Elite Event: An Evening With Smoke Ring

I have been wanting to go to an Elite event for years… 6 to be exact. Finally I was able to make the one at Smoke Ring and I am so glad that i did! Now I know what I have been missing out on all this time.
Smoke Ring was great, they get all their beef from Brasstown Beef and all their chicken from White Oaks in south GA. The food and the service were both excellent. I will absolutely be back to check out more of their food.
And it was great to finally meet some fellow Unilocalers. I’ll def be back to another event, if I can get my RSVPs in fast enough!

Venue: Smoke Ring BBQ
Décor: Nice, Clean, Conservative
Service: Attentive
Environment: Unilocal’s Finest
Food: BBQ
Prices: N/​A

Huge Pros: Location, Room Size
Debbie Downers: Early in the week events kinda sucks. Usually kick @$$ in the middle of the week or the end (but that is splitting hairs)
Conclusion: The Smoke Ring BBQ is somewhere tucked away in the corner of the Castleberry Hill area. Food was good (brisket, devil eggs), bar area was clean. Unilocalers had fun. The event was pretty good to close out the year. Shout out to Ben for hosting a good event
Overall: B+

Thanks for a great holiday party, Ben!
I haven’t been able to make it to as many Elite events as I would have liked this year, so it was great to be back amongst all y’all! I was super impressed that the name tags were printed! Made you feel like the RSVP was even more official. And to see the tables of Unilocal schwag (can you ever have enough of those little mints or key chains or Unilocal sticks?) right there at the entrance was welcoming. Keaton M was checking us in and taking donations for the Ronald McDonald House.
The servers were doing a great job of taking drink orders, particularly the special virgin American Mule (yay for Ginger Beer!) for me. We put in our drink order, then wandered around the large space admiring the décor, particularly the newly hung piglet picture that we officially oohed and aahed over later.
As we were gathering, the owner was bringing out the food, starting with the deviled eggs and fried green tomatoes. Some of the most eager elites dug in before he could even get the brisket into the chaffing dish! Being pregnant, and knowing that the food goes fast, I immediately got in the line anyway, grabbing a bite for me and for J of each. We sat down and dug in.
The deviled egg was tasty. I really liked the chow chow on the fried green tomatoes, which were still pretty crispy, even being served on a big platter. The wings were awesome. And the white barbecue sauce really complemented the crispy skin and smoke flavor nicely. Once the line died down, J got us another egg, another tomato, and a nice chunk of the brisket. The brisket was pretty tender and juicy. The thin, sweet, and spicy red sauce that was recommended for it is not the style that I prefer, but it’s still good barbecue.
It was great that Ben shared the story of the owners, a couple made of chef and bartender (sorry, can’t remember names correctly with pregnancy brain), who seem to really have their act together, particularly considering the short time that they’ve been open. And yay for our Unilocal Socks! They’ll help keep my toes warm in my boots in the coming months!
And as always, it was great to see everyone in person and make some new friends!
May your days be merry and bright, y’all!

This was a cool Elite event and I had a pretty good time. I especially like that we were asked to bring some food items for the Ronald McDonald House. Giving warms the heart.
Smoke Ring is a cool BBQ place. We got to munch on some of their menu items which included wings, deviled eggs, and fried tomatoes. Very nice. We were able to drink, drink, drink and the servers were hard working and kept up with everyone’s needs (okay, everyone’s wants). They did a fantastic job.
I love the atmosphere of Smoke Ring. The view was awesome and I like the set up inside. It had tvs all around (like) and some cool art. The painting of the pig was bomb. Love me some pig.
The chef came out and spoke with us; I love when the food artist comes out and lets us look upon him/​her.
Ben gave us some Unilocal socks as gifts and I will be toasty (and fly) in them this Winter. Thanks Ben! Speaking of Ben, he was a great host. I love the way he makes his way around the room ensuring that he speaks to everyone.
We got to meet Keaton, Ben’s assistant. Welcome Keaton.
There seemed to be many people here who I didn’t know. I was trying to friendly with one lady and she seemed a bit snobby. Honey get over yourself. You couldn’t possibly be better than me. Anyway, I was able to meet some FRIENDLY folks whom I’ve never met before and that was cool.
I’m happy that I got a Unilocal shot glass and that I got to hang out with some cool people. I always appreciate Elite events and the opportunity to try out a new spot.
Thanks to the crew of Smoke Ring and Ben for arranging this for us.

