Smoke In The Pit

For the best BBQ in the Twin Cities, get on 35W and drive south 6 hours. You’ll be in a cute little suburb known as Kansas City. Choose a BBQ joint, eat there, and it will be the best of the Twin Cities.
If you need a spot more local, this place will do. It feels a bit like a hole-​in-​the-​wall bank teller («Get your check cashed early!», etc.) and you can’t see the kitchen at all, which is a little disconcerting, but I’ve enjoyed the food the few times I’ve been.

Best BBQ in the twin cities by a wide margin.
I love BBQ. I own a smoker and use it frequently. I have eaten great BBQ in many other cities. I have always complained about the lack of good BBQ in MN… Until now.
I shared 2 combo plates. The fried wings, smoked wings, pork ribs, fries, MAC & CHEESE… All of it was fantastic. Price was lower than expected. $ 10 gets you lots of food.
Call ahead to place your order. Its take out only. No dine in. I cant believe there isn’t a line out the door.

Taken as a whole, Smoke in the Pit is a bit of a mixed bag, but if nothing else I will always keep coming back for at least one thing — the smoked wings.
Their wings, which are large, smokey, tender and delicious, are some of my favorites in the city. I’m sure the fried ones are fine too, but I’ll likely never find out, because there’s no reason to not get them smoked. The ribs have been great on some visits and so-​so on others, but at minimum have always been worth the modest price tag. Sadly, the sides are relegated to mostly filler and consist of forgettable mac and cheese, beans and a mayo forward coleslaw. Their battered fries have been the only bright spot with respect to sides that I have tried thus far. That said, given the reasonable prices, I’m content stuffing my face with meat and fries and dismissing the rest.
Overall, in a state that doesn’t have a lot to offer for barbecue, Smoke in the Pit has some good offerings and makes for very reasonably priced takeout if you’re in the neighborhood.

I have travelled /​lived in the south extensively, and have experienced BBQ from all over. I would put Smoke in the Pit among the better establishments I have been to. For me, it is the best in the Twin Cities.
First let me start with what I didn’t like. I would put both down as personal preference. I thought the Slaw was too mayonnaisey and the Greens were too vinegary. I also know that many people like them that way, so I wouldn’t take away any stars for that.
The Mac and Cheese was perfect, not too cheesy and not dripping in a processed sauce.
The Beans were among the best I’ve had. Not too complicated, with just the right amount of smoke and heat.
The Ribs were fantastic. The flavor, the texture, were spot on. Lots of meat on the bone, and just the right amount of char. The provided sauce was really good as well.
The staff was very friendly!

A lot of bang for the buck but the bang is too compelling.
Take out only — so anything friend such as the french fries and chicken wings get soggy really easily. We only live 5 miles away but they were soggy when we got home.
Pork sandwich was the best. Ribs were good, nothing too memorable. Sides of beans and mac n cheese fall in the same camp.
If you want quantity, it’s definitely a good buy… if you are a discerning eater, you may want to look elsewhere.

Best barbecue I have had in the area. Have the owner smoke your turkey. It is to die for. Owner very accommodating.

run, don’t walk, to eat at Smoke in the Pit. Best BBQ I have ever had outside of my dad’s own smoker. It is a small take out place in powderhorn and has the best food. I have had the ribs, rib tips, pulled pork, and brisket and it is all AMAZING!!! The beans, fries, and mac and cheese are amazing too. My mouth is watering as I write this review.
Besides all of this, the owner (I believe his name is Dwight Alexander) is an amazing guy who treats employees well and works hard to make his business not only a delicious restaurant but one you want to support. Good for the people, good for the neighborhood, good for our stomachs. This place is AMAZING!!!

I always look for a good BBQ place when I travel. They have good and the people are friendly.

I would give 4.5 if I could. They are friendly and menu is simple which is a plus. Priced very well. The sauce is a tomato vinegar based and only sauce they have. I got pork, brisket, and smoked wings. Pork was okay but the brisket was best I have had in Minnesota. Wings were also good and worked well with sauce, of which I still have leftovers for many meals. Sides I tried only the mac and cheese and was amazing. Look forward to trying the fresh hand battered cat fish. It is only a take place though so if coming from far summer would be better time of year to go.

