Smokin Al’s BBQ
Rating: 3/5
1216 Hampton Ave.
St. Louis, MO
(314) 781-8008
$5-10

Vegetarian? Feel free to stop reading now. Looking for a great first date spot? Look somewhere else. Watching what you eat? You’re out of luck here, because our most recent visit was to Smokin Al’s BBQ, a joint we had driven by many times in the past few years. You won’t find much on the menu other than meat, meat and, if you’re still hungry, more meat. The food at Smokin Al’s is good; its value is great. For that reason, we’re glad we finally paid this BBQ place a visit.

From the outside, Smokin’ Al’s appeared quite simple. Upon entering, though, we discovered that this place was not nearly as sketchy as we thought it would be. There were giant geckos and cowboy-themed items decorating the walls of the restaurant’s surprisingly spacious interior. We ordered our food at the counter and settled into our seats.

Within minutes our plates began to arrive and, staring at the mounds of food, we realized that we wouldn’t be leaving hungry. Our favorite part of the meal was the plate of onion strings that we ordered as an appetizer. If you make your way down to Smokin Al’s, make sure you don’t leave without trying these. The strings arrived hot and fresh out of the fryer. These thin and crispy morsels of deliciousness overflowed with the taste of onion.

We also sampled the BBQ wings, which were definitely above average. The wings were fried but not breaded, with succulent meat that was easily coaxed off the bone. Smokin Al’s BBQ sauce gave the meat just the right amount of zing.

For one of our main courses we ordered a half slab of ribs, which was probably our least favorite part of the meal. Although the ribs were very meaty and filling, the meat was neither tender nor flavorful and by no means did it fall off the bone. The highlight of the ribs, however, was the sauce it was served with – Al’s famous hot and tangy BBQ sauce, also known as Wolf Sauce. If you decide to dine at Smokin Al’s, be sure to restrain from wearing nice apparel. By time we left, we had managed to get sauce on most of our clothing.

We also finished off a pulled chicken sandwich. The sandwich consists of a pile of shredded chicken soaked in Wolf Sauce and served along with two slices of white bread. This plate was decent, but when it comes down to it, was really just a pile of chicken. We used the bread to soak up the last bits of delicious sauce as picking this dish up as a sandwich would be next to impossible. The generous heap of chicken was enough to satisfy one of the greatest appetites known to man, yet we might try something else for our next meal here.

You can choose from a variety of sides to go along with your entr‚es. We sampled both the French fries and the coleslaw. The fries were just okay and the coleslaw was nothing to write home to Mom about. On our next visit we might try the baked beans or a vegetable as our side.

All in all, we got a lot of food for a little money. If you’re hungry and in the mood for a large carnivorous feast, make your way down to Smokin Al’s BBQ. It won’t be the best BBQ you’ve ever had, but it ought to hit the spot.

Popularity: unranked [?]

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