A Long, Saucy Meal at Smokey’s Barbecue Pub

The barbecue aroma is waiting at the door at Smokey’s, setting up a meal built around smoke, sauce and the pleasant problem of choosing among brisket, ribs, pulled pork and more. This is a casual barbecue pub with a wood-heavy interior, a small-town, honky-tonk character and enough on the menu to turn a quick meal into a leisurely one.

The straightforward route is a platter. It puts the restaurant’s smoked meats and sides together on one plate, which is useful when picking only one meat seems unnecessarily limiting. Brisket, ribs and pulled pork are the familiar anchors, with smoked andouille sausage and pulled chicken giving the selection a little more range.

Brisket is a natural place to begin. It has a moist, tender texture and a pronounced smoky character, the sort of brisket that readily pulls apart rather than making a diner work for every bite.

The ribs bring a different rhythm to the plate: smoky, substantial and tender enough to pull cleanly from the bone. Pulled pork rounds out the classic barbecue trio, while pulled chicken offers a lighter alternative without stepping away from the smokehouse side of the menu.

Mixed-meat platters make the most sense for a table that wants to compare. A few bites of brisket with sausage, pork and a side or two can be more fun than committing to a single lane.

Smokey’s has several house barbecue sauces, and sampling them is worth slowing down for. The lineup includes smokey, sweet, golden white, spicy and pig pickin’ varieties; tables may have as many as six sauces available for trying with meat, sides and sandwiches.

That range changes the same plate from bite to bite. Sweet sauce can soften the edges of smoky pork, a spicy option can wake up a rib, and the golden white sauce gives diners a reason to revisit the chicken. There is no need to settle on one favorite before the food arrives.

Redneck beans, also known here as baked beans, have earned a reputation as a standout side. They belong alongside the meats rather than off to the side of the meal: rich, barbecue-friendly and substantial enough to be remembered after the platter is cleared.

Potato salad and coleslaw offer the cool, familiar counterpoint that smoked meat appreciates. Then there are the onion rings, which are notably oversized—closer in scale to doughnuts than the usual little basket rings.

A Frito pie takes the menu in a less traditional barbecue direction. It is a good reminder that this is a pub menu as well as a smokehouse menu, with room for casual, messy, highly satisfying food beyond the standard platter formula.

The Signature Wrap takes the platter idea and folds it into something handheld. Smoked beef brisket, pulled pork, smoked andouille sausage, rib meat and cheddar cheese all go into the wrap, making it a particularly committed order for someone who wants a little of nearly everything.

Burgers are also in the mix. The Fire House burger brings genuine heat, so it is not merely a menu item with a fiery name. Between wraps, burgers, sandwiches, platters and the Frito pie, a mixed group does not have to agree on one barbecue format.

Northern Soda Company root beer on tap is a memorable accompaniment to smokehouse food. It has the old-fashioned appeal of a barbecue-and-root-beer pairing, but pouring it from a tap gives the drink its own small moment at the table.

The bar list also includes draft beer, margaritas and Bloody Marys, with a notably broad beer selection for a local restaurant. That makes it easy to shift from a lunch plate to a longer dinner-and-drinks visit without changing venues.

Outside, the patio gives meals a more unhurried setting for barbecue, a cold beer or a margarita. Indoors, the dining room and bar area keep the mood relaxed; at weekday lunch, the room can be quiet enough for conversation.

The mostly wood-lined interior gives Smokey’s its rustic character without asking anyone to dress for the occasion. It has the friendly looseness of a place where a plate of ribs, a burger and a beer all make equal sense.

The restaurant has handled everything from smaller tables to a group of 13, and the spread of seating helps. A group can settle indoors, gather near the bar or take the meal outside when patio seating suits the day.

There is an easy social quality to the place, but it also works for a simple stop during a drive toward Duluth or after time at nearby outdoor spots. You can make a full evening of it, or simply order a platter, pass around the sauces and be back on the road.

Smokey’s has a free parking lot with plenty of parking, a welcome convenience when the plan involves bringing several people along. Indoor dining, bar seating and the patio provide a few different ways to settle in once you arrive.

Weekday lunch and early-evening visits have often moved along without a wait, though timing naturally varies. The broader point is that the restaurant can serve as either a quick barbecue stop or a place to linger over a sampler of sauces, Redneck beans and a second round of root beer.