Smokey Joe’s Tex-Mex Barbecue Restaurant: Teaneck, NJ

Edit: The blog entry below mentions that we didn’t eat the chicken for fear of it being undercooked. However, Smokey Joe himself (via a comment conversation you can see in the body of the entry itself) assured us that the chicken was cooked to proper doneness and noted that the pink you see in barbecued chicken can be a result of the cooking process. We checked this out ourselves from a couple of sources and this is true.

He says… You ever get a hankering for Chicken and Waffles only to find out the place you wanted to try was closed, so you went to another place that ended up being closed, and ultimately settled for a Kosher barbecue pit? No? Just us then? Ok… Smokey Joe’s is located on Cedar Lane in Teaneck. With a strong and vibrant Jewish community, it’s not surprising to find many a Kosher choice in the town. Even the vegetarian Chinese restaurant went through the proper process to be respectfully Kosher (at least the certificate says so). Smokey Joe’s however, has the honor of being the,”first authentic, wood-fired, slow-cooked, pit smoked Glatt Kosher bbq restaurant in the US of A.” The “of” in the country abbreviation is only further emphasis of this fact. But I digress. Lets dig in (pun intended HAR HAR HAR) to what HASA found. –The Food– Smokey Joe’s Cornbread (Gratis): The cornbread was actually quite delicious. A bit cakier then I’m used to (it fell apart in my hands), but it had kernels of corn adding a nice flavor and a bit of contrast of texture. It came with a sweet onion jam that was good, but good in that way that I wasn’t sure whether I loved it or it was just ok…it started off sweet which was nice, then rounded itself out in my mouth with a strong onion flavor, and then back to sweet again. If the chick from My Sassy Girl was essentialized into a jam, this might be it. Even better was the tagline in the menu: “The first basket is on us!” It made me feel like I was buying a used car and/or drugs… “The first basket is on us… if you want a second, you’ll have to kill a man”. Honestly though, it really was pretty good. Ari’s Wings (12 pcs/$8.95): Fried wings, mixed with buffalo and bbq sauce. That’s really all it is. It was a nice sauce–finger lickable, but that’s all I can really say. It also seemed like some feathers were on still… is that normal? BBQ Sampler Plate ($24.95): This was Jess and my main course which we shared. This came with Chicken, a Rib, and a few slices of brisket. Let’s break this down: - Chicken: unfortunately, this was pink and undercooked. What we did have before we noticed this, was ok. The skin had a nice taste… but still… undercooked chicken? no thanks. - Rib: The beef rib that came with the sampler wasn’t too shabby. A nice flavor, albeit a little tough. My one qualm would be the noticeable amount of mustard used in the rub, which ultimately didn’t blend with the rest of the seasonings. Cutting near the bone revealed what kinda looked like schmaltz on the knife. - Brisket: This was the most delicious of them all, and why I’m writing about it last. A nice, sweet, fatty top portion kept it a little moist, although I think the brining that they probably did to it also helped. Also, I can’t help but think this was a corned beef brisket thrown in the smoker–if that’s the case, BRILLIANT. Either way, tender, moist, and definitely the best of the three. —- All in all, I think that it was a nice experience, though I’d probably only come back whole-heartedly for the brisket. Getting undercooked chicken was a big turn off, but the rest of the meal was nice, and the service was good. BTW, for more about Glatt Kosher, click here. I had to look it up too…I’m glad I did

