While most styles of food are limited by age-old rules, barbecue is one of the few cuisines that has plenty of room for improvisation. The meat can be grilled or smoked. It can be dry with a flavorful spice or drowned in sauce.
But if barbecue has one rule, it’s to keep things simple.
This is the cornerstone of what makes the food at Smokin’ Aces BBQ so good. Everything at the restaurant, from its design to the food itself, is straightforward and without frills.
It’s hard to call Smokin’ Aces, which is set to open Oct. 1, a conventional restaurant. All orders are taken and served out of a single walk-up window. The only seating is outside, and it’s just a single picnic table.
The restaurant doesn’t even have an interior for customers. This was a qualm of mine, as the weather in Louisiana is rarely conducive to eating outside.
But the food makes up for the lack of space. I tried one of the restaurant’s appetizers, the BBQ chicken quesadillas for $6. The dish was made with mozzarella and cheddar cheeses, an interesting blend to accompany BBQ sauce. But the tanginess of the cheeses complimented the smokey sweetness of the sauce well, creating a dish that was uncommon but tasty.
My entrée was the BBQ brisket sandwich with French fries for $7.50. The meat was tender and well-seasoned, cooked in a rotisserie smoker that owner Brian Medlin proudly showed off. If there’s an aspect that will set Smokin’ Aces apart from other local BBQ joints, it’s the tenderness of the meat.
The sandwich buns, an often overlooked component, were soft, fresh and complemented the brisket well. Medlin said the buns are made daily by a local bakery and delivered to the store.
However, I had a few issues with the dishes. Unlike many local barbecue restaurants, Smokin’ Aces does not make its own sauce, opting instead for a widely distributed, and thereby mediocre, sauce from suppliers.
Medlin admitted the fries were “as Sysco as you can get,” referring to the supplier used by many restaurants. This is excusable, as the restaurant prefers to focus on the process of smoking the main dishes. Still, the fries were a somewhat disappointing side to accompany such a great sandwich.
The restaurant’s prices may draw in customers. My meal cost $13.50, a fair price for such good food. Other items such as the seafood cost more, and it’ll remain to be seen if price is equivalent to taste.
But some customers might be put off by the lack of seating or air conditioning. Especially in the summer months, it will be hot in and around the restaurant, with the smoker and fryer giving off plenty of heat that will only be exacerbated by the Louisiana humidity.
Smokin’ Aces certainly has some areas to improve, but for a new eatery, it’s off to a good start. With a simple menu and delicious slow-cooked meat, it is another solid addition to the growing Baton Rouge food market.
