Where to The Smoke Shop in Kendall Square, at what used to be Tommy Doyle’s.
What for Barbecue with a twist from noted pit master Andy Husbands, who also runs Tremont 647 in the South End. In 2009, he was on a team that won the Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational Barbecue, and he’s authored cookbooks on the subject.
The scene Comfortable and chatty on a warm summer’s eve. Fellows in hoodies and just-so trucker hats dig into ribs. Techie bros gather at the front bar area and hoist slender cocktails. Older couples congregate in a back dining room in tall booths, maneuvering silver platters of glistening meat, dropping bones into “Bone Buckets’’ (not “barf buckets,’’ as one customer misunderstands). There are several TVs mounted on the walls, but you’re more likely to hear the Allman Brothers or Tom Petty on the speakers than ESPN commentary. Husbands is hard at work in an open kitchen.
What you’re eating Barbecue, both traditional and peculiar. Purists will enjoy slabs of crackly ribs, pulled pork, hot links with pimento cheese, and burnt ends with sides like corn bread and collard greens, enhanced with tableside squeeze bottles of sweet or hot sauce. Friskier appetites should consider the Asian-inflected “New Style City Q’’ section of the menu, featuring fried chicken with mint and fermented pepper mayo; glazed tofu and mushrooms; and brisket with Korean vinaigrette, kimchi, and gochujang ranch. Some dishes are hard to refuse no matter what your tastes, like pimento mac and cheese (creamy, dreamy) and deviled eggs awash in Green Goddess dressing. For dessert, opt for butter or apple sesame cake, or vanilla pudding. What, no chocolate?
Care for a drink? There is a massive all-American whiskey list, complete with a Whiskey 101 tutorial for amateurs (tip one: whiskey is any spirit made from grains) and “Andy’s Baller List,’’ a selection of favorites including Pappy Van Winkle 15 Year.
Overheard Fenway Park disses; sophisticated calculations; praise for Angela Lansbury. “He used to live in the Fenway but needs to move. Because, you know, Fenway. . .’’ a young exec sniffs to his friends. “Responsibility divided by enthusiasm equals adulthood,’’ one fellow confides to another, since this is Kendall Square. “My wife loves ‘Murder, She Wrote!’ She has a thing for Angela Lansbury!’’ enthuses a cheerful host. “One more ginger beer and you’re cut off,’’ chuckles a friendly waitress to a duo of celebratory dames.
One Kendall Square, Cambridge, 617-577-7427, www.thesmoke shopbbq.com
Kara Baskin can be reached at kcbaskin@gmail.com. Follow her on Twitter @kcbaskin.
