Smoken Bones Cookshack | Victoria | The Hudson Building on Douglas

[G-Man]

This is open and looks amazing!!!

[aastra]

TC article from a few days ago:
http://www.timescolonist.com/busines...459/story.html

[Holden West]

The industrial look with the exposed concrete is interesting. I hope it's a success. It's great to finally see life in the ground floor for the first time in what--almost a decade?

[Van]

Got some poutine for takeout from here earlier this week. A deceptively filling portion in a larger-than-adequate box, it was quite decent. My only quip is that they used potato wedges instead of fries. Hope they work out the kinks in the computer system too, as it took about 10 minutes and a few tries to pay through debit.

[CarlonCouncil]

Big fan of the good old Pulled Pork Sandy and that was my first lunch from SB just this week, and their Pulled Pork Sandy ROCKED!! It was huge and it was messy, epic!! Personally, I like the thick cut fries!!

I think that location will do them well considering there are 4 office buildings within a half block of their front door. It is evil the way they vent out the side of the Hudson, I step out of my office door and all I can smell is great southern bbq cooking!!

Trying to lobby them to come out with a punch card so every 11th sandy might be free!! Help with the cause!!

Carl

[CarlonCouncil]

Got exotic today at SB and sampled the special, the Badass Braised Shortrib with Brie and Onion Strings sandwich. It was EPIC!!! And here I thought their pulled pork was as good as things can get, well, there's a new sandwich on the block that is awesome!! Give it a shot if you get a chance!

Carl

[Bob Fugger]

Originally Posted by CarlforCouncil

I think that location will do them well considering there are 4 office buildings within a half block of their front door.

Not if they take over an hour to get your lunch, which is what happened to us on Thursday. You should be able to turn your tables over 1.5x to twice per hour between 12-2. No one could understand how slapping already cooked meat onto a bun took so long - and the place wasn't even all that full.

As for the food itself, everyone agreed that the food was kind if mediocre. Someone had chicken wings, which were soggy and tiny. I had the beef brisket sandwich and I was shocked with how tough the meat was. Hhonestly, Pig has absolutely nothing to worry about.

[LocalMom]

Our book club (now just a dinner club) went last night, and every single one of us was 'meh' about our meals. Our appetizers were oddly assembled and hard to eat in their tiny containers (on plates! not in baskets!). One of us ordered the friend pickles, expecting crispy but instead got soggy. Ick. Our mains were meh, although the one person that ordered the ribs complained they were not good, sinewy and some inedible parts. My chicken/bacon stack sandwich was dry and hard to choke back until I asked for some bbq sauce and swamp sauce to apply to it. The best part? Dessert. Not exactly what a Cook Shack should be excelling at, the dessert.

Won't be back anytime soon unless my gluten-sensitive friends insist. There are simply better options available to us in town.

Wondering how they are doing in general... I suppose time will tell, once everyone has had their 'one try' and whether there are repeat customers. Not me, obviously.

[CarlonCouncil]

Originally Posted by Bob Fugger

Not if they take over an hour to get your lunch, which is what happened to us on Thursday. You should be able to turn your tables over 1.5x to twice per hour between 12-2. No one could understand how slapping already cooked meat onto a bun took so long - and the place wasn't even all that full.

As for the food itself, everyone agreed that the food was kind if mediocre. Someone had chicken wings, which were soggy and tiny. I had the beef brisket sandwich and I was shocked with how tough the meat was. Hhonestly, Pig has absolutely nothing to worry about.

@ Bob - You are correct in that the timing will be critical during that lunch rush when people are dealing with an hour, or even less time for lunch. For the group of us yesterday we were there for just under an hour.

Carl

[VicHockeyFan]

I went today for the first time ever. Never went to the old location.

I can only give it a 3.14159265 out of 5.

I arrived at about 2:06pm. I think signage on the exterior is lacking, and it sure is lacking on the main entry doors. As soon as you enter you are in some kind of huge void, but it's not hard to know where to go to get in. Still, it seems funny. I like how you walk into Moxies or the old Earl's, right away you are face-to-face with what is usually an attractive young lady (girl in the case of the new Earl's*).

I was seen right away at the hostess station, and seated right away. My waitress was as good as she needed to be. I thought the menu was alright, no complaints. Actually one complaint. I think it's unclear on the menu that a side comes with the mains, because on the sides list, they say $5.00, and up at the top of the mains, they say "additional sides $2.50". So, sides are FREE with a entree, and $2.50 if you have an additional side with your entree, and $5.00 if you have one with no entree.

Here's the menu, if you want to see what I mean.

Anyway, I ordered a Smoke Shack Stack for $11, with fries. Ya, the fries were wedges, but I thought they were quite good, but I could have maybe used a bit more. The sandwich was OK, no complaints really.