She says… Sadly, the chicken and waffles place we wanted to go to was closed. In our disappointment, we decided not to stray too far from the theme of “Soul Food” so off we went in search for something remotely close to that. For some reason every place we wanted to go to was closed so we somehow ended up in Teaneck in front of a Kosher bbq place. Eating there brought a strange progression of emotions for me. While eating there I was pleasantly surprised with the food but the more I thought about the meal (yes, I reflect on food) the more I decided that I probably wouldn’t eat there again. And so the emotions begin (as indicated per emoticons)… — The Food — The cornbread w/ onion jam (free! ): It was a pleasant surprise to have this edible gift brought to our table. J knew this was coming but I was clueless. I found the bread to be very good and fresh tasting. I loved the fact that there were corn kernels in the bread. It was still warm when it was brought to us which is always (I repeat, always) a bonus in any restaurant serving bread items. The onion jam I found to be rather pleasant. It had a nice sweet start and a subtle onion flavor. Mostly I tasted sweet and had to really let the jam sit on my tongue to taste the onion. All-in-all it was a good start to a meal… Ari’s wings (12 pc/$8.95): The menu said that the sauce on these wings was a mix of buffalo and bbq sauce for a sweet and tangy taste (or something along those lines). Intriguing, I thought… It’s not such a far-fetched concept but I’ve never had it before so I suggested it. It definitely was what it said it’d be. When you taste these wings you get the tangy kick of buffalo sauce followed by the soft sweetness of bbq sauce. The wings are deep fried which I found to be a delightful surprise (yay! ) since lately I’ve been exposed to the mushy buffalo wings of Applebee’s (bleeehh… I only go bc of half price appetizers and Dynamite Shrimp). Overall, I’m a fan of crunchy textures. The wings would’ve been more plesant to eat if there weren’t so many remnants of feathers on the wings. At first, the feathers didn’t bother me because I’ve been exposed to such things before but there were just SO many (boo! ). At one point I plucked out a feather remnant that wasn’t just a thin strand, it was a thick, hollow tube. The more I thought about it the more grossed out I became… but I guess with all those feathers on there perhaps it’s an indication of how fresh the chicken is? (Think positive… think positive…) BBQ Sampler Plate ($24.95): This dish came complete with 3 or 4 slices of brisket, 1 rib, chicken leg and some sweet potato wedges. Let’s start with the wedges… *The wedges: Not what I expected. When I read “sweet potato wedges” I thought “potato wedges” as in the deep fried, french-fry like things you get at most places. These were cut sweet potatoes seasoned with a very earthy type seasoning. It had a very strong flavor that I didn’t like or dislike . I thought it tasted a bit like nutmeg (it had that spice quality) but more earthy… if that makes sense. *The rib: It was a pretty good portion but the seasoning didn’t work for me . When I ate it, I tasted this strong flavor mixed in with the bbq sauce. For the longest time I couldn’t figure it out until J helped me realize it was… mustard! The mustard was strong! It was smothered all over the rib, so much so that it was visible on the rib and on your knife when you cut it. Now, I’m not a mustard hater but I just thought it was too strong and didn’t go well with the bbq sauce. Also, the meat was kind of chewy… *The chicken: The meat was pink and undercooked. The skin tasted pleasant and had a nice smoky/char-grilled taste but the meat was very undercooked. We ended up telling the waitress at the end of the meal but she seemed very unconcerned. (Darn, I should’ve taken a picture of it…) *The brisket: Definitely the best of the three by far. It had a nice smoky-sweet flavor, was cooked well and moist. It wasn’t mind blowingly good but it was very tasty. I’d also have to agree w/ J where the meat was like corned beef (a bit in taste and definitely texture). Fresh lemonade: Personally, I found the “fresh” lemonade to taste like Minute Maid lemonade. I actually like Minute Maid lemonade but I don’t consider it to be fresh tasting at all… One bonus is- free refills! —- Service: The service was pretty friendly and the food came out pretty fast which was good but they often forgot to bring out little things (ie: plate, utensils and napkins) for us unless we flagged them down and asked. —– Most likely, I won’t be coming back here again but if I do it’ll definitely be for the brisket. As for the chicken, I’m staying far, far away.



Smokey Joe’s Tex-Mex Barbecue Restaurant
“The first authentic, wood-fired, slow-cooked, pit smoked Glatt Kosher bbq restaurant in the US of A.”
496 Cedar Ln
Teaneck, NJ 07666
(201) 836-7429

Prices: $Free.99 (for the cornbread)-$37.95
Parking: Street
Dine-in or take out. Catering available.
Vegetarian options available! (Though they have seitan marked down as soy )