Recently we made a trip to Harrisonburg, VA. While there I intended to visit a place one of my readers had told me about. Well they turned out to be closed the day we were to visit. After some searching on my phone we decided to ride to Grottoes to check out Eastside Smoke Company. They had good reviews on their Facebook page. I couldn’t find much more information about them so we decided to try them out. This is one that GPS definitely had to guide us to. They are off the beaten path. So here we go.

The Restaurant and Staff:

Eastside Smoke Company is a very small place. I had sent a message to them to ask if they had inside seating since I couldn’t really tell from looking at their Facebook page. They replied that they did. Well they do have a couple of small 2 seater tables. The young lady that waited on us was friendly and nice. The

Sliced Brisket with Cucumbers & Onions and Mac & Cheese.

problem was that after we sat down to eat, no one ever came to check on us. This was in the middle of the afternoon and we were the only customers there. So that was a letdown.

Our Choices at Eastside Smoke Company:

Today Tammy ordered Sliced Brisket with Cucumbers & Onions and Mac & Cheese. Her cucumbers & onions were good. The mac & cheese was very good. The brisket however, was not good. It was tough and had no smoke flavor or seasoning to it. It seemed to have been cooked way too fast. The smoke didn’t set in and the fat didn’t render like it should. Tammy ate part of a slice, I ate 1 slice and we threw the rest out. Tammy also ordered a slice of Pumpkin Roll which was also very good.

Ribs and Minced Pork with Slaw and Baked Beans.

I ordered Ribs with Baked Beans and Slaw. They didn’t have a combo option so I also ordered a Minced Pork sandwich without the bun. The baked beans were good and the slaw was average, nothing wrong with it just not outstanding. The ribs were not good. They were also tough. The only flavor they had was the sauce. Unfortunately the pork was the same. I ordered the spicy. Again, the flavor was in the sauce.

Final Thoughts:

This was a disappointing stop for us. We had high hopes based on the reviews. It does appear that the locals love this place. So I can’t explain any of that, I can only tell what we had. In the end we threw a lot of food away, which we rarely do. I didn’t talk to the owner/manager. I just didn’t see anything good coming from it. I left a business card on the table and we left. At first I told Tammy that I wasn’t even going to write about this one. It was that bad to us. But when I consider all the Pitmasters and business owners we’ve met and become friends with, it would not be fair to their hard work if I didn’t write about a bad experience. I also feel an obligation to my followers to inform them when we run across one that’s not up to the others that I write about. Was it just a bad day? I don’t know. What I do know is I can’t recommend Eastside Smoke Company for you to visit. Sorry. My final thought for Eastside Smoke Company, you’ve got good sides. Slow down your smoker and let the smoke set in. I do wish you the best.

Now For Your Thoughts:

So it’s rare that we run across a spot like this but it happens. Still as I said there were a lot of good reviews out there so I do offer the opportunity for you to leave your comments. You can scroll down and drop your comments in the box and I’ll post them with this article. I’m always open for your opinions to add to the story.

I encourage you to share this review on Facebook and other social media sites. Follow us on Facebook to see where else we go.

You can find them on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/Eastsidesmokeco/

Enjoy the ride, good eating and thanks for stopping by.