese all immediately fell off because the size of it and the fact they put it under the cheese. We got cinnamon knots which were $6. They are basically pizza crust with glaze on it. They really need to put the cinnamon in the dough or at least butter then drizzle the dough before cooking, otherwise it's tasteless without the glaze. Also 90% of the tables had 2 people but they give 3 sticks instead of 4, which makes it hard to split. Just give 4, makes more sense. Also put the sticks in the corners of the bowl instead of just tossing them in. Top stick can't reach the glaze because the others block them, so it doesn't get much on it.

Edit: I am somewhat offended by the i prospect of dipping my...

We ordered the Urban appetizer with jalapeño, which was very delicious. I will probably just order that next time, it was just that good. We each got a pizza and split them; they were personal sized. Buffalo Chicken and Smokey Dokey. They were very good. However I'd have put more toppings on it. The crust was DELICIOUS and everything was Perfectly baked!!! The alcohol wall was very unique. We did not partake however we sat right next to it to observe and it's actually pretty genius. Especially for the restaurant. I also wanted to mention, we tried their mandarin juice drink next to the tea, and dang was it good. If you like HI-C then you'll love that juice! Less syrupy and still tasty. The atmosphere is where it gets the 5 stars. A beautiful place, and yet with it being crowded, my other half and I could still hear one another. The concept of ordering at the counter and having it brought to the customer really works for this joint. Because the kitchen is so open you see everything that goes on, it almost makes you feel like your in your own kitchen...