Review: Smokin' Al's
There are at least two bad things about trying to find good BBQ on Long Island: 1) there are very few BBQ restaurants at all; and 2) Smokin' Al's is probably the best one.
Smokin' Al's, in Bay Shore, gets a fairly good food rating in Zagat. I can only attribute this to the voters never having had BBQ in the South (e.g. parts of North Carolina, Memphis, etc.) or in Texas or Kansas City, or never having been able to make decent BBQ at home.
Smokin' Al's offers a number of different rib types--baby back ribs, St. Louis-style, beef ribs, e.g.--as well as a variety of BBQ sauces. They also offer pulled-pork and beef brisket. Between my wife and me I tried all three rib styles. The baby-backs ribs were decent, but tougher than I'd expect from a BBQ-specialty place. The St. Louis-style and beef ribs were not only tough but bland. For side dishes we had collard greens (awful), baked beans (all right, I suppose), and garlic mashed potatoes (ehh [shoulder shrug]).
There were three of us, and the bill came to over $70.00, so this place ain't the cheapest eats around if you think you're going to find an inexpensive, southern-style BBQ joint.
1 out of 5 stars.
posted by Butter Lover @ 10:55 AM
7 comments
7 Comments:
Smokin Al's is awesome, gets a little crowded, wait is long, but its all worth it. The food is great and the bar is ok to.
I was very excited to try Smokin Al's but.... was very dissapointed in the food. This is not true authentic southern cookin' and the wait was not worth it. I dont understand the people of long island when it comes to good food. This is definitley a potential kitchen nightmare episode. Send in Chef Gordon Ramsey!!!!!!!!
Though it was awesome. bellareea how is the food not authentic BBQ?
I've been coming to Smokin Al’s for years and recently, I brought a few friends to your establishment. Long story short, we ordered your bbq nachos and then afterwards, proceeded to order our main course. I had no idea about your rediculas share charge. So we argued with the waitress and then the "manager at the time" about this. He told me that if all the food came out at the same time, there would be no share charge. So I told him to take the nachos back and bring me a new nachos with our meals. He gave me a dirty look. I told our waitress that if the establishment won't back you up, then you should rethink your employment here. If we get charged a share charge, it's coming out of your tip. PLAIN AND SIMPLE.
If I may offer a suggestion. Add half plates to your menu. You serve a rediculas / non human sized portions. OFFER HALF PLATES FOR US HUMANS!!!! Don't you think this what's wrong with our society today. The need to be gluttonous and gorge ourselves with food. Right now I have dinner for 2 extra people sitting in my refrigerator that will probably not be touched and will be throw out tomorrow. Another waste of food and money. OFFER HUMAN SIZED PORTIONS.
After this experience, I truly feel that I would rather support other local establishments other than Smokin Al's. The food is decent no doubt, but management and policies need to change. I will post this on all your review pages online to tell this story. I'll blog about it, I will shout from the tops of buildings about what happened. Being the owner of a large marketing company here on Long Island, I know that word of mouth is very powerful and there are 4 displeased customers that will complain and continue to complain for the foreseeable future. Ever hear the the customer is always right??? Guess not.
By the way, your collard greens are disgusting. They taste like sour kraut. Just 4 people’s opinions, does that matter to you??
Respectfully,
Dan, Alex, Dan & Dena
Have been to Smokin Als a few times and this time confirmed that I am not a huge fan. Had ribs each time and they seem to not only smell smokey, but also taste smoke; not impressed. Sides wer good.
The food and service was great..but when I ordered my dessert to go..at $8 dollars for a small sliver of the apple crumb I was extremely disappointed..I thought places were suppose to end the meal with a bang..apparently they seemed to fail.
went to smokin al's bbq a couple of days ago. I hadn't been there in a while, had a bad experience with the food last time. Suffice to say, my experience this time was no better. Oh well, I'll just give my business to the other restaurants in the bay shore area.
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