Recently Old Towne Orange lost their BBQ joint, but fear not because the closing of Beach Pit BBQ brought the opening of Smoqued in the same exact location. Whereas Beach Pit was fast casual, Smoqued is a traditional sit down restaurant. Smoqued opened at the beginning of the month so we gave them a couple of weeks to work out there bugs and visited during the third week of operation to celebrate some exciting news with my parents. News the rest of you will have to wait to hear about.
Unfortunately I only got pictures of our appetizer and the food I ordered. We started our dinner off with the Avocado Fries, which were exactly what one would think they are, battered avocado wedges, seasoned, and served with sriracha ranch. Everyone agreed that the avocados were bland, probably due to them not being fully ripe, which is most likely an issue with the need for the avocado to be firm enough to batter and fry. It was a bit of a disappointment since we are a family that loves avocados, we probably wouldn’t order these again due to lack of taste.
Mrs. DanGarion and my mom ordered the Texas Brisket Chili, if you like your chili the way they make it in Texas (without beans) you’d probably love this stuff, it is chili con carne as it is meant to be, but for these Californians it was just too meaty with nothing to break it up. The cornbread that was served with it was great though, with just the right amount of sweetness and cooked just perfect to where it wasn’t dry!
My dad and I both ordered meat dishes with Brisket, I also got Baby Back Ribs. The Brisket had the required smoke ring and good flavor (I prefer my smoked meat without sauce and appreciated that they serve their meats with no sauce) that didn’t require the need for BBQ sauce, although it is there for those that need more flavor. The ribs where very meaty, and they weren’t the typical just a bit over cooked fall off the bone style that many people are accustomed to at restaurants, they required a little bit of bite to pull from the bones and had the texture one would expect from competition style ribs. The rub provided a good amount of flavor that again didn’t require the need of additional BBQ. I did have a couple of issues with our meals though. First the food temperature was poor for both of my meats, the Brisket and Ribs were barely warm which frustrated me. Also considering the price for two meats $17.99 I would have liked to have more meat than two slices of Brisket and 5 Pork Ribs. The sides I ordered were the Amazing Mac and Cheese and Deviled Eggs with Pulled Pork. I felt the portion size of the mac and cheese was way off (it was a 6″ skillet) and it just didn’t really do much for me for something that actually had the name “Amazing”. The Deviled Eggs with Pulled Pork were the star when it came to the sides.
All in all our meal was about average but could still have been improved with a couple tweaks here and there. I’m looking forward to seeing if Smoqued is able to work out the kinks, but after you have had some of the best in other parts of the country it takes more than average to really get me going.
[xrr rating=2.5/5]
Smoqued BBQ
128 N Glassell St
Orange, CA 92866
(714) 633-7427
9 thoughts on “Smoqued California Barbeque – Orange”
Did you guys have any problems with the way it was served? Both my mom and dad complained about the paper it is served on as when you cut up the meat, you end up cutting through the paper and eventually eating paper.
Honestly I tend to be pretty barbaric when I eat BBQ and I just use my fingers. My dad didn’t seem to have any issues but I could see how it could pose a problem.
I still think Lou’s in HB is the best BBQ around.
That’s just because you haven’t been to Blake’s Place.
On a side note, this comment inspired me to go to Blakes tonight and I just got back!
Dan I agree with you. The BBQ in other parts of the country are just so much better and cheaper! Its hard to get excited about BBQ in S. Cal. I also agree that Blakes is probably the best it gets. I liked Smoqued, but probably because it has a cool vibe and our waiter was really good. Not really because of the food. I admit that I am trying to like this place so much because I can tell they are trying. But the food is average at best, although creative. Price was on the high side. With 2 people and about 4 cocktails total, our bill was close to 90 bucks with tip!
I see you finally tried Steer Inn. I am glad. But you veered off course a bit. I think I told you only the bacon wrapped filets are good. I also like the Fish & Chips there. Everything else is just OK. Go back and get those! It used to be a lot cheaper, so that made it better too.
Still want you to try the Carnitas tacos at Carnitas Los Reyes in Orange on Tustin / Palm. Make sure you order the Carnitas, and the chorizo is awesome and different than everyone else. Buche is awesome, but not sure if you will order that! Their beans are the best in OC in my opinion as well.