Oh, the food arrived pretty promptly, but there was only two other tables of people, and two guys at the bar.

OK, so here are my complaints.

I think the server girls looked sloppy. They were OK looking, but they both wore jeans, and honestly, I don't know why any restaurant, smokeshack or not, has that in their suitable dress-code. One of the two had a cell-phone in her back pocket. Lame. Maybe a small coffee shop that'd be ok. But seriously, it just says to me they don't really care what their staff wears, and the staff wears what's easy and comfortable too.

I think the place looks a little unfinished. I know, it's supposed to look industrial or whatever, but so is Brown's and this place doesn't look as cool as Browns. The wide, open hallway to the kitchen should be enclosed by doors, it looks odd. The installed wood beams look dumb to me, and they aren't structural, they are faux-structural.

Tims-Colonist, November 26th:

Delays in obtaining building permits will push back the opening of Smoken Bones Cookshack in the Hudson Building until at least late December, says the restaurant owner.

Ken Hueston, who had anticipating opening by Dec. 1, now expects to open his doors after Christmas, possibly early in the new year. "That's what I'm praying for - right now it's like a drawing that hasn't been coloured," he said.

Times-Colonist, January 23rd:

The vaulted ceiling is open, revealing vents and wiring. And there are notable highlights, like modern lighting fixtures and thick Douglas fir beams that replicate the burners and grills of a barbecue.

They replicate burners and grills? What? I never saw that connection.

The 24-foot-long bar — where local Philips beer is poured and hand-shaken margaritas are served in canning jars — was cut and milled from a single tree on the Hueston's family property in Metchosin. Father Tom and bar manager Jaye Lee cut the wood, fit and finished it together.

Now I feel a bit badly for them, because I think the bar doesn't work. It's too big, and too high. Not inviting.

And I have issues with how some of their various supplies are being stored. They have an entire area of ketchup bottles, and I think candles, both in places staring right out at the main room. Also some extra trays, and while I was there, a case of empty beer bottles and a 5-gallon bucket of something also stored right amidst the customer area. That crap should be hidden.

And my final issue is the drink prices. I don't drink, but I know prices. Nothing stood out as a good deal on the whole drink menu. Indeed, their special mixed drinks (cocktails and margaritas) were $8 (before tax), and didn't indicate that they were doubles, but maybe they were. If they were, they should indicate that.

Beers by the bottle are $5.25 and $6.25 imported. Now, there may have been some specials, but I didn't see any, and none were described to me. So nothing about the drinks wowed me.

Oh, and there was something funny I thought about the tables. They were all covered with a foam-backed pvc cover that appeared to be stretched loosely over each table and stapled on underneath. It kept me wondering what the finish on the tables was that they needed or wanted to cover them.

Oh, and I'm not sure if there was any music playing. I didn't think about that much until I walked by Cactus after, and the music was happening, and so was the place.

That's all. Again, there's nothing there to make me choose it over Cactus, Browns or the Stickey Wicket.


* Earl's, from Rate My Employer:

The best part of working here was the co-workers. The people I worked with are now some of my closest friends, it's a very fun place to work. As for the dress code of employees, I think every Earls girl understands that if your willing to put up with the drooling men, you will make awesome money...

if you like having horny old men hit on you all night, cause of the clothes they make you wear?....awful place no value of employees just managers using T & A to get men into the place, some of the kids are 16-17 and made to look like sluts!

[Sparky]

^ I love Cactus. I can't wait until they plant their heart into Uptown. (read close to my office)

Restaurants are a fickle business. I had one. Focus on the word "had".

You need a lot of magic to make money at these things....and you have to be willing to work from morning to night.

If it works for Smoken Bones then it works. It will be up to them and their magic. Otherwise....

[Dylan Leblanc]

I got a weird feeling from the SB that was in Langford, the interior layout was bad. Food was good though.

[weirdie]

The newest issue of EAT magazine has a write-up on Smoken Bones that talks at length about their previous location, the owners, the decor in the new location and how the menu has changed. There's almost no mention of what the food actually tastes like.

[Tim]

Service was good and room is decent but the food was pretty poor as far as BBQ goes. I have done a good bit of that style of food in the past and still make it at home sometimes. Quite poor recipes or someone is not following them as I can make far better just off the cuff. A blind monkey could even assemble that style of food and it would be awesome if the meat cookery and sauce was done well in the first place. They really need to go visit Memphis Blues in Vancouver and get a taste of the style done right (I am assuming they are still as good as they were a few years back).

[VicHockeyFan]

Went with a large group last night (15 maybe), service was good, food seemed pleasing to everyone.