This is some great Q I stumbled across when in town about 7 months ago. Came 20 minutes out of my way this time remembering that great smokey smell. Ordered the 3 wing/​3 rib combo each time with Mac n cheese. Outstanding BBQ in Minneapolis. And the father and son behind the counter couldn’t be cooler.

This place does not disappoint! I have been here a few times now and have never had a bad meal. The last time I went to get some food, I got the ½ slab of ribs dinner with coleslaw and mac & cheese. Mac & cheese was kind of dry but that’s not what you’re really going there for, right?! I was very pleasantly surprised by the amount of meat on the ribs. They were nice, big, juicy ribs and definitely enough for 2 meals all at a very affordable price of $ 12.50. I love their peach cobbler as well! So tasty and yummy! Also, the guys working there are really hardworking people and I really appreciate them working so hard and quick to crank out delicious orders for everyone!

Half slab dinner for 12.75 — just crazy — are you kidding me? I recently went to Kansas City and had comparable ribs at a couple of places in that rib mecca for around 15 or even a little more. Greens were delicious with a bit of richly flavored pot liquor at the bottom. Don’t lose out on getting their best and meatest menu option by being a cheapskate. Of course the sandwiches aren’t gonna be culinary masterpieces — they are snacks. So yeah — go big and you will thank yourself, you get a mountain of ribs for the cost of an appetizer at a trendy bar in North Loop or wherever.
Big meaty and juicy ribs, really nice bark, sauce is good and spicy. The meat is smokey, tender and cooked to perfection so you might not even want to adulterate it with the sauce.
Service was very fast and friendly.
And yeah — the slice of white bread — don’t knock it! This is something of a tradition at the many of best bbq places across the country. Just take it as a sign that you’ve found good a real deal bbq smokehouse.

GREAT FOOD! I got all the sides and a dessert to suit my vegetarian needs and left full and happy. The guys running the place are super nice. There is no seating aside from a couple patio tables, so it’s probably best to grab this to go. I would absolutely go back.

We picked up ribs for a family celebration. The best in the city and worth the trip wherever you are coming from. My husband thought Dwight was the nicest guy and wanted to give a shout out to him for his great customer service. Everyone loved them. They were eating them standing up as we were cleaning the dishes. I loved them because they required no sauce. It is all about the meat. Delish!

For bbq in the state of Minnesota, the food was decent. Not the best, but not the worst. I ordered the brisket sandwich with fries and the pulled pork sandwich. First off, let me say that the fries were delicious! Unfortunately, the quantity was quite smaller than I would have liked. I think the thing I liked the most about this place was the price. A lot of food for less than $ 10. However, the brisket was not as soft and tender as it should be. The pulled pork sandwhich was more tender, but not as juicy as it should be either.
I was full from the meal, but I’m sad to say I’ve had better bqq at chain restuarants like Famous Daves.
I’d like to try the ribs or smoked wings if I do decide to get food there again.

This place is alright to me! Big Daddy’s was always go too spot, but Smoke in the pit has definitely gained a new customer. I ordered the rib tip meal with Mac n cheese, baked beans and a side of smoked wings. The rib tips were seasoned very well and juicy. I didn’t care for the mac n cheese as it was to dry, the baked beans were ok just a little bit spicy and for the smoked wings I’ll pass, I didn’t like them whatsoever. Overall I will be back.