I think I also mentioned for you to go to Mi Casa on 17th in Costa Mesa. But once again, you can not stray from the advice (ha ha), Only the crispy hard tacos are good, chips and salsa, beans and rice, and fish tacos are good. Believe it or not, they have really good iced tea. Its the Standard for Tacos Dorodos I compare everything to. You better like cheese too. If not, you are screwed. Try these places please and report back.
Oh, and I can tell you where to avoid. Slapfish. How this got best fish in chips is beyond me. Hake fish is gross. Its somewhat fishy. And there is so much WEIRD batter on it. Its like 1/2 inch of fried bread all over the fish and so much of it. Its so yeasty that it’s bitter. There are so many great reviews on this place and they are creative and I wanted to like this place due to that , and it also won the best of OC Weekly 2012 for Fish & Chips. I don’t get it. It was awful and expensive. The lobster lollipop has only enough meat to fill a teaspoon and its $10.00. I felt ripped. Just thought I would save you and your readers on this one!
Best Fish & Chips is Steer Inn & Lazy Dog. I like that tempura batter at Steer in because it is unusually crispy and has this corn like taste. I know you didn’t like it on the onion rings (which I loved) but maybe you will like it on the cod (fish & chips HAS to be COD or else it sucks)
Keep on blogging. I enjoy your write ups. I hope you try the places I recommend, and maybe even the place I don’t and write about it! I really want you to try some of the places I love.
Oh, and I have been on a quest for best bar nachos? You would think it would be easy. But its not. So far Pineapple Hill Grill in Tustin is the best. But I know there has to be better. It’s actually hard to find. So please let me know if you know of a place!
I can only speak for myself but I love comments and conversation on my blog and other blogs, it’s what builds an audience.
I really want to like Smoqued, so I’m going to give them a couple months and try it again soon enough. They are trying and I can appreciate that, I’m sure they want to be better than what I had.
We go to Steer Inn every once in awhile when we are looking for a cheap steak, I like it for what it is. I’ll had to try the bacon wrapped filet next time, but the special cut does fine with me.
I’ve been to Carnitas Los Reyes a couple times, it’s just down the street from my house, loved the breakfast burrito and the tacos are pretty good. Carnitas are always delicious, I guess I should write about it one of these times!
We’ve been to Mi Casa twice, I can’t remember if I have got the hard tacos, but I know that is what my wife gets because she loves Americanized Mexican food with cheese and you can’t really get much closer to it than that!
Funny that you mention Slapfish, one of my friends was just raving about it. I haven’t been yet. I’m wondering if Hake is the type of fish my mother in law’s church uses during Lent. Too much batter though would kill it for me and the wife.
I agree with Cod being the #1 choice for fish and chips.
Thanks for all the kind words, it’s appreciated and I always read and usually reply to all comments! Now whether or not I remember them, that is guaranteed!
I don’t get nachos that often at bars, but I have to admit I really loved the corn beef fries or whatever they were at Branagan’s in Fullerton, those were awesome.
I agree with the portions they have.
Shirley went with pulled pork, in dinner mode. It was just what you’d expect but I’d have sent back a plate with just 2 slices of brisket. They had a somewhat skimpy amount on the pulled pork, but not as bad as the brisket. I asked first and avoided that mistake, then saw another dish going out with what you got.
I just had the Chili and the Burnt ends ala carte after looking at their entre listings. The Burnt ends are really good and I think that might be worth the place getting my business. Two of us still had to cough up 40 bucks w/o any alcohol which is just too high for a place w/o portions like Claim Jumper.
Either get your portion sizes up or prices down. These small Californians are okay with pretend portions, but BBQ is not for people who have skimpy appetites where I come from. I grew up in KC and do have to say that though there are a couple of over the top places there, these local places would do business (but not this one with its portions).
I would add BT’s to the list of good BBQ. we took home a pile and were very happy with that too. With the failure of Scotties, Blakes is top, BT’s probably next tied with Lou’s. Not calibrated on Beach Pit to put it in there. We keep getting waved off for better offers when we try the Tustin location, and only had the Costa mesa place.
Beach Pit isn’t worth it, unfortunately. Where is BT’s at?