Smokey Bones

252 Montgomery Mall
North Wales, PA 19454
(267) 436-4630
Website

I was invited to the opening month of Smokey Bones, a BBQ place in a mall. As usual, I am interested in free food and BBQ (even if it is from a chain, I don't discriminate).

The place was very well put together. Tons of TV's, a huge horseshoe shaped bar, and good lighting. The first problem encountered was that it was really cold in there. I mean frigid. I am fat, so I can take the cold, but the staff and customers were all complaining about it. Not a big deal, still working out the heating kinks.

I hated the menu. It was like a cross between Applebee's and Famous Dave's. The font was all over the place, the menu itself was like a rubix cube. Order this, get that. Some things were more with certain fries etc. Not a fan.

Next up came the beer. They had a good selection, and I chose something to drink while I waited for my wings. It is a good thing. Because the wings almost never came. It was over 45 minutes from ordering to having to remind the bartender I was waiting on an app. It was not just me. I heard tables screaming at the servers, asking for managers, and generally causing a scene all over the restaurant. It was a Tuesday night at about 25% capacity. There should not be a staffing issue. The manager was all over the place. I have never seen more angry customers in one sitting. It was embarrassing to be a part of.

Finally- the wings came. I was all ready to load up my criticism cannon, but damn if these weren't some damn good wings. Actually, I was shocked with how good they were. Smoked after a dry rub and coated with a sweet glaze, I would definitely order these if I were stranded at the mall while someone was shopping. You can see how well rendered they were with the meat pulling back off of the bone. Delicious.

Next up was a pulled pork and hot sausage platter. The pork was good (though if you mess up pulled pork you should be shut down), however the Texas toast it was served with was a bit much.

They had the standards of BBQ sauce to choose from- vinegar, sweet, spicy, mustard.

The babyback ribs were part of my second combo order. They were again, well cooked. Tender, fat rendered out, and the collagen was nicely cooked down.

A good smoke on these ribs (check the pink ring).

The baked beans were okay, but nothing special.

A vat of mac and cheese was another decent side, but very greasy and heavy.

The slaw was okay, vinegar based with a sprinkle of celery seed.

The hotlinks just didn't do it for me. They were too coarsely ground, and had been sitting (like most of the food that night for everyone).

Just to top it off, the loaded fries. The fries themselves were undercooked, which led to a bad intro for the rest of the crowd. cheese and bacon alone can't make loaded fries good.

Below is an idea of where this place is located. Some guy was waving when the pic was snapped, so he was hit with the anonymous dot. Despite the food being better than I had expected, the service and poor management was hard to get over. It was the first time I have seen a number of different tables literally yelling at the manager. If they got that sorted out (remember, it was the first month open), it might be a passable place to eat at the mall.

DCity Smokehouse

8 Florida Ave NW
Washington, DC 20002
(202) 733-1919
Website

I had a chance to hit up the DCity Smokehouse on a recent trip to . . . DC. It is a hole in the wall that cranks out some amazing BBQ. Definitely a breath of fresh air from the usual DC eateries (Ben's Chili Bowl aside).

This place gets packed. You get in line, order, and shuffle aside to wait for your food.

It smells so good in there.

The "Tommy Gun" comes packed with house smoked turkey, crispy fried onions, melted cheese, BBQ sauce, and cilantro ranch on buttery, griddled Texas toast.

The turkey was very moist, and the sweet BBQ mingled with the creamy ranch just about perfectly. I was surprised I liked this sandwich so much, as getting turkey at a smokehouse seems like sacrilege. Let's just say there might have been someone else involved in that ordering process...

Look at the beautiful onion rings.

The "Brisket Champ" comes with onion straws and house made pickles, with a healthy serving of brisket. The meat was very tender, the pickles gave some crispy snap, and the fried onions added to the salty deliciousness.

Very well cooked brisket with a nice smoke ring. It was almost a shame to eat on a sandwich.

Perhaps my favorite was the fried brussel sprouts. These were shredded and deep fried to a crispy, paper thin result.

Even if you don't like brussel sprouts, you would probably devour these without a second thought. It is like a fried salad. Finally, someone made a salad that actually tasted good. All it took was a bath in hot oil and generous seasoning of salt.

House made pickles were another side. These were quite good as well.

A side of hush puppies erased any doubt that this was a glutton-fest. I will just finish with some fried dough please. Again - well salted, nicely cooked and they were oh-so tender inside. Highly recommend checking this place out if you are in DC looking for something that doesn't suck for lunch.

Kabobeesh

4201 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
(215) 386-8081
Website

If you like Middle Eastern food, you can do a lot worse than ending up in West Philly. I wanted to try Kabobeesh, but it is one of those places I would see, think about, and then forget to make time to visit. I finally closed that loop, and made it over to see what this diner-turned-ethnic grill had to offer.

This place is popular with taxi drivers, for both eating, and socializing. Don't be surprised if you see them sitting at a table, shooting the breeze, and watching the news for the duration of your visit.

The ordering process is broken into two components. You can order from the hot buffet, or go with a grilled to order protein out of the side cooler. Made to order meats are accompanied by your choice of 2 vegetable sides. Not a bad way to go.

See below for some of the meat choices.

I decided to try a Resham beef platter, with chickpeas and mixed veggies (at the owner's suggestion) on the side. The bread is fantastic, hot, cooked to order, and a perfect vessel for breaking off morsels of meat or sopping up flavorful sides.

The beef, while still being slightly chewy, was bursting with flavor, and housed the perfect amount of char on the outside, making it an authentic meat-on-a-stick delight.

The chickpeas were perfectly rich and flavored with a variety of spices that blended well, with a bit of a kick. I could eat these all day.

The mixed vegetables were also delicious, with a similar spice laden kick.

This naan was so addictive. I ripped it apart like a civilized savage, piece by piece, with each torn fragment being engulfed in the flavorful dipping components.

I could not skip the chicken kebob roll, as my favorite thing in the world is anything in sandwich form. This was my favorite part of the meal. The spicy green cilantro sauce on the side was fantastic. The plastic container it came in was licked clean.

The chicken was flavored tandoori style, and came with a variety of ingredients, including various chopped veggies all wrapped in a char-grilled naan/pita.

This is what a wrap should look like. Chunks of tender, well seasoned, slightly charred chicken surrounded with, but not overwhelmed by, a cast of supporting stars. Green sauce, nice bread, smoky grilled flavor, perfection.

This place was originally an old diner, probably some mediocre, drab American place. Anyone have any idea what it was called?

Also, the owner alone is worth the trip. He is an enthusiastic, good natured, and funny guy. He had no problem posing for a picture.

Bottom line, you will be hard pressed to find a better wrap in the city. Don't shy away from the platters, and experiment with some of the different combos. They also have daily specials in the hot bar, so feel free to order on a whim.