Smoken Bones

Matt and I have been going to Smoken Bones since it opened in Langford. It, in the beginning, was awesome; then it was decent; then okay; then not great; and then kind of gross.

Tonight when our night out with the Ladies Dining Club fell apart, my preggo friend and I decided to hit up the new Smoken Bones downtown. The new decor is nice, and the dining area has a lot more seating.

At first we thought we would be disappointed, as we were told it was going to be an 1/2 hour wait for a table for two. Ouch.

Luckily, there were two seats at the bar, and it was fine for us to sit there. Actually, it was more than fine for a couple reasons: (1) the bartender is quite handsome and (2) we got our drinks quickly and our food orders went directly in. My friend and I are both quite chatty, outgoing people, so it was nice to sit there and even briefly chat to the bartender and owner/manager (?) who both seemed to be doing a great job running the place.

For drinks we had Caesars, virgin. Man, these were good. I love a Caesar. The bartender asked how we wanted it (cloudy, muddy, spicy). I like mine muddy, so I am glad he asked, because most places don't.

We shared the oysters for our appie. It was a good size portion (there are already one or two missing in the picture). They have changed something about the cornmeal batter though, and even though it was good, I liked it better before.

My friend had the Royals Burger with blue cheese and mac and cheese as her side. It looked good. The burger patty was very thick, and the blue cheese all melty as it should be.

I ordered a small side of the butter fried cabbage and a pulled pork poutine. I love love love love the cabbage; I always have, and I always will. Even the times that it came cold (just before we stopped going to the Langford location), I still did not want to share with Matt. It is such a simple dish. I know it isn't healthy--duh, BUTTER FRIED--but it is perfection. I just had the side ($2.50) rather than the full order ($5) and I am glad for it, as it was a large serving.

My other favorite at Smoken Bones was always the Mount Poutine, now just Pulled Pork Poutine. It is so different from any other poutine, and that is what I love about it. No gravy; delicious smoked cheese sauce. Lots of pulled pork. My complaint tonight would be there were not enough fries to go with the dish, and the pulled pork was not "pulled" enough. Sometimes, I would think I was going to have a fry, and it would be a chunk of pork. Also, I kept having to spit out chunks of fat--significant chunks. Regardless, it was a good dish, and a huge portion. Matt, who already pizza and a bagel, is currently finishing the half of it that I couldn't.