A few weeks ago, I got to sample a bite of the barbecue at Evans’ newest barbecue joint, Smoke & Barrels.
That one bite just wasn’t enough. So, a few Sundays later, I was back, family in tow, to enjoy a full-on barbecue lunch. And when I say full-on, I mean it: Smoke & Barrels is the real deal. The restaurant smokes all its meats in house, makes all its sauces, and throws fun new items onto its menu on the regular.
As we sat down at a rustic wooden table near the restaurant’s gorgeous green tile statement wall, I already knew what to order. The menu offers generous salads piled with roasted meats; snacks, from fried pickles or okra to tots and onion pieces; plates of BBQ pork (smoked “a real long time”), chicken, brisket and more; sandwiches; and even meats by the ½ pound, including tri-tip beef, sausage, turkey and a chicken salad. Want all the meats? There’s a plate of that too, for just $99, including fixins. Those fixins range from a broccoli rice casserole or a Brunswick stew to potato salad and mac and cheese. Plus, there’s a kids menu and desserts: nanner puddin and Mississippi mud pie.
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The menu is BBQ-plus, and the restaurant is that too. It’s rustic, with lots of wood accents and burnt-wood signs featuring — what else? — a pig (my daughter had fun trying to count up on the pigs she could find), but also upscale, with moody greens accents and striking light fixtures. You can order at the counter or tableside, and there’s a huge bar, with several TVs featuring various sports.
But before my husband started getting too into the football, we had to make some decisions. My choices had to be the queso — which is housemade and served with potato chips instead of tortilla chips. And I decided to go full-on Southern with the Natty, a sandwich piled high with pulled pork, pimento cheese and the restaurant’s signature Natty BBQ sauce on grilled toast.
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Meanwhile, my husband ordered the melt featuring tri-tip beef, and my daughter chose the kids pulled pork sandwich.
If you’ve never had chips with queso (and I never have), this is one dish you must try. Smoke & Barrels’ version features thick housemade chips, seasoned with tajin and cooked perfectly — not a hint of grease — and served with a jalapeño queso. I loved it even more when I added a bit of the raw salsa that came with it — chopped tomatoes, onions, pepper and parsley. It had some bite to it, wasn’t too salty, and had a great balance of spice and creaminess and freshness.
To make our meal even more fun, we decided to order a flight of all seven sauces to taste and compare. Along with the Natty, which is a classic sweet and savory tomato-based sauce, there’s a truly hot jalapeno BBQ sauce, a thin vinegar sauce, a savory mustard sauce, a smoky Kansas BBQ sauce, a tangy white sauce, and a sweet and dark honey BBQ sauce. It’s a great way to enjoy your personal favorite but also try out something new.
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Know this: Whatever you order, expect a lot of food. The Natty was two enormous slabs of toast, piled high with pulled pork and creamy pimento cheese. The bread was gently toasted and buttery, and in every bite, you got the rich flavor of the pork and the creamy cheese. It also came with a little cup of pickled red onion, which was perfect on the sandwich to give it a little extra tang. My side was the collards, which were nicely cooked and just a bit spicy.
While I didn’t try my husband’s sandwich, I did taste some of the tri-tip alone, and some of my daughter’s pork. Even without the sauces or any of the accompaniments, I loved that all the meats themselves were so tender and had so much flavor, thanks to the chef’s exclusive mix of seasonings and from the in-house hardwood smoke.
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We ended up bringing home three carryout boxes of food — enough for lunch the next day — plus I made some of my own pulled pork at home so I could finish all the sauces. Smoke & Barrels is a real find — homemade taste and flavor, in a time when lots of BBQ tends to rely on smoke out of a bottle or bottled sauces. Like me, you may find one bite will have you coming back for more.
Make your reservation
3118 William Few Parkway No. 9, Evans
Entrée cost: $11.99 to $25.99
