Opened in the former Culpeppers at Westgate Center, Wild Smoke offers an appealing dining concept: a value-conscious meal of generally very good food in exchange for a little bit of self-service. The menu has the full range of barbecue, from the pulled-pork White Trash Tacos to a toney Smoked Prime Rib. A variety of sauces on the self-serve bar that you can add to meats yourself affords some choice in whether you want your BBQ hot, sweet or smoky. And offerings like Mustang Sally Fries (fries topped with baked beans, pulled chicken and cheddar) and BBQ Sundae (layers of pulled pork, mac ’n’ cheese, slaw and baked beans) go well beyond pit-smoked meats for the purists.
It’s a sit-down restaurant, kind of, once you’ve lined up to order at the register. This doesn’t give diners much time to peruse the menu in advance, which is why I suggest looking at it online beforehand—there are lots of choices. Once you’ve ordered, a server brings the food to your table. You’re on your own for drinks and condiments, located at a central service bar.
Of the handful of starters, we picked a couple of winners: Shrimp & Jalapeno Firecrackers ($10) and Smoked Chicken Tortilla Soup ($4 cup). The shrimp, four, come tightly wrapped with crunchy bacon. Inside, the smoky packages contain a light coat of goat cheese and a cooked jalapeno. It all works very well: something crisp, something creamy, with a little bite and plenty of flavor from ‘Showdown,’ my favorite of the four barbecue sauces here. The Smoked Chicken Tortilla Soup ($4) was a smallish cupful of roasted corn, shredded chicken, chile peppers and very flavorful broth.
Don’t miss the ribs. We had them in the Ribs & One Meat ($14), and the three meaty bones were prepared perfectly. They had plenty of meat and plenty of flavor, but not too much sauce, fat or crunch, leaving you with tender mouthfuls and the option to sauce or not to sauce. The KC Burnt Ends ($13) were crunchy, with sweet, thick barbecue sauce baked in for extra flavor. They had just enough fat to be interesting and plenty of ‘burnt.’ Another standout was the Smoked Salmon ($12), a large filet, very tender from the smoking process, with a mild smoky flavor.
Most entrees come with two sides; sandwiches come with fries or slaw for a $1 upcharge. The Root Bear Baked Beans were as good as they sound: saucy and sweet. And the fried and jumbo onion rings were good, as was the slaw, which was a classic creamy variety. Warm Red Neck Potato Salad was less successful, having panfried potatoes tossed in mayo, which just made them soggy. And I found the Sweet Potato Gratin overly sweet and greasy.
For dessert, there are brownies, cookies, pies and root beer floats, all under $4; since the root beer is house-made, that would be my pick (if you still have room).
[amuse bouche]
THE SCENE | Busy, upscale-casual barbecue joint
THE CHEF | Anthony Collida
THE PRICES | $6 to $9.50 sandwiches, $7 to $15 entrees, $3 to $10 salads and starters
THE FAVORITES | Shrimp & Jalapeno Firecrackers, Smoked Chicken Tortilla Soup, Ribs & One Meat, Smoked Salmon, Root Beer Baked Beans
[chef chat]>> anthony collida
PEDIGREE | I worked at many restaurants, including Duff’s and The Piccadilly at Manhattan, where I seriously got into barbecue.
FAVORITE INGREDIENT | Salt
FAVORITE COOKBOOK | Either Beard on Food by James Beard or Alice Waters
MOST MEMORABLE MEAL | When I was a young chef working with Chris Lee, he prepared a nine-course dinner, pretty eye opening
GUILTY PLEASURE FOOD | Chicken skin
12316 Olive Blvd. | 314.548.2222
By Jonathan Carli
Photos by Bill Barrett