Smokestack Express

I had their brisket out of their food truck and the serving was so large I figured I would bring some home to my sweetheart but when I got halfway through, I couldn't stop. It was so tender and delicious! Figured I'd do one better and take her with me to enjoy it a second time inside of one week! The beans were also a 10! Immediately inquired about having it catered for a future company party.

I entered over to Smokestack Express today to check out their BBQ. Being a southern girl, in my spirit we just know BBQ, but I do give everyone a fair chance. The spot in nestled in strip on France Ave. The inside vibes give me homely feel. I am hanging out with the friends for BBQ, small and intimate but enough space to wait on the deliciousness . The team preparing the meals seems to be father and son, but very kind and accommodating. When I entered the place people were waiting so that was a good sign to me. I opted for the 4 bones with two sides. I did brisket on the menu but I wanted to work my way up to that point. I figured if the bones (Ribs) were good then we may be on to something. I will say I think they threw a couple more bones for waiting sake. I initially took my first bite in store but later went home to demolish the plate. My two sides where the Mac & Cheese and The Beans. Now, I know everybody doesn't put meat in their beans but the southern girl in me be looking for it. The beans were tasty, I like the little tang they had to them. The Mac & Cheese had a yummy sauce yo it, a tad but salty be mixed in with the other foods went really well. I found myself mixing their spicy sauce with he sweet sauce. It paired very well with the meat that seems to just slide off the bone. Overall 4 out of 5 for me! I will go back because I do want to try the brisket.

Decided to stop by since I was in the area and craving bbq. It's a smaller restaurant with maybe 4 or 5 tables to dine in. I ordered the ribs, brisket, Mac and cheese and baked beans. It was pretty good but not amazing. I wasn't a fan of the bbq sauces they have.

My wife and I were on our weekly Saturday new restaurant trip and we decided to try Smokestack, we saw an article about it in the Star Tribune.I ordered a 1/2 pound of brisket and pulled pork. They were nice and juicy and the fat was a good blend on the brisket. It really didn't need any sauce and the spicy sauce wasn't really any different than the regular sauce. I think it is better without the sauce, I think a hot mustard sauce would be really good with it though.I was not happy that I didn't get any utensils in my bag to take-away though.They had tip on their credit card machine. What!? I ordered from a counter and you filled my order. Why would I tip? If you want more money, put it into your price. This tipping thing is getting ridiculous for counter service. Over in Europe there is no tipping and it is so much more enjoyable. I worked at McDonald's for two years and never got a tip.Great food and we took it over to Nine Mile Brewing to have a beer with it. Great BBQ.

In addition to myself I hosted a number of hungry people the other night. I ordered a Meat Sweat (Party) Pack #1 (1lb of Beef Brisket, 1lb of Pulled Pork, a full rack of Ribs, 1pint Coleslaw and 1pint Mac & Cheese). I decided to add 1pint of Baked Beans to the mix.We all found the BBQ and sides absolutely delicious. The ribs were chewy and slathered in sauce but were perfectly done and flavorful. The brisket was sliced with a good smoky taste and a discernible pink ring. The pulled pork was roughly separated (not ground into an indistinguishable mush) and also had a very nice smokiness. The Mac & Cheese (while honestly not exceptional) was hearty and unctuous. The Coleslaw was rough cut and while made with a creamy dressing retained a piquant, crunchy and appealing flavor. The Baked Beans were tasty and very much on point.This is primarily a takeout establishment (OK, I guess if you're ravenously hungry they do have a few tables but I can't really picture sitting down to enjoy a meal inside their clean but spartan quarters). They prefer that one places one's order online while specifying a pickup time.The whole meal cooled rather quickly but warmed up nicely once home. Be sure to ask them to toss in some extra BBQ sauce for the Pulled Pork and the Brisket. The ribs didn't require additional saucing but adding or dipping certainly won't hurt.For a newish BBQ place they appear to have everything well in hand. And based on traffic they would seem to be already doing a business. IMHO this is a great addition to our growing BBQ scene. I recommend that you give it a try. I suspect that many of you might become steady customers.

