I’d like for you to take a little ride with me to Henrico, VA to visit Smoke Pit Grill. Located on Staples Mills Road, they seem to be tucked in the middle of Interstates 95, 295, and 64. Talk about prime locations, they’re not far from any of these highways just north of Richmond. They are in a strip of businesses at the end of the row. Very nice location. You know, we just found Smoke Pit Grill even though they’ve been there for almost a year and a half. After thinking about a few other restaurants that took a long time for us to find I realized my problem. When I do a search on the internet I always look for “BBQ Restaurants”. Since they don’t have “bbq” in their name my search engines have overlooked them. Guess I’ll have to backtrack and check some other areas also. Well we finally found them and here’s how it went.

The Restaurant and Staff:

The first thing we saw when we arrived was a huge competition team trailer. It was parked at the end of the lot out of everyone’s way. This was one sweet rig. So as we went in we noticed that the restaurant is immaculate. A very friendly hostess greeted us at the door and showed us to our table. Our waiter, Jordan, was awesome. He was a lot of help and just fun to talk to. Jordan also knew the menu pretty well and was able to help us through it. I think he has a little comedian in him too as he wished me luck after bringing my meal to me.

I’ll have to admit that I was skeptical at first. Everything was super clean and orderly. When looking through the window to the kitchen I noticed everyone wearing Chef/Cook type shirts like they were in uniform. They were also very neat and clean. The other thing was that there wasn’t a lot of smoke aroma on the inside. I mean cleanliness is great, and why would anyone complain about a clean restaurant? Well let’s just say I was a little concerned. But hey, this is what we do. We visit restaurants and then write about them.

At this point I was watching all around and I seemed to be the only person really paying attention to all of this. Everyone else was just enjoying their dinner and time spent with the others who were with them. One last thing I noticed. I saw one of the cooks watching as a waiter took food to another table. I think they like to watch reactions from guests. It was actually pretty cool to see them that into what they were serving and watching for the reactions from the customers. So hopefully I haven’t scared you off, you really need to continue reading for the full story. Here we go.

Tammy’s Choices at Smoke Pit Grill:

So tonight Tammy went with a Two Meat Platter with Sliced Brisket and Smoked Turkey. Her sides were Mac & Cheese and Slaw. The platter also comes with cornbread and some pickles.

The brisket was awesome. It had a great smoke flavor and nice smoke ring, very tender and juicy. The amount of smoke was just right and not overpowering. All the flavors of the rub, the meat and the smoke combined together and made for some wonderful brisket. The smoked turkey breast also had the great smoke flavor which even I liked. Tammy loved it and said it may be the best she has ever had. There ya go.

Her sides didn’t disappoint either. Smoke Pit Grill makes their mac & cheese with 3 different pastas and 4 cheeses, add some bacon to the mix and then smoke it for the finishing touch. Yep you can only imagine until you try it. The slaw was right up there with everything else that came on Tammy’s platter. Basic cabbage and carrots but they make their own house made slaw dressing. There’s the difference.

And My Choices at Smoke Pit Grill:

Well I went with a Three Meat Platter with Pulled Pork, Sliced Brisket and Ribs. My sides were French Fries and Smoked Baked Beans. Mine also came with cornbread and pickles.

The pulled pork rocked! It had a great smoke flavor but again not overpowering. Definitely no sauce needed here. There was some bark mixed in too along with traces of smoke rings. I was loving this. The ribs were wonderful, St. Louis Style, having a nice dry rub, light sauce and slow smoked. They were so worth the trip.

So now for my sides. The fries were fantastic. Even though they were just regular French fries, they were coated with their house made herb seasoning and that put them over the top. I’d love to try this seasoning on fresh cut fries, mercy! And I can’t forget my smoked baked beans. They were wonderful. Five different beans baked with Andouille Sausage then smoked for 2 hours. Can you taste them? Oh yeah, you need some of these beans.

Remember Jordan wished me luck? Well he told me he was impressed. I had no leftovers tonight. It got too good to me.

Sauces:

I did check out the sauces at Smoke Pit Grill. Each is house made and each of them are very good. They have the standards, NC Vinegar, SC Mustard, KC Style, and a Hot Sauce. Tammy loved the mustard sauce. She’s the judge on the mustard sauces we run across. As for the others, they were all really good but to me unnecessary. But some people like sauce. By the way, the hot sauce has a little heat but will not hurt you. It was one of my favorites.

Desserts:

You will not believe the Carrot Cake at Smoke Pit Grill. Again, homemade and wonderful. They make it without raisins or nuts but you will never miss either of them. Once you start eating this wonderful slice of heaven you will not even think about them. By the way, this slice of cake is big enough for 3 or 4 adults. Tammy and I each at some for dessert then we split the leftover the next day.

Later when we met Gordon, the owner, he said he watched when the cake was delivered to our table. He told me that my eyes lit up when I saw it. I believe that. And again, Jordan wished us luck. I told him that without a doubt there would be carrot cake going home with us.

The People:

Well like I said, we met Gordon after we had eaten. We also had the privilege of meeting his wife, Lori, and Sonya, the manager. Each of them were so friendly and just made us feel right at home. Gordon told us that they have been in the restaurant business for about 1 year and 4 months. They have been doing competitions for 4 – 5 years. As good as the pulled pork was at the restaurant Gordon told us that we should try their competition pork. I may just have to do that someday. He also surprised me with a sample of their new Andouille Sausage. It’s not on the menu yet but is available. This was some great sausage. I loved it. Just remember that this sausage is supposed to be spicy and it does have some kick. I think it’s just right on the heat side. I also want to get more of that.

Sonya was a beautiful, friendly young lady. She was so genuine and glad to meet us. I didn’t know until looking at their website that her artwork hangs in the dining room. This was a great group of people. And our waiter, Jordan fit right in there too.

Final Thoughts:

I’m thinking you can figure out how I felt about Smoke Pit Grill. This was a great stop on the BBQ Trail. Everyone working together was great to see. They all helped each other and kept everything running smoothly. I do believe that everyone who reads this needs to take a ride and check this one out. I also know that Tammy and I will be back. There’s a lot of things on the menu that look so good you have to go back to try more.

Now For Your Thoughts:

So now I’ve told everyone what I think about Smoke Pit Grill, tell us what you think. Let’s hear from some who may have passed through and just stopped in for a meal. How did it go? Did you enjoy yours like we did ours? Leave some comments and let us know how your visit went.

What do you regulars think?

Now it’s time to find out what the regulars at Smoke Pit Grill think? What are your favorites? Tell us why you keep going back and any details that I have missed. You can add a lot to this story and let everyone know what makes your local spot the best around. Drop some comments off and I’ll get them posted with this review.

I look forward to hearing from you.

 

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You can check out their website at: http://www.smokepitgrill.com/

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

 

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