Thanks to Ben and Keaton for hosting the event and selecting such a great spot. I really enjoy getting to meet new Unilocalers like Michelle K, David K, and Edward L.
We got to sample the BBQ deviled eggs, smoked wings, fried green tomatoes, and the brisket. Everything was really good and I especially enjoyed the wings. Their tow house made sauces were really good too. The service was great, and as other reviewers has said the waitresses did a great job on refills.
The owner /​chef, Jordan Wakefiled, said a few words about the restaurant and his vision for it which was really nice.
I had not heard of Smoke Ring prior to the event and loved it. I will definitely be going back soon.

This event was so much fun! I was impressed with how fantastic and welcoming this restaurant/​bar was. You couldn’t help but notice the cool décor and super friendly staff.
Loved the «blueberry» vodka drink using Tito’s vodka and the food was fantastic. I’m a huge fan of their signature Ranch sauce and BBQ sauce. They are not thick sauces but once you mix them together, it’s fantastic over their pulled pork.
Everything from their hot wings, deviled eggs to their friend green tomatoes and pulled pork were delicious! Loved every minute of the event and ended up staying ’till the end catching up with friends I haven’t seen in awhile. My plus 1, Christine thoroughly enjoyed herself and had a blast. She just might be inspired to open up a profile on here and start reviewing!
A huge shout out to the staff and owners of The Smoke Ring. The entire experience was great and I’ll be sure to return with friends in the near future!
Thank you Ben, Keaton and JJ for making us feel welcome and the adorable Unilocal elite socks!

I was really excited for this event and it did not disappoint!
Smoke Ring is not your average BBQ restaurant, in terms of aesthetics and even food; it’s not dive-​y or smokey — the space is absolutely gorgeous — wall to wall wood panels, hardwood floors, rustic light fixtures, and to top it off: a larger than life oil painting of — how fitting — a pig (ooooh, aaahhhh). Chef Jordan Wakefield took the time to give us a bit of insight on how Smoke Ring differs from other BBQ restaurants; first of all the meat is purchased from sustainable farms and all the produce will be organically sourced by early next year!
Speaking of the food, we got to sample several items off the menu: deviled eggs topped with bacon, jam, and chives — yum; these went fast! Another quick going item, their fried green tomatoes, which were topped with goat cheese, and some veggies — I don’t really recall, there was only one left and I pretty much inhaled it. Oh yes, I will be back for more of these! The wings were fantastic, some of the best I’ve had in awhile! I also really enjoyed the pulled pork, especially in combination with their White BBQ sauce… so. good. In addition to some good food, Tito’s Handmade vodka provided for some good drank, there were two cocktails in constant circulation (mad props to Erin and the lovely servers!), the ‘Moscow Mule’ and the ‘Boozey Blues’ — my favorite was the latter — there were actual blueberries in the glass!
After the food and dranks winded down a bit, Ben got in the Christmas spirit, donned a Santa hat and handed out Christmas Unilocal presents to the night’s attendees (I’ve never been so excited for socks!).
Thank you to Ben and JJ for another amazing event, and it was a pleasure meeting Keaton!

