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 (http://www.smokeandspicebbq.com/page/page/6702514.htm - broken link)
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.