Blue Smoke

My experiences at Danny Meyer's restaurants have been mixed. I absolutely love Shake Shack, but I found Tabla's Bread Bar to be a huge disappointment. Union Square Cafe was somewhere in the middle. However, I heard great things about Blue Smoke, so Ash and I decided to venture out there on Sunday night. (It's on 27th between Park and Lex.) There is a jazz bar downstairs, but we stayed upstairs, where the atmosphere was what you'd expect for a barbecue place, but somewhat cozy at the same time.

Overall, I definitely would go back, but for a few choice items. The reviews all said the ribs were something to stay away from, and since I only eat chicken, that wasn't really a problem. I stuck to side dishes, and Ash tested out the chicken. Here's what we ordered:

Applewood Smoked Chicken (served with mashed potatoes)
Eh. Well cooked, but nothing to write home about. The mashed potatoes were very average. Ash liked the chicken enough to bring some home, so I guess it was good.

Macaroni and Cheese
Yum--I'd get it again. Now be warned--it does NOT have a crispy top. It's more of the creamy-type mac and cheese, but it was burned on the top. If you stay on the website long enough, you'll see a picture of it. It looked exactly like the picture. Tasted like it had been sauteed with onions for a long time--delicious! And they give you enough for it to be an entree for one person.

Fry Bread
Get this. It was the second best thing we ordered. There were four pieces of fry bread (picture fried dough, but lighter and fluffier) served with chipotle butter. Yum. It gave me a stomach ache, as I don't really eat much fried food, but it was totally worth it.

Cornbread
Pass. Not bad, but by no means great. I wouldn't get it again.

Biscuits and Gravy
This wasn't on the menu, but we asked for it. The biscuits were good, and the gravy was average (chicken gravy, for those who are wondering). I'm still back and forth on whether I'd get it again.

And the best thing we ordered...

Sticky Toffee Pudding
This dessert is not a dessert I would typically order. However, I like to read reviews of restaurants before I go, just to see if something is repeatedly mentioned, and this was. And they were right. It was delicious. Sweet with a tiny bit of salt--yum. Both of us were stuffed (we were debating passing on dessert), but we cleaned off the plate. Definitely order it. It's not really a pudding--it has more of a cake-like consistency.

Next time I will definitely try the beignets for dessert--if the fry bread was that good, they must be amazing. But the sticky toffee pudding was certainly a welcome surprise, so I don't regret that decision. And, next time I'll probably get both. I can't not get the sticky toffee pudding now that I know how good it is.

I think our game plan will be to head to Blue Smoke for dessert after eating at one of the many Murray Hill indian restaurants. The "regular" food didn't blow me away, and indian restaurants don't really have great desserts. So, this would be the best of both worlds. Blue Smoke does have a cool "dessert sampler" platter that has five different desserts--seems like it'd be great for a few people to share.

Long story short--not absolutely fantastic, but not bad either. It certainly doesn't break the bank. Our bill came to $52. (No drinks, but we had enough for 4 people to eat--my eyes might have been bigger than my stomach.) But, if you're in the area, give it a whirl. Order the fry bread, and definitely stay for dessert!