The Smokin Joint BBQ

Best BBQ in la… Owner’s a swell fella and has combined two loves: great BBQ n rock n roll. Who could ask for more?
ps highly recommend the Mac n Cheese as an accompaniment to any order. Holy crap is it good!

They closed so there goes my review.
Service was good but not the food:(

boy have i been blown away by this place. twice! i’ve loved everything i’ve tried here so far.
fried pickles — love it’s tartiness inside, crispiness outside!
buffalo wings — not sure if that batter is the same used for the fried pickles, but — AMAZING!!! love that thick fried coating and that sauce… that sauce! thinking about it now just makes my mouth water. a really unique take on buffalo wings. the wings themselves are also flavorful and moist.
pork ribs — tender and flavorful
beef ribs — mm mmm. tender and flavorful also, with a good portion of good ‘ol F-​A-​T!!!
cornbread — OMG these little guys are so delicious! so moist, sweet and fresh, with whole kernels inside. they perfectly accompany my meal… add some of their HONEY BUTTER and DO NOT even talk to me. i cannot be interrupted. just leave me and my little cornbreads to ourselves!
beans — LOVE their take on this classic. they have a variety of different lil beans in their version. not only pretty to the eyes, but also a great side to my meal.
bbq sauces — LOVE LOVE all of them. they have their SIGNATURE, CHIPOTLE and [SWEET] — just AMAZING, i could eat everything with it.
BAKED POTATOES — cooked just perfectly, topped with their butter and herbs blend.
in a nutshell: awesome BBQ joint in mid-​LA. smokin’ is fur shurrr ;) check it out!

Let me whip it out to take a much deserved piss on the rotting bloated corpse of this business.
When I originally had my first run in with this business I was pretty hard up for some BBQ. This place also looked pretty good and man did it fail hard in delivering anything remotely good. Half of the items were slightly cold as well.
Upon my bad review. which was around 2 stars, I got harassed by the store owner and various other white knights rushing to the places defense telling me things that ranged from «You never been there!» to «You just don’t know good food!»
Pretty much treated their customers like crap and it shows now that a sign was posted saying «On vacation, back soon», and yet the place is empty. I would say it was time to stick a fork in it, but this place was done for a long time ago.
Good riddance to bad bbq rubbish.

Why am I not surprised that this place has closed.
Went once and the food was ok but service was slow considering there were only 2 other tables occupied. Place was freezing and the TV’s were too loud. A few weeks ago we decided to to go there for dinner. Walked in around 7pm and were told that they were closed for remodeling. The guy there said «maybe I can get you something to go.» We thought, great! «Can you do that even though we have a Groupon?» Oh NO, he says. It’s not worth it for me to prepare anything for you if you’re going to use a GROUPON. No lo and behold just a few weeks later they are closed for business.
Not shocked.

CLOSED! Good. This is what should happen to every restaurant that serves adequate food but has Terrible management.

Edit: Got an e-​mail morning of June 7 from Groupon saying this place is closed.
So as of Thursday, May 19, 2011, this place was… on vacation??? Parked, walked over, only to find a sign taped to the door that said «On vacation, be back soon.»
Is it normal for the entire staff of a restaurant to take a vacation simultaneously, and not say when they will reopen? Sounds like a good way to ensure I won’t be back anytime soon. (Still trying to use my Groupon!)
Maybe call first to make sure they are a) not on vacation and b) still in business?
P. S. Went to «Allora Cucina Italiana» down the street instead, which was absolutely delightful.

We were ambitious and ventured east of the 405 last night for some BBQ. I was prepared so I printed out my Groupon (since I didn’t want to get yelled at).
Anyway, we were greeted by a very friendly waitress. We ordered 12 baby back ribs with mac ‘n cheese and a stuffed onion and crispy wangs. I didn’t love the chicken wings and they seemed a bit overpriced. However, the ribs were quite delicious and came with 3 delicious sauces. The ribs are a bit dry if you don’t use sauce but I guess that’s why they provide them. The sides were tasty as well, especially the onion.
Although the two of us only ordered 1 entrée and 1 appetizer, it was more than we could eat. We ended up taking quite a bit home. It’s not the best BBQ I’ve ever had but I felt very fulfilled.

