Smoke & Bones BBQ is one of those places that occupies such a singular space in the market that it is bound to succeed.
The inexplicable demise of the Lonsdale location of Memphis Blues BBQ some years back left a glaring, sow-sized hole on the dining scene and there hasn’t been another notable purveyor of barbecued goods on the North Shore since.
Smoke & Bones began life as a caterer. Its principals mentored under some of the biggest names on the competitive barbecue circuit in the U.S., honing their skills before throwing their hats into that same competitive ring, where they achieved their own notoriety and legitimately earned the right to boast “award–winning barbecue.”
Their newest enterprise, the bricks and mortar eatery on Marine Drive located kitty corner to Everything Wine and Indigo Books, brings this celebrated specialty and philosophy of cooking “low and slow” to the masses. My friend Adam and I visited the restaurant recently to understand what constitutes award–winning barbecue and found many a tasty delight on the menu.
Except ribs.
Let me dispense with this annoyance presently. Smoke & Bones had sold out of ribs by the time we ordered our meal, the $62 Barbecue Platter, a colossal sampling of pretty much everything on the menu, designed for two to three people. To sell out of a key offering at 7 p.m. on a Tuesday is a miscalculation, but I understand that these things happen, particularly in a new operation still finding its way. My petty ire gave way to proper irritation, however, when I noticed that the guests at a neighbouring table, who had arrived later than Adam and I but had ordered sooner, were delivered their hefty slabs of ribs shortly after our server informed us that the item had sold out. Now look, dining is a reciprocal experience and service must take its cues from diners, just as diners must then live with the consequences of those cues. So when we weren’t quite ready to order when our pints of beer were delivered, it is only reasonable that we should have had to wait a while. But what’s a reasonable while? 10 minutes? 15? As it happens, the 18 minutes we waited were too many to secure an order of those ribs and I now feel a bit cheated, though, as I say, I was complicit in this miss.
Okay. With that mini rant now out of the way, let’s turn now to the positives of the meal, of which there were many. First, if you visit with two to four hungry people in your party, I recommend that platter highly. Adam and I had forfeited lunch in anticipation of our Smoke & Bones feast and we were still bested by the size of the meal, ultimately taking home enough protein to start a small Atkins consultancy on the side. The platter, actually a sizeable metal tray warping under the weight of its contents, included the following daunting list of goods: pulled pork, smoked brisket, barbecued chicken, grilled sausage, slow baked beans, coleslaw, crispy seasoned French fries, cornbread muffin, pickles, a ramekin of extra barbecue sauce, sliced white bread, and, in place of the ribs the platter would normally include, sweet and spicy chicken wings.
If 60 bucks for a dish made you gasp initially, take a moment to re-read that lineup of platter goodies again. And then consider that each one of those items came in generous supply; the chicken alone would have been almost meal enough for Adam and I with the sides. Plus, as most a la carte meals (single protein plus select sides) hover in the $17 to $21 range, the platter actually represents tremendous value.
So, what about that meat, you ask? You would think that on a plate with so many different items there would be significant overlap in flavour and style of preparation. There wasn’t. Each protein was treated on its own terms, allowing it to reach its best expression. The brisket, for instance, had a dominant but well-integrated smokiness, while the pulled pork revealed more caramelized notes and heavier seasoning. The chicken, easily a full half bird, had crispy, faintly smoky, lightly sauced skin, while the wings (sweet and spicy, as per our server’s recommendation) had a significant coating of exceptionally well balanced sauce and potent spice. The sausage was unencumbered, presented simply grilled and allowing its innate flavours to surface under the sear of the heat. Across the board, the meat was remarkably succulent and moist, a sign of the skill of the pitmasters producing this fare; balancing low heat, long cooking times, integrated sauces and seasonings, and moisture retention in the proteins is part science, part art, and Smoke & Bones has the act down pat.
The sides were every bit as good as the meats; the dense and springy cornbread and the deep, sweet and smoky beans were particular standouts, along with the understated, tangy, faintly spicy and medium bodied barbecue sauce, which was thankfully free of any cloying smokiness.
Our feast, which included a total of three pints of local beer between us, plus enough leftover food for another full meal, was $84 before gratuity.
Smoke & Bones BBQ, 999 Marine Drive, North Vancouver. Smokeandbones.ca. 604–770–1394.
