Smokey Bones

The other day, we couldn't decide where to eat, and my son suggested Smokey Bones, his favorite rib joint. He had been a few times with his grandparents, but I had never gone. Smokey Bones is a chain, and one of their newer locations is in Randolph, MA, which is the restaurant we went to for dinner.

Express Review

My son could eat a whole rack of ribs and manage to eat dessert too. He gives it five stars, and urged me to write this review on one of his favorite restaurants.

Decor / Atmosphere

The restaurant has the feel of a giant hunting lodge inside. The tables are all of sturdy oak and the benches appear to be hewn from giant logs. Nature photography adorns the walls, and a huge photograph mural is behind the bar depicting a mountain lake scene. As an amateur photographer, I enjoyed just looking at the photographs! The place was neat and clean too. Outside there is plenty of parking, and this restaurant is easily accessible from Route 24 Randolph exit. It is right up the street from Randolph Showcase Cinemas. For those who are with kids or who want to watch the game, the place has lots of televisions tuned to different channels. To hear them, a box is on every table that can be turned to whichever show you are watching. I beleive we watched a bit of Sponge Bob while we waited for our crabby patt. I mean our ribs.

Service

Our waiter came out fairly promptly and took our drink orders and then came back for our meal orders. I did think the meals took a while, but to be fair, when we arrived, I was quite hungry. Time passes slower when you are hungry! He kept our drinks refilled and checked on us frequently.

Appetizers

The restaurant has a wide variety of appetizers, we just got garlic bread. I was slighty disappointed that no free bread or rolls are brought before the meal. Appetizers are typical for this sort of restuarant, a wide variety of chicken wings from mild to very spicy, nachos, chicken fingers, and soups and salads.

Main Menu / Food Quality

This is a rib house. There are a couple steaks you can order (but no steak tips), a seafood choice (Salmon) and chicken (BBQ or smokehouse). There are also some burgers. My girlfriend ordered a burger and it was huge. She said it was excellent, it was covered in onion rings, cheese, and bbq sauce and a huge side of fries. You can pick one side dish with any of the burgers.

The highlight of the menu however is of course RIBS. Delicious ribs in 1/3 racks, half racks and full racks ranging in price from $13.00 to $20.00. Of course ribs just wouldn't be ribs without a delicious assortment of sauces, and Smokey Bones offers four varieties, original, Memphis Dry Rub, Jerk BBQ (a jamaican twist) and brown sugar. Your order is cooked in any combination. You also get a choice of baby back ribs or St. Louis style ribs. If you can't decide, Smokey Bones offers a number of combo plates, like half a rack of ribs and a bbq chicken breast.

I had a 1/3 rack of baby back ribs in the brown sugar glaze, and it was delicious! With it I had two sides, corn and a baked potatoe. Even the corn was made in some sort of barbeque fashion, I don't know what it was made with, it looked like little bits of BBQ pork or something. 1/3 is 4 bones with plenty of meat smothered in the brown sugar glaze and it was very tasty. I can't imagine eating (okay I can) a full rack, because 1/3 did fill me up. Half a rack is 6 bones, and a full rack is a dozen.

My son had a 1/3 rack of the original style baby back ribs and was quickly chowing down. He told me that when he ate with his grandparents he had a full rack before and it was awesome. He's a teenager with the appetite that only teenagers seem to possess.

All of us enjoyed our meals and would come back here to eat again.

Dessert

For dessert my son ordered a "bag of donuts" which is actually what it sounds like. You get fresh made plain donuts with a trio of dips, chocolate, powered sugar and strawberry sauce. It was actually quite good.

Casual v. Fancy

If you are on a first date, an important business meeting or a formal occasion, I wouldn't recommend Smokey Bones. There is something about a face dripping with bar-b-que sauce and licking it off your fingers that just doesn't say great first impression. (especially if your date or business collegue is a vegetarian). If on the other hand, you know the people you are with and aren't afraid to get a bit messy, this restaurant is a great place for great ribs. We all had to wash our hands after eating, you do get messy! Wet naps are also provided.

Vegetarian Dishes

This is a rib house. They roast pigs and cover 'em in sauce! The Olive Garden is right next door.

Cons

The only thing that makes me give this restaurant only 4 stars is the lack of variety. If you want Ribs, this is your place, I'd give it five stars. However, if you are going with a group of friends who are not all in the mood for ribs, it may be difficult to find a selection other than BBQ ribs I was surprised, for example, that you couldn't get bar b qued steak tips.

Summary

If you are in the mood for ribs, and don't mind getting messy, this is the place to go. I gave it four stars.


Recommend this product? Yes