By: Marc Kent
Smokey Bones Bar + Fire Grill presents a wide variety of favorites done with creativity and flair.
Start, as we did, with homemade Brunswick stew – a soup with smoked BBQ ,corn niblets and tomatoes – very tasty with its trace of spice. The soup of the day was a rich chicken noodle with plenty of both – smooth and hearty.
Of the 11 starters, we sampled Southwest spring rolls, fried rolls filled with chicken, corn, black beans and spices for a crunchy spicy treat. A must try, as well, is the crispy shrimp dunkers, a half dozen good size shrimp, battered lightly and drizzled with a fine teriyaki glaze!
There are 8 salad offerings – we chose the charbroiled chicken Caesar – crisp shards of romaine with Asiago cheese in an excellent Caesar dressing. We also tried the chicken cob combining smoked chicken with hardboiled egg, hickory bacon bits, bleu cheese crumbles, avocado and tiny tomatoes plus cream blue cheese dressing. Both large portions with bright tastes.
The Fish and Chips – two huge portions of beer battered and fried cod was light, crispy and very tender. The chips, French fried yet not crispy,was not our preference.
Smokey Bones Flame – seared salmon was a winner with a sweet teriyaki glaze (a citrus butter sauce is also available) – try it! 6 other choices in this grouping also listed.
Emphasis is on slow smoked BBQ and we chose to sample “Double Trouble”, a one third rack of their Baby Back ribs plus a one-third rack of ribs, smoked St. Louis style. Both are marinated for hours and available with any of three fire-grill flavors. Some 15 side dishes are on the menu – your choice! Other BBQ platters include hand-pulled pork, smoked beef brisket or smoked turkey breast –these we’ll try another time.
We elected to try the fire-grilled marinated rib eye – our favorite cut. The one prepared “medium” was juicy and tender, the “medium-rare” was stringy and less tender. Talk to your server! Other listings included a sirloin, available in 7 ounce or 10 ounce sizes, a 12 ounce New York strip and both a teriyaki pork tenderloin and charbroiled pork tenderloin.
Bones burgers list 6 beef and 1 turkey burger with lettuce, tomato, red onion slices and pickles. You can build your own burger from a roster of different patties, buns, cheeses, hot or cold toppings plus any of 7 sauces. Be creative!
We did not sample any of the 6 sandwiches offered at this time – the selection is quite varied.
The dessert menu has “wicked apple wontons”, three crisp apple filled mini wontons with two scoops of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce – excellent taste and texture. Chocoholics take notice – the “Leaning Tower of Chocolate Cake” is just that- 6 layers of chocolate cake, smothered in dark fudge and sweet chocolate frosting – rich enough for two – or more!
We have sampled individual “Sweet Shots” in the past – this selection included bread pudding, banana, key lime, cheesecake and chocolate. Try one, try all!
Smokey Bones dessert secret is “Hot Bag O’Donuts”, a bag of fresh, fluffy, round, cinnamon-sugary donuts served with both a chocolate dipping sauce and a strawberry cream dipping sauce. If you try no other fine dessert – pick these donuts.
With over 60 restaurants, the set menu changes bi-monthly, keeping the diners favorites. There is a child’s menu as well. Open 7 days from 11AM to 2AM, Smokey Bones seats 280 diners at 21733 State Road 7 in Boca Raton (561-852-7870). We found excellent food at reasonable pricing and an efficient, knowledgeable wait staff. We strongly recommend you – Go and Enjoy!