I checked out the Smokin Joint BBQ for the first time last night with a couple of friends. One of my friends loves this place and wanted us to give it a try, so we did. I have to admit that I was feeling a little bit under the weather before I arrived and really didn’t have a big appetite. However, I am always down for BBQ, so I gutted it out.
Our waiter started us off with mini-​cornbread muffins as we browsed the menu. They were delicious, and reminded me of those Jiffy cornbread muffins from a box… but sweeter and tastier. If I was not feeling so bad, I could have easily eaten 30 or more… they were that good!
Once I was finished looking through the menu, I went with the beef brisket with mac & cheese and BBQ beans as my sides. The brisket was cold, dry, tasteless, and a had a little bit too much fat for my liking. My friend who recommend the place said that it was not typical of what they served and was surprised that the brisket was completely cold. The gave us BBQ, chipotle BBQ, and molasses sauces to go with our meals, and they were all really good! Their taste partially made up for the lack of flavor and preparation of the meat. The mac & cheese was some of the blandest I have ever had. I don’t typically mind bland tasting food, but they put some weird tasting bread crumbs on top that did not mesh well with it at all. The BBQ beans were pretty good. They had a strong BBQ taste that I liked, but there was too much sauce and not enough beans. Basically, the meal was ehhhhh… ok.
The service was excellent. Very attentive and welcoming, and was the best part of the experience.
I can’t say that my meal at the Smokin Joint was all that good, but based off of my friends recommendation I will give them another shot at some point. Hopefully they were just having a bad day, and the food is of the same quality as the service the next time that I go.

Moto for people who may exaggerate their reviews: If you don’t like it then «turn lemons to lemonade». :)
I had some of my bf’s ribs, and it was not bad. I had the chicken, and it was really plain (not the skin as it was seasoned). Yes the veggies where oily, the baked potatoes where oily from butter and oil, but hey, it’s a BBQ place. What do you expect?
So, I took the leftover chicken and made chicken soup with potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, onions. Yum, yum! It made the chicken taste better. I know, I know. It’s pretty sad, but as a reminder. DON’T ORDER THE CHICKEN IF YOU WANT SOMETHING TO TASTE BETTER. :)
(Posted a picture of the chicken soup made from scratch –the leftover chicken from The Smokin Joint B.B.Q.).
If you want something non-​organic, go to that chain (which is surprisingly pretty darn good), Lucille’s Smokehouse Bar-​B-​Que. Costco used to sell the gift cards. :(
To SOME Groupon people who may not understand:
YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME FOR NOT TIPPING BASED FROM THE RESTAURANT’S PRICE. DON’T TIP BASED ON THE GROUPON PRICE! Sheesh!
Hope everyone take it easy.

I came here with a group of ten people. We placed our orders over the phone before we came in so our food will be ready when we arrived. When we got there, the food took another 10 — 15 minutes to come out of the kitchen (plating time, maybe) but we were intrigued and entertained by the most amazing mini corn bread shaped like mini muffins. They were glorious on its own.
I ordered the beef brisket plate and the beef was tender. The bbq sauce was left on the side for me to add. I like sauce on my bbq and with it, the brisket was really good.
The place has a modern vibe with large screens on the wall. The service was great and they catered to our big group.
The best for me really are the mini corn breads. I can eat that for lunch and dinner and be totally satisfied. I tried to buy the muffins but sadly they do not sell them. The owner did make me happy by offering to give me a container full for free and he insisted i take home the honey whip butter. How very nice of him!
Mmmm.delicious.
At the end of the meal our group was satisfied and there were no complaints. I will definitely come back, sit down and wait for the amazing corn bread to be served. I hope management considers selling these corn bread muffins. i hope, i hope.

