REVIEW: Smoke & Spice Southern Barbeque
1515 Ottawa Street (Now Located at: 7470 Tecumseh Road East)
Windsor, Ontario Canada
Phone: +1(519) 252-4999
Type of Restaurant: Southern Barbeque Smokehouse
Attire: Casual
Prices: E- $10 M- $18 D- $?
$$
Payment Options:
Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Debit/Eftpos
Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Debit/Eftpos
Hours: Monday-Saturday: 11:00am-10:00pm
Sunday: 1:00pm-8:00pm
Reservations? Not on weekends. First come, First Serve.
Handicap Accessible? Yes
Vegetarian Friendly? No.
Vegan Friendly? No.
RATING:
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Quality of Food: 4/5
Service: 4/5
Originality: 4/5
Atmosphere: 4/5
Vegetarian? Don't bother. This place is meant for the TRUE meat-lover. I headed up to Windsor, Ontario again with my friend Adam. He has a big job interview tomorrow and needed to pay Freed's Clothing a visit. Smoke & Spice is right across from Freed's on Ottawa Street so we figured we'd grab a late lunch. I had never tried Smoke & Spice before, though I've heard lots of hype about it. Adam had been before and figured this would be a good chance for me to check it out.
As soon as you enter the front door, you get a gastropub-type feeling and the fantastic smell of barbeque fills the air. Their long bar features an impressive assortment of local Craft Beers, and even their soda pop is the Southern Ontario "The Pop Shoppe" brand. In research for this review I discovered even their meats are from the local Morton's Wholesale on Walker Road. The local emphasis of this place is remarkable.
We were shortly greeted and told to choose any place in a basically empty restaurant. The menus were brought to us and I loved the fact that it was a straight-forward simple menu. You didn't need forever to decide what to order. It's southern-style barbeque, so the menu features an assortment including: pulled pork, beef brisket, chicken wings, and the quintessential southern cornbread. The menu makes choosing an even easier task by grouping an assortment of food as a shareable menu item. This is the route Adam and I took. "Que" for Two: ribs, pulled pork, smoked chicken wings, and your choice of three sides (we chose potato salad, collard greens, and mac n cheese). Adam ordered cornbread as an additional side as I've never really been a fan (reminds me of cake). Our waitress took our menus away and quickly returned with two serving plates and a HOT sauce to accompany the Heinz Ketchup, Smoke & Spice Chipotle, Smoke & Spice Carolina Mustard, and Smoke & Spice Original sauces already at the table. The waitress noticed my plate was dirty so took it back and brought me out another plate. Seeing as the other plate was dirty I inspected this one... yup, also had small bits of caked on food. I politely asked for another one and the waitress apologized sincerely and quickly replaced the plate.
It wasn't very long before our food was brought out. The amount of food was shocking considering the very affordable price. Adam and I both found the chicken to be somewhat dry. The ribs were fantastic and fell right off the bone, and the pulled pork lacked flavour, but that was easily fixed with the AMAZING sauces provided. Let me tell you, I LOVE spice-- but the HOT Sauce is just that HOT! Like spicier than asian siracha sauce. It is hard to pick a favourite sauce but I'd probably say the chipotle (add the hot sauce to it for an extra kick). Adam agrees.
The sides were unexpectedly the highlight of the meal. Potato Salad tasted fresh, collard greens were good (the pulled beef in there was a surprise), corn bread (meh, Adam polished them off), but the Mac n Cheese... let me tell you-- the BEST Mac n Cheese I have ever tasted. The macaroni noodles are perfectly cooked in a mozzarella-bechamel tasting sauce, topped with cheddar, and baked in an oven to give it a beautiful melted cheese "crust". Honestly, even though it seems something so simple, it was inexplicably good and I would highly recommend you order it to see what I mean.
Our dishes were quickly cleared, and we were asked about dessert. I was curious, as dessert isn't on the menu. It's a verbal dessert menu which today consisted of Turtle Chocolate Mudcake and Sweet Potato Cheesecake. Both sounded delicious and interesting, I had no choice but to pass. The "Que" for two had filled us both up.
Overall, this place a great addition to the Windsor and Essex County dining scene. No need to head to the Southern United States to get an authentic tasting, home-styled meal. The addition of great service, an emphasis on local meats and bevvies, and an affordable bill make this place well worth your visit.
As soon as you enter the front door, you get a gastropub-type feeling and the fantastic smell of barbeque fills the air. Their long bar features an impressive assortment of local Craft Beers, and even their soda pop is the Southern Ontario "The Pop Shoppe" brand. In research for this review I discovered even their meats are from the local Morton's Wholesale on Walker Road. The local emphasis of this place is remarkable.
 | |
| SMOKE & SPICE'S Amazing Sauces |
We were shortly greeted and told to choose any place in a basically empty restaurant. The menus were brought to us and I loved the fact that it was a straight-forward simple menu. You didn't need forever to decide what to order. It's southern-style barbeque, so the menu features an assortment including: pulled pork, beef brisket, chicken wings, and the quintessential southern cornbread. The menu makes choosing an even easier task by grouping an assortment of food as a shareable menu item. This is the route Adam and I took. "Que" for Two: ribs, pulled pork, smoked chicken wings, and your choice of three sides (we chose potato salad, collard greens, and mac n cheese). Adam ordered cornbread as an additional side as I've never really been a fan (reminds me of cake). Our waitress took our menus away and quickly returned with two serving plates and a HOT sauce to accompany the Heinz Ketchup, Smoke & Spice Chipotle, Smoke & Spice Carolina Mustard, and Smoke & Spice Original sauces already at the table. The waitress noticed my plate was dirty so took it back and brought me out another plate. Seeing as the other plate was dirty I inspected this one... yup, also had small bits of caked on food. I politely asked for another one and the waitress apologized sincerely and quickly replaced the plate.
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| MAIN: "Que" for 2 - Ribs, pulled pork, smoked chicken wings |
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| Sides: Mac n Cheese; Collard Greens; Potato Salad; Cornbread |
Our dishes were quickly cleared, and we were asked about dessert. I was curious, as dessert isn't on the menu. It's a verbal dessert menu which today consisted of Turtle Chocolate Mudcake and Sweet Potato Cheesecake. Both sounded delicious and interesting, I had no choice but to pass. The "Que" for two had filled us both up.
Overall, this place a great addition to the Windsor and Essex County dining scene. No need to head to the Southern United States to get an authentic tasting, home-styled meal. The addition of great service, an emphasis on local meats and bevvies, and an affordable bill make this place well worth your visit.
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5 comments:
Thanks. I think I'll try it out.
Can you compare it to Tunnel BBQ?
Mike, you can't even compare it to Tunnel BBQ. Smoke & Spice is definitely in a category of its own. Much more affordable than Tunnel BBQ too.
I'm surprised that you think Smoke & Spice is better than Tunnel BBQ. Both times I've been to Smoke & Spice I found the ribs to be a bit overdone for me, whereas TBQ's are juicy and meaty. I agree with you on the price though, and the sides at Smoke & Spice are to die for. I agree with you, best mac and cheese EVER. I am intrigued about the sweet potatoe cheesecake too! Next time I'll have to leave room for dessert.
@Mike... you should definitely try them out and i bet you will surely go for it one more time ! :)
spice smoke
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