Cheerful, professional staff serve up tasty, fall-off-the-bone barbecue at the Langhorne, Pa., location of this national chain.
By: Amy Brummer
When it comes to the letters BBQ, I’m drawn like a moth to the flame of a charcoal pit. So while it is rare that I review a national chain restaurant, I just couldn’t get Smokey Bones off my radar screen since spotting it earlier this summer while driving past Oxford Valley Mall.
Owned and operated by Florida-based Darden Concepts Inc., Smokey Bones is a corporate take on barbecue, offering a thoroughly conceived, focus group-friendly version of its fare, in the same vein of Darden’s other establishments, Red Lobster and Olive Garden. These restaurants are set up to ensure that not only do customers leave satisfied, but will be compelled to return for the moderate prices, accommodating menu and friendly, efficient service.
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Smokey Bones |
On a recent Thursday evening at dinnertime, most of the tables were full, as were many of the seats at the bar. The space is open and airy, sectioned off by pine booths and enhanced by a handsome natural stone fireplace, giving it the feel of a contemporary lodge. Sleek plasma screen televisions silently tuned to ESPN are visible from every angle, but still manage to mix discreetly with the décor.
When we arrived, the hostess met us at the door, opened it to welcome us inside, asked our smoking preference and promptly dispatched us to our seats. Our waiter, whom we were informed would be by shortly, was right behind her, ready to get our drink order and put in our request for appetizers if we were ready.
Being newcomers, we needed a few minutes with the menu first, but quickly chose pints of Sam Adams lager and Killian’s Irish Red ($3) from a short list of draughts that included Bud and Miller Lite. Other mainstream bottled beers ($2.79-$3.89) are available, in addition to a list of domestic wines that include Yellow Tail Chardonnay and Berringer Estate Cabernet ($4.50-$6.50), as well as a fruity selection of "signature" margaritas and daiquiris ($6.20).
When he returned with the drinks, we were ready to order our appetizers, a combo plate ($8.99) and a chicken quesadilla ($7.49), but took a few more minutes to survey the menu. There’s a little something for everyone, from lean, grilled salmon and chicken to pulled pork, burgers and steaks ($6-$18.50). Vegetarians are not overlooked, with choices that include cornbread with pecan butter ($4.49) and a lodge salad with sunflower seeds and roasted peas ($8.50), though two of the more interesting options, a hot spinach and artichoke dip ($6.49) and a spinach salad with gorgonzola and pear ($8.29), had been temporarily taken off of the menu because of the E. coli scare.
But we were really there to try the barbecue, so we selected a rib combo ($17.49), half baby back, half St. Louis style, and a combination plate ($15.98) with pulled pork, brisket and chicken. The dinners come with a choice of two sides and Texas toast, and while we stuck with more traditional accompaniments coleslaw, baked beans, mashed potatoes and green beans other choices include broccoli, asparagus (in season) and cinnamon apples.
Appetizers arrived shortly, and I was pleasantly surprised by the lively quesadilla, filled with black beans, chicken and cheese, mildly spiced and wrapped in a grilled, whole-wheat tortilla. The combo of chicken fingers, onion rings and potato "slabs" was less interesting, though the latter was the best of the three, as it used a crisp shaving of potato to hold a topping of bacon and cheese instead of a heavy, scooped out skin. But we barely had more than two bites of anything before our main courses came out of the kitchen.
Quick service is part of the dining plan here, as we discussed with our waiter. Commenting on how busy it must get on Saturday evenings, he noted that the wait could be more than an hour, but things move pretty quickly because the wait staff is trained to turn over tables. And not only are they fast, they gush with good cheer and unceasing professionalism.
Imagine our delight when, upon delivering the food, the runner produced a small brown paper bag and turned down the lip and set it in front of us a bone bag. But that wasn’t good enough. Our waiter, seeing that we were given a brown bag, was aghast, took it off the table and replaced it with a white bag, which, he explained, is a little sturdier.
So that right there is reason enough to overlook the meat being a little too salty (which helps sell drinks) and the sauce a little too sweet (which will appeal to kids), because otherwise, the food is fine. The baby back ribs were falling off the bone, the brisket and pulled pork were tender and moist and the chicken had a nice rub of sage on the skin. We especially enjoyed the snappy, fresh green beans and coleslaw.
It was impossible to resist the bag of made-to-order donuts ($4.29), and the apple cobbler looked tasty ($4.79). Both met our expectations. The donuts were crumbly and light and the apple cobbler had a nice short crust and chunky filling.
When the server came with the bill, he explained that if we call the number at the bottom and answer a little survey, we would get $3 off our next meal. So it isn’t hard to see how Smokey Bones became so popular in the six months since it opened the atmosphere is pleasant, the service is terrific, the food is crowd-pleasing, the prices are reasonable and if that isn’t enough, they’ll even pay you to come back.