Groupon users gave this place a bad name. But I loved it! I went because my boyfriend and I wanted some good BBQ and this place had a 10% off via Unilocal (which they DID honor).
Loved the setting. Guitars hung on the walls with a big screen TV on one wall, a smaller one on the other side. It looked like a great place for a football party or whatnot. The chairs and tables were dark and the place wasn’t gross. Very clean and comfortable.
Service was great. Our server was incredibly nice, always checked on us to see how we were doing and even stopped to chat with us.
More importantly, the food was amazing. This BBQ joint is not the fall-​off-​the-​bone-​drenched-​in-​sauce sort of ribs. But it was a good and tasty dry ribs and delicious seasoning. My boyfriend also got the brisket which was SUPER tender and juicy. A definite yes for first timers.
Their sides are what won me over. First and foremost, their cornbread is real cornbread, not that cheap cornbread mix. You can even taste some corn in it. I got their baked beans and sweet corn on the cob. Honestly, BEST baked beans ever. They had a smoky and unique flavor which wasn’t typical. May not be to your taste but I loved them. Corn on the cob is always great. Theirs is even better — trust me.
Great experience, good food, average price (for ribs).

I thought it was OK BBQ (I’m not a connosieur of meat) but I was really pissed off about the groupon thing and how I HAD to bring a printout. Screw them, that disclaimer is NOT in the terms. The food was OK and good portions, but seriously if you’re a business partnering with groupon you better think thru your business model before you agree to work with that site, do your f**king projections and know what you’re getting into, profit wise. Do NOT take your issues with the groupon model, out on your customers. Solely for this I would not recommend this business as I feel their groupon offer was deceptive.
_​_​_​_​_​_​UPDATE _​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​
Especially after getting the manager’s testy rebuttal, I would like to add ZERO stars to this place. You just don’t get it, dude. Social media is going to be your doom. Listen to your customers and maybe try to meet them halfway re the groupon mess, you may get some longer term customers instead of alienating us. Sorry, but see ya later Smokin Joint. You probably won’t be around in a few months.

Sadly, a case where I wish I could designate zero stars and specifically pin the zero star sticker on the owner of the store.
I came solely because of the groupon promotion, but when it came time to pay, they refused to accept my groupon. The owner of the store threatened to call LAPD on me – really?
Food — average
Service — poor

Not sure what «LAQ» is but I’m not having it. At least not today.
Wednesday night and it’s ¹⁴⁄₅₂ capacity. I’d call that dead
Elvis on the 3×3 Panasonic wall and I was dig’n it. Could have been louder. The service was prompt but it should be and the menu inviting.
Beer= Humboldt Brown… to start although the pom marg looked good
Sides= Worlds best beans (the name begs a taste) and although I wanted the collard greens I chose the Mac and Cheese
Main= brisket is key and a BBQ joint with a combo choice? I want my baby back baby back baby back… You get the point.
Not busy so zero vibe. As mentioned the Elvi was turned down so I could hear others chit chat. This is rock and roll BBQ baby and theirs should go to eleven!
Sweet butter adds to the nice corn bread muffins served but was thrown when asked «you’re not here on a Groupon deal are you?» ok. The brisket is dry. In my opinion, which is why you’re reading, brisket should be fatty moist. As it cooks the fat keeps it from drying out. Then ½ way through the portion was an oasis. Well that’s exaggerating but it was not dry. A good cut of moist meat. The way it should be. 3 slices then back to the desert. Ribs have a good smoked pink
3 bean: black, pinto and kidney is spiced and delicious but what about the Mac n cheese with bread crumbs on top? It’s cheese over pasta. How can you go wrong? It was good.
Why BBQ in LA? The owner, Michael Kesler toured with the Black Crows among others and is a graduate of Cordon Bleu according to my waiter. He love the Southern cooking so he developed, wait for it, LAQ. Really? Well then that’s something to praise. He was not in tonight but apparently works 6 days a week and if you call in for delivery, may even show up at your door. Points for stepping out of the kitchen.
I’d like to see this place busy. I’m sure Mike would too. That said when it’s slow there’s nothing exciting about it. Drop the light and crank the tunes. You have a huge wall of TVs. Show it off.
The service was good. I have no complaints or praise. Adequate with a smile. So I guess that’s good. The food was borderline. I don’t speak LAQ and frankly I have no desire to. Props to the creator but the sign out front says BBQ. It’s good. Actually really good for West Coast smoked meats. Compared to the South West and Mid-​West, its really no competition. That however should not dissuade you from dining.
This is a tough trade and takes talent. Smokin Joint has it and will continue to grow based on my experience tonight. Are they there? No. The pork is but not the beef. I hope it will be I want to come back when you’re ready. Thank you for being here.