Great event! It was so nice to see and meet ITP Unilocalers, as I haven’t been to an ITP Elite event in a Long Time.
Can we talk about how the name tags were pre-​printed with names? I’m starting to think I’m not the only one who has «do I have cool handwriting?» anxiety when having to fill out my own name tag. Nice touch, Ben!
I thought the event space was perfect for our size. Once the place started really getting packed in, you had no choice but to rub elbows (literally!) with other Elites and +1s. I got to meet some great new friends, and was reminded that I should really be better about bouncing around and meeting new people at these things. I wish more of these Elites would come out to UYEs so we could be friends forever. Just kidding — but in all seriousness, even after being Elite for 4 years it doesn’t get any easier trying to meet new people at these events, and UYEs are really helpful for that. Anyway! I know this is bound to happen but once everyone sat to eat, that was the end of the mingling. I tried to make standing a trend again but it didn’t work, haha.
I really liked all of the food that was offered (I was lucky enough to be one of the first in line). Fried green tomatoes were perfect. My favorite was the deviled eggs! Also, my table got a hold of some BBQ sauce that was not vinegar based, helping along the brisket. Delish. Thanks for the food bites Smoke Ring! For this event it might have been nice to have service from both sides of the buffet to speed things along. The owner mentioned they try to focus on the side dishes which is the BEST part of bbq anyway, so I will definitely be back. It was also nice to showcase a neighborhood that often doesn’t get a lot of love.
I wasn’t a huge fan of the drink setup. Taking individual orders and trying to deliver to those individuals really didn’t work for a group our size. Alternatively they could have made large plates of both drinks and just brought them around. I also would have liked another option, like beer or wine, that are faster to serve and has fewer calories than mixed drinks. I tried both drinks and while they were delicious, I felt they were pretty weak.
I agree with David that Unilocal holiday party memories are great (loved the year at Steel with strawberry road sushi and gift exchange!) but I was pleased to attend a Unilocal event that didn’t have a theme, focused on costumes, and a super loud DJ. For me, those types of blowouts are fun once a year or so. I find great company, food, and drinks are the only things that I need to make an event super fun and that is what I received last night. It was nice to be able to just show up after work and stay for an hour or so, and get to bed at a reasonable hour. Although — I wish we had gotten a «last minute reminders» e-​mail that included details on parking and reminded us to bring stuff to donate to the charity. I had completely forgotten about that and I was sad. :(
Great event Ben — thanks so much for organizing and being our fearless leader!
Last note: I asked my +1 what his favorite part of the event was, and he said «You were there.» He’s a keeper :)

Finally made it out to one of Ben’s elite events. What a great time!
I arrived right on time, with my plus 1 — I loved the nice touch of the printed name tags. well played Ben. We were immediately welcomed by Ben and Keaton — nice to meet you new friend — and before we could get to a table, the lovely ladies of Smoke Ring came right over to introduce themselves and ask us what we were drinking. Like David, our drinks were always full. The service was spot on. I think we were able to try everything. I’m really looking forward to heading back, especially after hearing the chef (and part owner?) speak about the organic produce and well-​exectuted sides. Yum!
Thanks for a great end to another awesome Unilocaly year! Happy holidays.

Smoke Ring opened in Castleberry Hill less than 2 months ago. What better way to break in the new restaurant than with a Unilocal party? Bravo, Ben, on choosing a stellar, up-​and-​coming Atlanta venue for our latest Elite event. Chef-​owner Jordan Wakefield and staff welcomed us into their business in true holiday fashion by feeding us with generous portions of delicious smoked BBQ.
This event also marked the introduction of Keaton M, Unilocal Atlanta ITP’s new Marketing Assistant. Congratulations and welcome, Keaton!
Chef Wakefield had two tables worth of food for us. The fare included BBQ deviled eggs, smoked chicken wings, fried green tomatoes, and pulled pork. All of the foods looked and tasted great. Each item had its own unique Smoke Ring touch. The deviled eggs had BBQ seasoning, bacon and bourbon marmalade, and green onion. The fried green tomatoes came with goat cheese, chow-​chow pickled relish, and red pepper jam. The wings and pulled pork were very tasty. The best part, though, was the addictingly appetizing *white* BBQ sauce. White.
Drinks were provided by Tito’s Handmade Vodka.
Smoke Ring has a very cool looking space with a wooden, rustic look and neat, exposed bulb light fixtures. The place was nicely decorated for the holidays with a Christmas tree and Christmas lights around the windows. Our party pretty much took over the entire restaurant. The staff was fantastic and kept the drinks flowing.
Towards the end of the night, Ben donned a Santa hat and started handing out a special gift to all Elites in attendance: red Unilocal socks. Woohoo! (These were also handed out at the August OTP Elite event.) Ben also crafted a hand-​made, Unilocal-​themed Christmas card for all of us to sign, which will be delivered to the families of the Ronald McDonald House of Atlanta.
Thank you to Ben, JJ, Keaton, outstanding photographer Brittany Wages (I’m glad she’s back), chef Wakefield, his wife Erin, and the rest of the Smoke Ring staff. It was a terrific evening.

