Well I liked the chicken anyway (Manchester, Concord: home, wedding, tax)

[CrazyDave]

I had a hankering for some Que last night so we hopped on the bike and headed to Derry to try a new joint Smoke and Spice

It was a beautiful sunny afternoon with a mild breeze blowing through my long grey hair, the bike was running sweet and the ride down there by the lake was excellent.



This is truly a rib "shack" as there is no inside seating at all



We went inside to place our order and while Linda waited outside I took a walk over to agas station to get a gingerale, our soft drink of choice



We opted to try some sampler platters, the 13 and 15 dollar ones, the difference being th 15 dollar one added a brisket slider to the mix, sides were dirty rice, beans coleslaw and mac and cheese.



I freely admit to being picky when it comes to Que, I know what I like and what I don't. This place seemed to dwell of those things of the latter catagory.

Pulled Pork.
Pulled pork should be moist, the more bark the better, and should be permeated with smoke. This pulled pork wa dry and stringy, no bark at all.. next.

Ribs. Moist and smoky they were not, though the crust had some flavor somehow it got lost on its way to the meat which was dry and gret, no noticable smoke ring..not good.

Brisket. Ok I fess up, I am not a brisket fan to begin with. City Flame in Manchester is the only brisket I even bother with and only if I am extra hungry. I would say that this brisket was on par with most, nothing special nothing really bad, it was well... brisket.

Sausage. Though no detectable smoke flavor the sausage included in the meal was ok, not big whoop but edible.

Chicken. I have had better chicken, I have smoked better chicken myself, but it was tasty and the saving grace of the meal. Still a little dry but good enough that it satisfied my appetite.

The sides. The dirty rice was a weird mix of sweet and spicy but good, adding some chicken to it really woke it up. The slaw..stay away. Linda loved the mac and cheese she got with her platter..the sampling I had was typical of mac and cheese. Linda also got the beans, which tasted like someone was in the process of making a chili base out of them and decided to quit for the day.

Smoke and Spice puts the meal tax right into the price so you pay the exact amount you see on the menu items. There is better Que to be found in NH, but if you order carefully I suppose you coould fill yourself up nicely on chicken and dirty rice and enjoy eating outside on a nice sunny day too.

[BF66389]

Dave- thanks for sharing your review (of barbecue places in general as well). I'm a BBQ fan (we actually had a GREAT barbecue place cater our wedding...but they are down in DC...they smoked on-site and did an amazing job mixing in some traditional BBQ with some fancier foods).

What is your favorite place in New England (preferably closer)?

[CrazyDave]

Originally Posted by BF66389

Dave- thanks for sharing your review (of barbecue places in general as well). I'm a BBQ fan (we actually had a GREAT barbecue place cater our wedding...but they are down in DC...they smoked on-site and did an amazing job mixing in some traditional BBQ with some fancier foods).

What is your favorite place in New England (preferably closer)?

City Flame for pulled pork is hard to beat

363 Chestnut St Manchester, NH 03101 - (603) 622-6022

Some do not care for chains but I have found that for ribs Famous Daves and Smokey Bones do a better job then the locals, there was a time when that was not true but Down and Dirty BBQ is no longer here in NH..too bad it is greatly missed. there is a catering place in Amherst that blows both away but
(A) I cannot remember the name and
(B) Even when I had the name I could not locate the business..any Amherts locals know who I am talking about? They do the Rock and rib fests during the summer.

I think I will make some enemies when I state I am not a big fan of KC's ribshack. To be fair KC"S has provided some darn good que in the [ast, they have also provided some seriously lack luster que. and it is that lack of consistency that brings them down, it is also the only rib shack I have ever been at that actually ran out of ribs.

Goodie Coles on 125 has good pulled pork and good chicken.

Beefside in Concord has a fair pulled pork, stringy but tasty.

Arnolds drive-in in Concord, up and down, a good day is good eating though.

The bottom line though is you gotta go experiment yourself, my tatses are mine and what I like may not do it for someone else.

[Ken E]

The Yankee Smokehouse in West Ossipee used to have some pretty good BBQ. I havent been there in a while but i imagine it hasen't changed. Awsome area for motorcycle riding.

[lisa g]

Appreciating this thread immensely - thank you.

[NH2008]

Yankee Smokehouse is a lot of fun and it does attract a lot of riders and we go there all the time and leave stuffed. All that said, if you're serious about your bbq, and it sounds like Crazy Dave is, I wouldn't bother.

My dh works in TX and once you've had bbq from Lockhart it's hard to believe anything here is going to compare...sorry if that sounds snobby but I've had my hopes dashed too many times! Sounds like Crazy D is on the right track with the backyard smoker.

[Aptor hours]

Glad you liked it I am getting nervous thinking about the fat and huge portions though. Nice of you to post those pictures

[notdancingqueen]

Redbones in Boston (Davis Square or Porter Square - I forget which.) Awesome, awesome, awesome.

[buddyjo143]

Thanks for the review. I took a friend to Goody Cole's last night and we had an awesome meal.

We haven't tried Smoke and Spice yet. We live just a few miles north of the place. I will share a story about the owner, however. Before he opened we saw the new sign and stopped by one Saturday night when the lights were on. I went inside and asked for a menu. He explained that they weren't open yet, they had some technical problems. I said, no problem and took the menu. While I was sitting in the car with my DH, the owner came out and handed me a container of their chili. He said he had made it but didn't want to freeze it. We ate it at home the next day. It had potential.

FYI, the owner also owns Jake D's Roast Beef on West Broadway in Derry. A tried and true place with many more years of experience.

The location of Smoke and Spice has hosted many food related business during the past six years or so. It is a hard location to work from, located right at the rotary with little parking and no seating to speak of.

Good luck to the owner.

[Ken E]

I heard that there was a new BBQ place up in Bartlett. Someone told me they re-did the old Pear Mtn Cafe and the food was good. Someone from down south doing North Carolina style BBQ. Just wondering if anyone's been there.