Kue'd Smokehouse — Restaurant in Waukee

The first time I went here the meat was so good I couldn't wait to go back. Most recently it seemed mostly bland and I wasn't pleased with their process.

You order/pay at the counter, then you're led to the back where you wait for the food to be finished. It seems to be a nice idea in theory, an extra customer service layer of you will... But the actuality is just awkward.

The people in the kitchen are facing you but are obviously busy preparing food. They have a person on the same side as you but he is facing the kitchen (with his back to you) so it feels super awkward standing where you've been advised to. When I went, there was also a young lady with the guy that had his back to me. Due to their proximity and interactions I got the impression she was a friend or girlfriend rather than employee.

Then the sauces... When my order was ready the guy finally faces me, shows me my order and asks what kind of sauce I would like. I don't know any of their sauces, especially not by name, so it was not easy to answer. I had called my order in and was in a hurry to get back with it so I didn't take the time to sample any (which probably would have been ok). I couldn't remember which we liked when we went before (the first time we dined in and had access to all the sauces at our table so we could try them). I thought it was a sweet sauce so he pointed out two sweet options. I asked for both and he grabbed two of each. That was nice but I had ordered two pounds of meat and was feeding several people so I asked for more. This is where it got weird. He was kind and did give more, but it was as though he were sneaking / hiding it like he'd get in trouble for giving a customer an adequate amount of sauce.

I get that they don't want their employees stocking customers fridges with a lifetime supply of free sauce. Sure there should be a standard (maybe it's 2 sauces per pound of meat?) But it seems counterintuitive to make a customer feel awkward or guilty for asking for sauce. In general it is difficult to estimate how much you will use. I suppose they could have an informative "sauce to meat ratio" sign indicating the typical amount needed or something like that... Just... Again the way it was done made it feel...

Five stars because I do not think one strange interaction should tell you anything about how much you will love the staff and all of the food. I called for a to go order. Called at 6:45. The person on the phone was pleasant. Very efficient and kind. I told the person I would be making one order but paying for the meals separately. The person was lovely and said no problem. Repeated my order back to me. Everything was great, even told me when will you be here? We can have it as soon as 5-10 mins. I said our drive is 15. Great! Upon arriving to the restaurant at 7:10ish, there was a small line of people waiting to order and maybe four tables seated eating. The man at the counter “greeted” us and I told him my name for the to go order and I will be paying for one meal and my spouse will pay for the remainder. His reply “ oh this would be a lot easier if you told us ahead of time, sorry(which was not said with any meaning) I’ll have to adjust everything” the tone was clearly annoyance even though my tone was polite. I said “ I did tell them, no problem” his demeanor was so off putting. I was very thrown off by the whole interaction because my other experience was completely welcoming and amazing. His attitude and abrasive approach to the interaction stood out. The folks in the back were amazing. The young guy that handed me my meal was so sweet, he opened each box to be sure everything was right. Very happy with that and the kitchen looked as though they worked as a team. I don’t know what happened with the man at the front but it appeared as though he was just sick of his job. I did not hear the whole interaction from my spouse as he paid for his portion of the bill but from my understanding, it was also off for lack of better wording. The food was great. If I were to tell the man in front- Please don’t meet people with harshness. I have a job in client services too. Remind yourself this is only a job, you don’t need to take frustrations out on customers. We only wanted our dinner and to be out of your hair. P.S. to the public- Please try the corn...

I've been to Kue'd Smokehouse twice now, and the food was excellent both trips. Their ribs are delicious. In fact, they were probably the best ribs I've ever had. The staff was also very friendly—and I was there during the busy lunch rush both trips.

**EDIT (06/06/19): I want to edit my review to thank the staff at Kue'd for being so great with my wife's peanut, tree nut, and egg allergies. My wife has never been able to eat a meal at a local restaurant before because of how difficult it is to try to safely navigate menus with food allergies. In most cases, local restaurants just don't have resources to provide this information. We understand this, so we usually don't try to risk it. However, Shad and Angie were not only knowledgeable about food allergies, they took the time to address all our questions thoroughly.

Before visiting the restaurant, we talked to Angie on the phone for 10 minutes while she went over what was and wasn't safe for my wife to eat. This level of service goes above and beyond pretty much anything I've ever experienced before. Once we got to the restaurant, my wife had a couple more questions, and Shad was more than happy to help. We caught Shad just as he was getting back from catering all day. Despite the fact he was probably exhausted (I know I would be), he didn't meet our questions with frustration or try to rush by. He patiently addressed our questions until we were ready to order.

Our meal was delicious and incredibly affordable. Kue’d has better prices than most comparable sit-down restaurants. More than that, my wife felt completely safe eating it. Dining out is something most people take for granted, but for us, this was a special occurrence. For this reason, Kue’d has now become my favorite restaurant in Waukee—or anywhere else for that matter. Thank you so much to Shad, Angie, and the rest of the Kue’d staff. You guys are the best, and my wife and I can’t...