If you’re in Minneapolis and want great BBQ you’ve got two choices:
1. Fly to Texas
or…
2. Get to Smoke in the Pit.
Wow, I never thought this town had great BBQ until I pulled in. Basically no seating, no Bar, no outdoor lounge… only Awesome BBQ crafted by people who know BBQ

In my quest for the best barbecue in the TC I somehow overlooked this place but read the reviews and went to check it out.
Now I have to add I have been to all of the better barbecue joints in the Twin Cities. Big daddy’s, Roosters, Ted’s 19 th hole, Baldy’s and Lee and D’s.
Ted’s is very very good but Big Daddys up until last night was in my opinion the best there was in the Twin Cities. As I said until last night.
Smoke in the pit is off the charts amazing. Very very good. It is truly a hole in the wall and looks like exactly what a good barbecue place should look like. I ordered a slab of ribs and the smoked wings.
The smoked wings were freaking amazing and the ribs were also done perfectly — they do not need any sauce which in my opinion is the test of any good rib (their sauce is good though). They had the right amount of smoke, perfect tenderness and really good seasoning– nothing over-​the-​top just perfect.
This will be my go to barbecue place from now on!
6.11.15
My 2^nd visit was as good as the first. Here’s the bottom line:
If you love and appreciate GREAT barbecue then you MUST check this place out.
SO GOOD!

Having lived in both St. Louis and Kansas City, as well as traveling frequently to Memphis for work, my expectations for barbecue are fairly high to say the least. The only problem I’ve had with the incredibly diverse and delicious Twin Cities food scene is the lack of a top class barbecue joint, so when I stumbled across the stellar reviews for Smoke in the Pit, I was both excited and cautious at the same time. Sorry other Minneapolisites, but you just don’t have a lot of comparisons in the barbecue space. With that said, Smoke in the Pit is legit. They’re literally just a little hole in the wall. You go up to the counter, order what you want, and wait for 20 – 30 minutes while they put your order together. There’s no seating, at least during the winter, so expect to take your food elsewhere (we took ours back to Calhoun).
Between the two of us, we ordered the catfish nuggets meal with fries and coleslaw, a bucket of rib tips, and a dozen smoked wings. The catfish nuggets were wonderful, fried lightly on the outside and flaky on the inside. They didn’t have that overly fishy taste that can come from lower grade catfish. The fries and coleslaw were just average. I’ve had better of both.
The rib tips and smoked wings are where SITP really shined, though. The meat on the rib tips literally fell off the bone as I brought them to my mouth. They were great dry and even better with a little dab of Smoke’s barbecue sauce, a tangy, slightly spicy concoction that was perfect for mixing with the smoky (obviously) taste of the meat. The smoked wings were upper echelon levels of meat. As good as everything was, these were the only items that were truly comparable to the best of the big BBQ cities. Whatever they use for their rub is divine and somehow manages to be salty, smoky, savory, and slightly citrusy all at the same time. The chicken is fall-​from-​the-​bone tender. If I ever come back to SITP, I’ll be ordering a couple dozen of these and calling it good.
After being cautiously optimistic before my visit to Smoke In The Pit, I can say that this joint gets a seal of approval from this barbecue snob. While this place might get lost among the dozens of top notch meat-​slinging restaurants in KC or STL, it’s definitely at least 4.5 star barbecue in the BBQ-​starved Minneapolis area.

The manbeard and I came here on a whim one day because the Unilocal reviews for this place were crazy good and I am from the South (well, actually I am from Asia but I don’t know why, comfort food to me are either noodle soups or fried chicken. Don’t judge) and I needed some brisket, ribs, and wings.
You guys, when they said «hole in the wall» I thought it was proverbial. Like hipster «I go to this hole in the wall». It was literal. It is a literal hole in the wall. You walk up to a glassed window and you tell them your order. There is maybe one chair there for you to sit on. You can get a coke from the gas station down the street. That kind of thing. Don’t get me wrong, I am still jotting this down for my hipster street cred. «Oh my favorite wing joint is this family joint, hole in the wall». All that to say, don’t come here expecting servers and a menu. There is a menu, it is on a whiteboard above the window.
Since then manbeard and I come here once a week. They probably know me on sight. We call them up and a little asian lady rolls up in sweats (that’s me). Most often we get wings. Fried. It is the perfect crispy salty, chewy, savory. The manbeard digs the smoked wings but I like my wings crispy. Matter of taste. We also love the ribs: they are huge and delicious. I don’t even need sauce for any of it it is just that awesome.
Oh and their cobbler is perfectly spiced but dude. It is ALL about the meat.