smokin' with chris

stumbled upon this place while in town for a some training. food was very good! it was pretty quiet when were there, not sure if it's always like that. but service was good and it was a great find!

we were planning on dining at a tapas restaurant, but found a sign on the door stating it would be closed that night so smokin' with chris turned out to be plan b.  having never been in the restaurant before, i was surprised to find the parking lot almost filled on a thursday evening, but in retrospect it may have been because it was ½ way to st. patrick's day.  in any case it was noisy in the dining room with almost full house plus a singer on stage.  after reviewing the menu, my wife and i decided to share a full rack of baby back ribs along with sides of collard green and mac and cheese.  the house made mac and cheese is supposed be prepared with a cheese sauce blended with chili powder and assorted peppers topped with a panko though we found it dry and tasteless.  perhaps we received the kid's version?  we fared only slightly better with the collard greens.  the ribs were tender with a nice smoke flavor, but suffered from too much time in the smoker and were very dry at the smaller end.  i normally don't use very much sauce on dry rubbed ribs, but i spent much of my time with one of bottles of bbq sauce in hand.  overall, i feel the food was just okay and not on a par with some of the better bbq restaurants now open in ct.

none. average and dried out with poor and rude service


-----01 mar, 2015-----

wont be returning. average food with below average service twice we asked a waitress to get our waiter twice she blew it off to stand in front of us to talk with the hostess. food and service were slow. overpriced for average food dried out chicken, and overdone dried out ribs. our side was wrong but we had finished dinner before the waiter returned to our table to even find out if we were fine or wanted another drink. average interior more of a country dinner setting than a mid price restaurant. the band was good, but we won't be back

smoked meat combo. not good

plates came out and presented very well. ordered half order of baby back ribs, lincoln sweet potatoes, greens and cucumber salad. ribs tasted like they were rubbed with lighter fluid and lincoln sweet potatoes were sweet/sour. nice selection of draft beers but i won't be back.

mediocre. food okay by new england standards. southerners and texans will be disappointed. had the half chicken, was not even barbecued or smoked, appeared baked. sides (slaw, potato salad, baked beans) were dismal. only bright spot was the brisket which was decent.

if you are looking for a great bbq restaurant, this ai't it. the description of the food on the menu, is much better then the food is. i ordered a prime rib, got a rib eye steak.
it may be from a same cut of meat, one is not the same as the other. the steak was rubber like with some fat on it.
the two sides i ordered , collard greens, had no taste ,just boiled greens with no seasoning. the baked beans were just sweet, had much better out of a can
i would not recommend this place

better off dining at home.... it would be a great atmosphere if it weren't for the snooty, holier-than-thou waitstaff. this place needs maturity. the kids behind the bar were all hipsters, and the waiters didn't even bother to introduce themselves. got there, they told me "sit anywhere" but i couldn't find a seat, so i stood there like an idiot until they pointed out a small table in the corner... terrible service, very unprofessional.

food was mediocre. if you have dietary restrictions - such as diabetes - stay away. their barbecue sauce is nothing but sugar, brown sugar, molasses and corn syrup. my wife asked for the blackened chicken sandwich, but without the toppings; she got a piece of burnt chicken on a stale bun. they were out of most of the sides, so she couldn't get anything else but the dry abomination they gave her. i got the pulled pork sandwich. it was nothing to write home about. i honestly don't see what the fuss is about with this place.

it seems like if you know the owners, you have a great time. but if you're a stranger, you're treated like dirt. we were just about to leave when some kid told us that we had to clear out because he had a party coming in and they had a reservation. i told him he was being rude, and he went to his little bar buddies and laughed about it.

will never go back...

the good & the bad. i've never met a bbq joint i didn't like. that said - smokin' with chris makes an obvious attempt to give you a good meal. some reviewers got one, mine on the other hand had some serious flaws to overcome. i had a rib combo, baby backs and spareribs. the spareribs were good, though not top quality - but i'd eat them again, especially with that excellent house bbq sauce provided. the babybacks came with a honey mustard type of sauce and were a totally different story - dry, flavorless and tough as nails. i informed the waiter and he did return with another half (?) rack. the owner came over and apologized, saying "normally they're fall off the bone good" and i believe him. now for the best and brightest new ever! the meatloaf my wife had was outstanding! if you decide to take or treat friends, family, co-workers or yourself to dinner at chris'...have the meatloaf, it was hands down one of the best items on a menu...just under firm, moist, flavorful and the portion was more than enough -- and i like large portions when hungry. the service was great and overall, it was an enjoyable experience.

everything was absolutely delicious! will definitely be coming back!!

steak sandwich and chili. both sucked

baby back ribs under cooked. sides were good. grown up mac & cheese was spicy. sweet potatoes not too sweet. good corn bread. service was so- so. never got a refill on water. decor is dark & dismal. paint that dated knotty pine white, change the red paint to yellow or green. ditch the old paddle fans with the ghastly gold globes and replace with pendant lighting over the tables. came early and the hostess chose to seat us at the table by the restroom.

the food was awful. the mac and cheese had no flavor what so ever and the pulled pork was mostly fat. plus the soda is too syrupy and flat. i'm never coming back

cool ambience and music......food not so great!!!!!. i went to smokin with chris on a recomendation from a friend. the first time the place was empty and it took us forever to get our food. when it came it certainly did not live up to the hype. ribs had no flavor and the chichen wings were not very good as well and the price was a little spendy. i did like their dirty rice. i went back for a 2nd time thinking they just had a bad night this time a brought my entire family(party of 7) and i received the same comments from them as well. a good place to maybe get finger food and listen to good live music but not as a sit down dinner. they may have a cool name but the food is definately mediocre at best.

great bbq!. big, meaty delicious ribs!