This place really surprised me. Not only were my expectations met, but they went above and beyond them! I came in here to use a Groupon that was about to expire soon and my goodness, I am a new loyal customer.
Sure, the space looks a little on the cheesy side with their multiple screens playing Blues legends on an endless loop, but after speaking to the owner for a minute, I could tell that this was genuinely his taste, and not some hair-​brained scheme to look original. Besides, the food says it all and is all that matters in my book.
When we got our table we were immediately greeted with nice hot mini corn bread… holy jeebus, this cornbread was amazing! It was served with sweet whipped butter and was moist and perfect with plump corn kernels that were fresh and juicy.
To start we got the onion straws. Perfectly battered and not too oily at all! It came with homemade ketchup and their signature Carolina style vinegar –based bbq sauce. The onion straws were great, but at times it was a little too peppery for me. Still a fan though!
I got the 15-​hour beef brisket meal with mac and cheese and home-​made fries. The fries were okay– a little oily, but cooked in peanut oil so the taste was fantastic. The mac and cheese, I could have done without, but holy goodness, the brisket. The brisket is one of the best I have ever had. They gave me a copious amount of meat, more than most places serve you at that price, and it was moist, tender, and completely delicious. They gave us three sauces to use: the vinegar-​based Carolina and two Kansas City style molasses-​based ones that were mild and hot. I alternated between the mild and the Carolina, but the Carolina was definitely my favorite.
I couldn’t even finish the brisket with how much meat they gave me, but it made for amazing leftovers (in a sammy!). The brisket was in a dry rub and wasn’t smoky or burnt at all. It wasn’t soggy, but it was completely melt in your mouth good. I’m drooling just thinking about it. Seriously.
Got the lemonade, which was a little sweet, but that’s how I like it. Overall, a great dining experience. Also, they only use organic foods with no chemicals or hormones, too! I think I’ll try the baked potato next time around, but if they upped their mac and cheese a little, I’d consider it a 5-​star joint. Full bar, too!

The only thing that made this meal worth it was that Isabel F. had a groupon for us to use for $ 30 off.
While doing quick Unilocalsearch when i heard this was our dining spot for the night i was a little concerned when i saw that Javier J. gave this joint a smokin 2 star write up.
The meal started off good but service was a huge fail especially towards the end. I was happy when they brought out our mini mini cornbread muffins that they were actually fresh and not burnt to a crisp. I enjoyed these mini corn bread bites and I liked the whole corn kernels that were inside. The honey butter served on the side was also good.
We started off with the Onion Rings to share. They came out piping hot and piled high and served with 3 types of BBQ Sauce. We were not expecting onions strings but they were on the thicker side for strings and the batter was spiced nice. I loved all 3 sauces and thought it was cool to give you choices.
Meal = major let down. I went for the Brisket Sammie and choose a Baked Potato as my side. As soon as she put my plate in front of me and I saw my baked potato I knew this main course was going to be meh. So when you go out and you think of a «loaded» baked potato you think of a huge (or good size) bp filled to the max with yummyness. Here at somkin joint, you receive a larger version of a pee wee stuffed with the smidgen of what little yummyness you can fit in it’s small opening. So sad.
My main meal of the brisket sammie wasn’t any better. The brisket was not the best and I had more fatty non chewable pieces than eatable ones. Guess that means I need to slop on the sauce so I can get it down. I did like how they served it on an Onion Roll which added some extra flavor but it’s sad when you are getting extra flavor from bread opposed to meat that is advertised smoked for 15 hours.
I didn’t try anything from Hugo C’s dish but tried the Mac and Cheese and Corn off of Isabel F. Mac was good, corn was just ok.
They did have sweet tea so that was an added plus. The whole meal experience really fell short when it came to the service. This is not a big place and the kitchen is not far away from the tables so I’m not sure of where the lag time came from. We were being good patrons as there were many waiting for a table and we were pretty much ready to go. But sadly we had to ask for our bill and I even had to get up to pay for it bc she never came back. Wouldn’t return here as there are sooo many other Q places in LA.

