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Last Update: Aug 16th, 2017
Smoke BBQ Delray Beach

Smoke BBQ

8 E Atlantic Ave
Delray Beach FL, 33444
561 330-4236

Details

Hours: Tue-Wed 5pm-12am, Thu-Sat 5pm-2am, Closed Sun and Mon
Attire: Casual
Parking: Street, Valet
CC: Yes
Alcohol: Full Bar
Prices: Moderate
Outside Dining: Yes
Reservations: Yes
Delivery: No

Description

Here we go again; Stephen Chin and Scott Kennedy have re-branded the restaurant once more; transitioning from Mexican to Asian/Sushi to BBQ. The 3-4-1 drinks remain, so expect the same college-like crowd falling for the BS put out by their PR firms.

When a restaurant spends money on PR but can't even slap up a web site with the hours and menu, you need to beware. This place just doesn't smell legitimate to me.

Smoke's PR firm is trying to sell the guy they brought in, Bryan Tyrell, as some sort of BBQ genius instrumental to the success of Oklahoma Joe's BBQ in Kansas City, but it appears to be mostly fiction. He depicts himself as an "Operations Manager"; Many of the Awards cited in their press release including all of the top Zagat ratings came after Tyrell left in 2003, and in no article since their opening in 1996 was Tyrell even mentioned. Jeff and Joy Stehney seem to be the cooks and creators of the Award Winning 'Cue; Tyrell appears to be just a guy who was along for the ride. The Team, named "Slaughterhouse Five", continued to win contests after Tyrell left for Europe, and Anthony Bourdain's "list" where OJs was cited was published 6 years after Tyrell Left the country.

Interestingly, Jon Davidson, another "member" of the Award Winning Cooking team in the Early '90s, is also taking credit for Oklahoma Joe's success as he opens restaurants in Tulsa and Washington DC.

This is the kind of thing that happened 10-15 years ago; a guy who was "in the room" takes full credit for everything good that happened, moves to another location and creates a fictional background to perpetuate a false narrative on the public. But today we have Google, and we can pull up every article written about Oklahoma Joe's and Slaughterhouse Five since 1996, and Bryan Tyrell was simply never even mentioned. The guy who turns on the smokers and watched the ribs doesn't usually get credit for the quality of the food.

Smoke is the only BBQ in south florida that isn't open for Lunch (they don't even put their hours on their Voice Mail Message), which tells you all you need to know about their dedication as a "restaurant". This is a cash generating bar that serves food as a sideline, just as it was before.

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