Meeting new people, eating delectable BBQ, exploring a new part of town, getting some Unilocal swag, and discovering a new favorite cocktail (the blueberry… what was the name??). Overall awesome!
Ben — I’m loving your leadership in Atlanta! The check-​in was smooth, the gifts rocked, and the nametags were way too legit. Unilocalers are already awesome, and you do a great job at building the community even more.
The fried green tomatoes were amazing — though I can only imagine how much better they’d even be right off the cooker (alas, when catering there’s only so much magic that can happen).
Also, while the cocktails were incredible, having water set out might’ve been nice too (maybe I just missed it?), as I didn’t want to busy the already hustling servers to get me water!

Wonderful elite event and thanks to Ben and whoever else helped put this event together. The food was great, especially the fried green tomatoes and wings. I will definitely go back and try the rest of the food at Smoke Ring.
PS. The drinks were also amazing, I especially liked the blueberry one, boozie something I think.
Thanks again.

This was a great Elite event hosted by our one and only Ben G! He found a cool new BBQ restaurant named, Smoke Ring over in the Castleberry Hill area — way outside of my usual stomping grounds, but it was well worth the trek to uncharted territories.
Unlike most BBQ places, Smoke Ring has ambiance… which begins outside the door with a statue of a horse drawn carriage. Inside is made of dark wood, a big bar, unique seating areas including booths, a big communal table, regular tables and a funny gazebo-​like structure in the center of the dining room, and perfectly suited artwork like the letter B, B, Q and a painting of a pig.
After my boyfriend and I arrived, we were greeted by Ben with a big hug and one of the two waitresses taking care of Unilocalers for the evening, offered us the two specialty drinks of the night: a blueberry fizz (Tito’s vodka, blueberry muddle and simple syrup) or an American mule (Moscow mule but with a twist). We both opted for blueberry fizzes (very good!) and soon the food started coming out.
That night’s selections included: fancy deviled eggs, fried green tomatoes with peppers, chicken wings and the tenderest pulled pork I’ve had in ages. It was so tender it could have been cut with a fork. Everything was excellent and they had this great white BBQ sauce along with the usual vinegar– and sweet-​based sauces that was awesome.
I sat with a group of Unilocalers — some new friends, some old and we had a great time chatting during the evening. And last but not least, Ben gave us and our plus ones a special holiday treat courtesy of Unilocal.What is it you ask? Why Unilocal socks of course! In all their red and white, Unilocal-​y goodness! Pretty darn sweet if you ask me. Happy holidays Unilocal

I guess I’m more sentimental about Christmas than I thought because coming to this event made me reminisce about past Unilocal holiday parties. Who could forget Kevin L. flying in from NYC to be our Asian Santa? Or the huge soirée at Atlantic Station last year? Good times… :)
As always, this year made me appreciate my friends and the awesome people I’ve met through the Unilocal Atlanta community. Newbies like Yolanda M., Jacqueline C., Jose O., Tahnita C., Pratik S., Vyvy T., & Ben G. (plus his super cute wife JJ G); others for a little longer like Michelle K., Lindy F., Ming Y., Andrew D., Carrie B., & Angela H; and even some for 5+ years like Daniel B., Angela M. and her awesome husband, Charlie.
I loved the cocktails. I had at least one of each plus something that I don’t think was on the menu. All I know is I always had a full glass in front of me. Edward L. and I came a little after 8 PM and the food was already gone. No biggie because — like good Unilocalers — we ate dinner before we came, although I’m bummed we didn’t get to try anything. Hearing everyone’s feedback makes me a little jealous. I guess that’s a good reason for me to come back (especially for the chicken wings — nomz!).
The entire staff was amazingly accommodating. Again, I always had a full drink. It was also nice to hear from one of the partners. After he spoke to the entire group he also came around to personally say hello. I appreciated that.
At the risk of sounding ungrateful, let me start by admitting I’m a little jaded when it comes to gifts from Unilocal HQ. My favorite is still the Elite hoodie we got in 2007. This year we got socks. Really? I mean, it’s always fun to get presents, but there’s something about getting socks for Christmas that makes me think «Grandma» or «my parents are lame.»
Big thanks to Ben G. and Keaton for putting this together for us. Oh, and I can’t forget to give a special shout-​out to one of my favorite photogs, Brittany W.
PS: I did my best to remember everyone’s names to include in my review. If I omitted anyone, it wasn’t intentional.