My interest was piqued by a short review in the Star Tribune. As suggested, I placed my order for pick-up and arrived just when they opened at 11 am.The outside of the restaurant is generic and it's in a generic shopping mall. However, the inside is clean, bright, and inviting. You can see inside the open kitchen, which is located just behind the counter. Be sure to use the pick-up line, if you are not placing a new order. There were six people ready to order when I arrived just as they opened.Smokestack Express is designed primarily for pick up and take out. However, there are four or five tables inside and you can order sandwiches (pork shoulder, or beef brisket on a bun with one side included.For take-out you can order the pork shoulder (in half-pound increments), beef brisket (in half-pound increments), or baby back ribs (1/2 or full rack). For sides they have mac and cheese, baked beans, coleslaw, or corn bread muffins.If you order the brisket, you can select "fatty" or lean brisket. Fatty is more moist and the lean is dryer. I ordered half and half. My wife preferred the lean and I preferred the fattier portion.The restaurant is about 25 minutes away from my house and I was tempted all the way home by the smell of the barbeque. Had it not been packaged so well, I would have been tempted to sample the brisket. It's good that I didn't because I might have "sampled" all of it before I arrived home!Both the brisket and beans were still warm enough to eat when I got home. I made a sandwich with the brisket and tried it with and without the barbeque sauce that is available for takeout (no charge). I found the sauce to be a bit sweet for me, so I enjoyed it more without the sauce. The brisket was perfectly done: falling apart, moist, smokey, and worthy of Texas brisket. I sampled the lean portion and it was dryer, but possibly smokier too. I think a little bit of barbeque sauce would work well with it.The baked beans tasted as if they had simmered for a very long time. The beans had a soft texture and pieces of pork for flavor. So if you are a vegetarian, take note. On the other hand, what the heck are you doing at a meat BBQ restaurant in the first place? The only vegetables are the onions simmered in the beans!The food here rates five stars, but it gets one star taken away because I wish they had a menu that also was designed more for eat-in. They do have those two sandwiches and you could split the 1/2 lb. portions, but eat-in is not a priority. If you are nearer to them than I am, they are definitely worth a try for a quick dinner or lunch. I hope they do well, expand, and open a place closer to me.They also do have bigger platters for parties and they do catering.

Absolutely SOLID! Every single thing I ordered was extremely tasty and prepared fantastically!I had a six-piece rib dinner with baked beans and coleslaw and added a couple of cornbread muffins. With a tip it was about $34. Now - the food!The coleslaw was exactly the way I love it! Creamy, a snappy bite of vinegar, and made with celery seed. The baked beans were saucy and delicious - not too sweet but overall really very good. What I was surprised about was the portion size - too often you get a tiny 1/4-1/2 cup of these at most BBQ places - but there was a 1+ cup portion size here - very impressive!The cornbread muffin was also perfect too! Soft with a little crumble, but made with some coarse cornmeal and the resulting muffins are just perfect! Add their honey-butter and I'm in heaven!!And finally - the ribs! Some people like ribs that stay on the bones - others want them falling off the bone. I prefer closer to the latter and I don't know how they pulled it off, but these were thoroughly smoked and prepared, and took just a nudge of the teeth to pull them off the bone. I'd be thrilled if ribs that I smoked came out like this. I had the milder sauce - they have a spicier version too. These were excellent - and meaty - and delicious!!This was my first visit and it's just down the street and it's feeling a bit dangerous to have ribs this good so accessible. I could comfortably eat half of it - oh darn - leftover ribs!! Nice job Smokestack!!

The service was great and I liked that the owner explained how the menu wasn't set up. I got the 4 rib plate with beans and Mac and cheese. The Mac was average. The beans however were really flavorful. The ribs had the perfect bite resistance. The smoke was awesome and the sauce on them was good. This used to be a UPS store so the inside was very clean and neat. There were a few articles on the wall about the place. Overall it is a good place.

So, we finally got to Smokestack Express. We are still talking about our meal and know that we'll be back again in short order.What we ate: 6-Smoked Rib Platter and 1/2 Pound Brisket Meal. The sides were the Mac & Cheese, Baked Beans, and Coleslaw. These meats are just plain ridiculous. Both the ribs and the brisket are tender, tender, tender. The smokiness was on point and didn't need sauce at all. It's barbecue, so there was sauce, regardless. We got the spicy and regular sauces. Both were fabulous. There was a nice hit of heat with the spicy sauce that lingered well after we were done with the meal.I don't do beans, so I can't really speak to them directly. My friend loves them and was quite happy with these. The mac & cheese was quite delicious and cheesy. nice balance of the sauce and pasta. You can tell that the pasta was not overcooked because being drenched in the sauce. The coleslaw was also delicious. It had a nice balance of tart and sweet. The service was friendly and quick. We were told about the rewards program, which gives you discounts as you accumulate points from your purchases. We're thinking that a Meat Sweat Pack is in our near future for a movie night at home. I believe that you'll be quite pleased with your visit.

Overpriced. Brisket was dry. Cornbread came in a bag so not their own. Co-worker got the chicken salad and I got the potato salad. He said his was amazing. Mine was good too but both were very small and we felt like we were getting a sample at Costco. Smelled amazing when we walked in. Just a let down. I hope it was just a bad day and another trip will be better.