(07/08/07)

Smokehouse Café in downtown Newport is a seasonal open-air restaurant on one of its busiest streets, right near the harbor and not too far from the beach. There’s a full bar, usually busy, at the front of the joint. Further back, the tables at the restaurant’s periphery offer great opportunities for tanning and people watching. At the very rear, there’s a quieter indoor area.

Barbecue options include beef ribs, two kinds of pork ribs (St Louis and babybacks), pulled pork, sliced brisket (sandwich only) and barbecued chicken. Beyond these usual suspects, Smokehouse Café has one of the more interesting menus I've come across, with unique items that appeal to barbecue lovers, seafood fans and vegetarians. Appetizers include two chowders, chili, chicken wings, “hog wings” (smoked pork chops on the bone), fried calamari, popcorn shrimp and a raw bar. Sandwiches include Southern and barbecue fare as well as burgers, tuna salad, a shrimp and guacamole wrap, smoked catfish and a vegetarian wrap with grilled eggplant and zucchini. There are five salads, including the “Lean, Mean No Meat Machine” that features smoked tofu.

Ribs can be ordered by the rack or half rack, or on a few different named combo platters. The barbecue plates come with fixed sides (beans, cole slaw and cornbread) and you can only order the few pre-configured combinations of meat. Substitutions are a hassle here.

My wife ad I met some friends on a late Sunday afternoon after a day at the beach. We started with the hog wings, Buffalo style ($5.95 for 2, $9.95 for 4). These pork chops were as tender as you can get without falling off the bone and fairly juicy, with a mild smoky backdrop. I liked the flavor and—believe it or not—they’re healthier than Buffalo wings.

With the no-substitution policy in mind, I ordered the Smokehouse BBQ Combo (half rack of St Louis ribs, half rack of babybacks and pulled pork, $24.95) and traded the half rack of babybacks for a fellow diner’s brisket sandwich ($9.75 with fries). I quickly regretted this as I bit into the thin, leathery meat. I liked the flavor, but the brisket was overcooked (the menu claims the brisket is smoked for 30 hours). The pulled pork was as wet as the brisket was dry. If you think of it as a pork chili, it’s not so bad, but I got no flavor from the meat under all that sauce. The ribs saved the meal. Sauced more sparingly, they packed a punch from the spices on the crust and the boldly flavored meat. They reminded me of a poor man’s version of the ribs at the Cookhouse, 100 miles down the Atlantic coast in Branford CT. Overall, I'd say the meats had more potential than my 1-for-3 outing implies. My wife’s catfish taco ($12.95) was very good, with a generous portion that was cooked perfectly.

There were no sauces at the table. Sides were average, with the cole slaw heavy on Mayo and the beans light on flavor. I didn’t try the fries, but they looked pretty good.

The bottom line: I wouldn't call it destination barbecue by any stretch of the imagination, but it's not a bad way to end a beach day.