Up In Smoke

[Grillatarian]

Out and about with the family today getting flowers and such. We visited the nearby town of Keller and stopped in here :


Had the brisket plate and it wasn't half bad. Nice texture, good smoke ring (by mesquite), good portion and cut nicely. It held together great but I could easily cut it with my butter knife. My only whine was that their sauce was nothing to write home about. Not a gotta have it sauce fan, but the brisket was just a tad dry so I did employ the sauce. If the sauce had carried a bit more smoke flavor (and some kinda kick) with it I think it would of been much better.

Big old purple onion, Texas toast, big slice o' pickle, a salad and onion rings on the side. A nice breakfast!

[nascarchuck]

Is this the place on 377 just south of 1709?

[TX Sandman]

Yeah, it is. I've been by it several times on the way to Roanoke/Trophy Club. Thought about stopping several times, but never have.

Thanks for the review, Grill!

[JamesB]

Is this a new place? Will have to check out it out next time I'm over in that neck of the woods... Thanks for the write up!.

James.

[nascarchuck]

Yeah, it is. I've been by it several times on the way to Roanoke/Trophy Club. Thought about stopping several times, but never have.

Thanks for the review, Grill!

Same here... I have driven past it a few times, but never stopped in. Wife is normally with me and she dont like BBQ...

[Grillatarian]

Well, the wife was with me and to be fair, she said the chopped Q was O.K, but mine is better. Course that is what we all know is true before ever walking in the door.
Which, by the way, you actually enter from the back of the building..... and walk past the bathrooms.... which wasn't so hot. They have two main seating sections, the dining room and a cantina. We sat in the dining room and there wasn't too many empty seats. Prices were reasonable and they did have a couple of 'specials' , which I ingored. I really needed to try their brisket so I could get a feel for what they consider smoked meat to be all about.
Wait staff was attentive, but not the sharpest tack in the drawer. Had to flag them down for a side order not delivered with the meal.
My daughter had the chicken fried steak which was about the size of Denton County. It must have been good because there wasn't a trace of it left.
If I had to rate it 0 to 5 it would be somewhere between 3.5 to 4 stars.
May stop back next week and try the ribs.

[bigwheel]

I tried it once or twice for eating purposes then gave up. Had the sausage plate which tasted like somebody had dunked a can of vieeners in some sauce. Its a good watering hole. Big selection of draw beer. Sort of a hang out for yuppie bikers that smoke ceegars and drink exotic beer. Thats why they call it Up in Smoke cuz of the ceegars. Least it used to be. It been so long since I been in there it liable to be illegal to smoke in there now.

bigwheel

[Grillatarian]

I tried it once or twice for eating purposes then gave up. Had the sausage plate which tasted like somebody had dunked a can of vieeners in some sauce. Its a good watering hole. Big selection of draw beer. Sort of a hang out for yuppie bikers that smoke ceegars and drink exotic beer. Thats why they call it Up in Smoke cuz of the ceegars. Least it used to be. It been so long since I been in there it liable to be illegal to smoke in there now.

bigwheel

Now that you mention it.... there did seem to be an awful lotta the clean shiney bikes with clean shiney people on them... all over Keller. Didn't notice any in the cafe that day, but we were there kinda early. There is a bike shop just around the back street a few hundred feet away and they were steady doing business. I am surprised at how many Harley's there are out crusing the streets these days.

[ikiru]

Out and about with the family today getting flowers and such. We visited the nearby town of Keller and stopped in here :


Had the brisket plate and it wasn't half bad. Nice texture, good smoke ring (by mesquite), good portion and cut nicely. It held together great but I could easily cut it with my butter knife. My only whine was that their sauce was nothing to write home about. Not a gotta have it sauce fan, but the brisket was just a tad dry so I did employ the sauce. If the sauce had carried a bit more smoke flavor (and some kinda kick) with it I think it would of been much better.

Big old purple onion, Texas toast, big slice o' pickle, a salad and onion rings on the side. A nice breakfast!

Thanks for the review. Up in Smoke is on my list of places to try. You say Up in Smoke uses Mesquite. Im not sure I know the difference in woods just yet. I just need someone to tell me what they taste like. Have you tried Cousins or Hard Eight? Do you know what kinds of woods they use. They taste different to me. Thanks!

-ikiru

*enjoy the sauce*

[Grillatarian]

Those two are on my "to eat" list. I did see a Cousins down Keller Parkway that we'll probably try next week. We're going back to the Flower Ranch to pick up some mixed flats that weren't in stock yet.

Don't know what either of them use for wood. Anyone else?

Mequite- well, like most woods it also has a unique flavor. I would describe it as peppery and mildly sweet, not strong like sage, but a good earthy flavor. I sometimes use it for steaks or briskets.

I think the most BBQ joints use hickory or a blend thereof. I use it every now and then, but most of the time I use a mix of oak and mesquite cause I have it readily available (free ).

I'm sure there's a thread lying around here somewhere that has loads of information on woods. Anybody help us out?

[nascarchuck]

I have been eating Cousins for years although I have never been to the one in Keller. The other two are always consistent and pretty good for a BBQ joint.

If I remember right, Cousins uses mesquite.

Be sure to get an S.O.S. (Side of Sausage) Good stuff!

Don't know if they still do it or not, but they use to make and sell beef jerky although it wasn't listed on the menu.

Can't go wrong with Cousins...

[ikiru]

So, I got a chance to try out Up In Smoke the other day and I left feeling a bit disappointed.

The atmosphere was more of a bar than a restaurant. The bar allowed smoking and the back room was smoke-free. We opted for smoke free (hey, if Im going to smell like smoke, I want it to be Mesquite or Hickory). The building itself was an older building. In the back, one wall had all of the day's specials and dessert offerings. Other walls were covered in NASCAR decor. The waitress was nice and for the most part was pretty on the spot with refills and keeping our table clear of empty dishes. However, Im not sure that she understood my request for sliced brisket off of the fat end.

The brisket, while had a good smoke ring, a fair amount of smoke flavor, and nice crust, was dry and "crumbly". Most of my eating buddies ended up soaking their brisket in sauce to compensate...me...I just couldn't do that...but that is another topic for another time.

The ribs were also a bit dry and not very meaty. The rub had a sweet flavor to it and was kinda tasty, although it had a slightly strange flavor. I can't describe it other than saying that its the same flavor I get on my ribs if I put too much sugar on it.

I will concede that we did arrive towards the end of the lunch hour and there is a possibility that the meats have been held too long. I make it a point to go back at least once to verify that I wasn't visiting on a bad day (or a good day). In my experience, BBQ is funny in that it is really hard to be consistent.

The hot links were unlike any other links I have had at a restaurant...in a bad way. I like a little "snap" whenever I bite into a sausage and I like a more course grain. The links at Up In Smoke were more like hot dogs with a kick.

Sauce was OK. A bit too much vinegar for me. Im not a big sauce person to begin with.

The onion rings were fantastic! They were crispy/crunchy on the outside, but the onion seemed to melt in your mouth.

I also had coleslaw and okra, but those were nothing to write home about.

FWIW, our guest from Chicago was raving about their Brisket Tacos.

Anyway, I'll have to go back and see if Up In Smoke does better on a follow-up visit. If not, I probably won't go back.

-ikiru

*enjoy the sauce*