How good is Smokey Bones restaurant compared to a mom and pop place?

Their que is not bad but we all know that depends on who the pitmaster is for the day or shift. But I have many other places to go to in the Tampa Bay area instead of SB.

And I could not agree with you more regarding the sauces. For a national chain, I was surprised by their two table sauces. One is mustard based and the other one is a hickory flavored sauce if I remember correctly.

If the office was going, I would not turn it down but I sure would like to take my own sauce with me.

BTW, I do like their skillet corbread and the dessert doughnuts.

Fl has a great quanity of bbq places,but the bar is set pretty low.

Smokey Bones is a Darden[olive garden,red lobster,etc]

If I was driving through the area,maybe at night,strange roads around my motel,I might take my family to any of those chains.

Sometimes folks look for a consistent,family dining experience,rather than hoping to hit the "one in a hundred" of the local spots,you can tell the folks back home about.

SB does at least have pulled pork and brisket, and a cold beer,and they forced all the fl chains to get away from fast cooked,sliced pork and bottom round for their meat offerings.

I ,personally, hate to see their sale and closings,because they have maybe forced some of the others to attempt a better product.

Just a thought.

I like the bar, and the tv's. LOVE the doughnuts.

I know the Executive Chef for the chain and he competes at MIM.

The problem with ANY chain, isn't the recipes, it's the people inside that particular restaurant and do they know how to tend a pit. Usually they don't, hence most chains get a comment that they're inconsistent.

They closed the one here, they're having $$$ problems.

I really like their mustard sauce. My friend sends it to me by the gallon.

We have one about 60 miles away, never been there, but in the town I live close to there opened a HogFathers, been there once had the brisket, decent I guess greasey for sure, more meat than bun and they served it ina plastic basket with a piece of paper, what a mess.

They have some sort of pressure smoker, says they can do in 4 hours what normally takes 12-16.

The local guy up the road has very good stuff, haven't had a chance to check put his cooker, I believe it is a rotisserie of some sort.

I stopped at the Smokey Bones once but the place was so packed i couldn't even find a spot in the parking lot.

There is one in Newport News Virginia. I've been there about 3 times. Overall, a decent value.