Get in touch with your inner carnivore at Smokehouse Bar-B-Que & Burgers
A pulled pork sandwich with a side of coleslaw sits on display Tuesday, May 15, 2012, at Smokehouse in Orem, Utah. JORDAN STEAD / Daily Herald
A mini peanut butter pie sits on display Tuesday, May 15, 2012, at Smokehouse in Orem, Utah. JORDAN STEAD / Daily Herald
A platter of 1/3 rack ribs and pulled pork with baked beans and macaroni and cheese sits on display Tuesday, May 15, 2012, at Smokehouse in Orem, Utah. JORDAN STEAD / Daily Herald
Much of what you need to know about the Smokehouse Bar-B-Que & Burgers can be learned by reading the slogans on the walls of the fairly new Orem restaurant.
“Kill a cow, start a fire, the magic begins” reads one.
“BBQ is not a skill, it’s a superpower” says another.
My favorite, though, was ” ‘Vegetarian’ is an Indian word meaning ‘bad hunter.’ “
Thankfully patrons are not tested on their hunting prowess before ordering at the Smokehouse. And even vegetarians might be tempted to play for the other team when faced with the array of barbecue fare available.
The Smokehouse is located at 214 E. University Parkway in Orem — taking over the stripmall location previously belonging to The Steak Center — which featured a church-like theme. Interestingly, the Smokehouse still utilizes the church pew seating benches along the walls that were a unique aspect of the previous restaurant. Chair seating augments the available benches, and all told, there appears to be seating for between 40-50 patrons.
Diners order at the front counter, with a pair of two large, framed menus hanging behind the register. Menu options are pretty straightforward: There is meat, more meat, burgers, salads and sides. You can order any of nine individual sides for $1.50 each, or you can opt for various platters and ribs combos that include a pair of sides as part of your meal.
Speaking of the platters, you can order your choice of one or two meats (including pulled pork, beef brisket, chicken, smoked sausage and 1/3 rack of ribs) with two sides for $9.99 or $12.49 respectively. We opted to include ribs and smoked sausage with our platter and were extremely pleased with the results. The Smokehouse offers four different barbecue sauces at a side counter ranging from “sweet” to “Oh my heck!” Now, we were not brave enough to try anything past sweet, but what we can report is the sweet barbecue sauce provided a perfect complement to the ribs and sausage bits, giving each an enjoyable burst of flavor. We later tried the sauce with some barbecued chicken — but preferred the natural flavor of the chicken without the added accompaniment. Go figure.
We enjoyed the chicken sandwich, which was served on a toasted and buttered roll, and the sausage pizza, which was uniquely served in four slices on toasted pita bread. The pizza included sausage, mozzarella cheese, onions and, we suspect, one of the spicier barbecue sauces as it provided an unexpected kick.
The Islander Salad was also one of our favorite dishes. In addition to lettuce, it also contained pulled pork, tomatoes, cheese, pineapple and croutons with a house salad.
As for sides, are favorites were the baked beans, cheese chips (Ruffles-style chips with melted Parmesan) and smoked potato. We ordered the macaroni salad, but think we got mac and cheese instead. Whatever it was, it was OK. We weren’t necessarily fans of the corn bread, which seemed to have some added ingredients that somewhat altered our normal expectations.
Smokehouse also offers five different gourmet burgers. We weren’t able to try any on this visit, but there seemed to be some intriguing options, including: The Smoker, Black and Blue, Mocha Burger (featuring coffee grounds), Ultimate Cheese, Portabella Brie, and the Bacon, Egg and Cheese.
We’re not sure if it’s folklore or fact that in some countries a burp at the end of one’s meal expresses satisfaction with what was served. If that is true, then the Smokehouse is on solid ground since we heard one male patron across the room let out a couple loud, contented belches during our recent Friday night visit. His rating of the meal coincides with our own — although we stifled the urge to reciprocate in kind.
One unique aspect to the Smokehouse is that it is listed as a nonprofit and touts a mission to offer employment to persons with disabilities. Combining that with some delicious barbecue turns out to be a win-win situation.
Where: 214 E. University Parkway, Orem
Hours: Monday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Prices: $1.50 for sides through $12.49 for platters. Full rack of ribs, $21.49.
Info: (801) 427-6473