Checked out this place for lunch. It was dead when we walked in (330pm). There was only person in the dining room having lunch. The owner sat us and explained how they make everything at the restaurant from the sauce to the bread.
The Drinks:
Pomegranate Margarita
Blue Moon Beer
** The margarita was their special for the day. Very good but almost too sweet for my taste. Had to change to an iced tea after.
The appetizers:
corn bread:
which they bring to your table for free w/​some nice whipped butter. The corn bread was superb. You can see the corn kernels in the bread. I could have eaten a dozen of these
fried pickles:
Ive never had these before. They were decent. They came w/​a bbq dipping sauce. Be careful when you first get these. they’re probably still piping hot in the middle as you bite into them
catfish bites:
nice fried crispy pieces of catfish that melt in your mouth. These come w/​a chipotle mayo type dipping sauce. These were very good.
Main Course:
Tri Trip w/​MacNCheese and house salad
Very delicious. Trip Tip was awesome. The Mac N Cheese had a nice flavor and cheesy-​ness to it w/​a nice bread crumb topping.
House salad was a nice green salad w/​tomatoes & walnuts w/​vinegar dressing.
Everything was great. The staff was very attentive.
Got 10% off my bill for mentioning their Unilocal special!
Time for a nap!

Interesting little place. Parking is valet at $ 3.50. There isn’t a parking lot. Street parking is hard to find in that area and residential streets are for permit parking only. You might get away with parking at the Coffee Bean next door but I wouldn’t risk it. We parked at the Beverly Connection was only $ 1 an hour.
The building itself looks like it was a store or a fast food place. Once inside, they seat you like a dine-​in restaurant with servers, bus-​boys, and utensils rolled up in a napkin. There is one big flat screen on one side of the room and nine flat screens on the opposite side to show one image. Not traditional BBQ environment.
The food was big portion. I had the six baby back ribs with the chili-​lime corn on the cob and roasted vegetables. My girlfriend had the pulled pork sandwich with beacon stuffed onion. The ribs were dry and we had to ask for BBQ sauce. There wasn’t any sauce on the ribs. The corn was also dry and small on a big cob. The beacon stuffed onion was the most interesting one as we’ve never heard of it. It tasted good.
For what they offered, the price was a little high. My dish was $ 17 when probably should have been $ 10 but no biggy.

BBQ is one of my favorite foods, and I was very excited to get a new joint close to my house (I must have called them 3 times during the month of July to see if they were finally open!)
The service here was very nice. I can tell that the staff cares a lot about their customers, so staff, if you are reading this please take this as constructive criticism and not a dis.
That said…
Your tri tip sandwich needs SERIOUS work.
My brother and I both ordered the sandwich, and both had the same experience of the meat inside being 50% fat.
I’ve posted a pic so you can see what I mean.
I realize that good tri tip has «marbling» throughout to give it that tenderness that makes it awesome.
But this was FAT, plain and simple.
After «de-​fatting» our sandwiches they were pretty good.
I especially enjoyed that they have 3 types of sauce.
But having to stair at the «fat pile» on my plate as I was eating was kind of a downer.
That said, since the staff and service were so nice, I plan to go back and try the ribs and re-​review soon.
But for sandwiches, I’ll stick to Zeke’s.