This event was the perfect balance of food, friends and atmosphere. The food
Smoke Ring offered us were warm, perfectly cooked, and delicious. I would go back simply for the fried green tomatoes.
The owner mentioned that they are striving to make customers feel «at home» when they dine at Smoke Ring, and I think that they did a wonderful job of creating a cozy atmosphere that I was instantly comfortable in.
New to Atlanta, this was my first Unilocal soirée and already I’m impressed by the turnout as well as the quality of event the Atlanta CM put on (shout out to Ben!)
Can’t wait for the next one.

Hats off to Ben G. for throwing such a fun event! I must say that I can’t remember having this much fun at a Unilocal event since Heidi P.‘s Deco Dance all the way back in May. You also got a Christmas present for showing up, Elite or not! Very sweet of Unilocal and thanks for the awesome new Christmas Socks. :)
You were served free drinks, which were kind of weak in my opinion but still free and even some free appetizers. Perhaps what truly made this event great was the company. How I missed my Unilocal family. I love the girl talk with Michelle K., the Netflix talk with VyVy T. and the GRAND THEFT AUTO talk with Daniel B. I love these people.
Oh, and I guess that David K. guy is pretty cool, too?

WOOT! my first official elite event! finally a day that I am able to make and I’m sure glad I did!
great job, ben! meeting old and new friends AND bringing in the holiday cheer with free booze, food, and presents?! YES please~
the owner got to make a quick intro and told us they’ve only been open for 5 weeks. from the looks of the crowd’s faces, they sure looked impressed. as was I and the +1. this place was fancyyy for a bbq joint. like danggg. they had nice seats, tables, and decked the crap out of the place with holiday décor.
we were all able to sample some of their signature dishes like brisket, chicken wings, fried green tomatoes, and deviled eggs. I must say everything was delish! and don’t forget. I’m pretty hard to please ;) let’s take back some of that. everything BUT the deviled eggs were good. the brown stuff (sorry, don’t know what that was) on top of the deviled eggs were awesome, but if it hadn’t been for that topping. those eggs would have just been any other.
the highlight of the samplers were the chicken wings AND fried green tomatoes. my god, I just wish food wasn’t limited. I would have came back for more than just seconds. the fried green tomatoes were the BEST I’ve ever had. total foodgasm. it was sour, tangy, and sweet. they added goat cheese to tone down some tanginess, which was a smart touch. thumbs up, smoke ring! as for the chicken wings, it wasn’t saucy or over-​seasoned. I don’t even think it was fried. it definitely wasn’t oily, yet they made it sooo crispy that it didn’t even taste like there was chicken skin; hehe. yum!
like I said, only downside to the event was it was a one stop thing. no unlimited sampling/​buffet. other than that, everything was perfect!
the evening ended with christmas presents for the elites and their plus ones. no one left empty handed.
thanks again ben for planning such an awesome and delicious event: D

This was a very fun Unilocal Elite Event! I got to meet a lot of other cool Unilocalers and I look forward to doing it more and more in the future! This place was a really good venue also. The brisket & wings are great and the owners are really cool! The blueberry beverage (can’t remember the name of it) was REALLY great. I will definitely frequent this place as i’m in the Castleberry Hill neighborhood quite often. The artwork around the restaurant is quite nice also… check it out! Remember what I said earlier… WINGS & BRISKET!

BBQ, cocktails, & good company – what is better than that combo?!? I was so excited to try the food at Smoke Ring, and although I didn’t get to taste everything, the BBQ was a standout! I love smokey meat with a crispy bark, and that is exactly what I got at Smoke Ring. I’m not a fan of vinegar based sauces (Memphis girl right here), but the meat was so flavorful & moist, it didn’t need to be covered up in any sauce.
Props to Ben for putting together a great event – it knocked my SOCKS off! I am really looking forward to coming back to Smoke Ring and trying more of their offerings (including the fried green tomatoes that looked delicious)!

Was a good time.
I only tried the pork. I enjoyed the charred end pieces. Met some new Unilocalers.
It is a nice large space. There are many pluses and many minuses to that. I will be curious to see how they play that here. I will for sure keep this place in mind when in the area and before Hawks games.