Alpharetta, Georgia isn’t exactly a food blogger’s destination of choice. Yet, when the day job sends you off to such an exotic place, you make do. And that’s what I did when I made my way to Smokejack, a BBQ that I hoped would represent The South well. Smokejack is located in what can best be described as Alpharetta’s Main Street (because it is), and while all the other restaurants nearby looked good, Smokejack just drew me in.

Fortunately, I was with a fellow BBQ lover and we proceeded to order the biggest platter possible to split. It was called The Jack and came with 1/4 lb. pulled pork, 1/4 lb. burnt ends, 1/4 roasted chicken, 1/4 rack spare ribs, 1/4 rack baby back ribs and 4 sides (I suppose to keep the 4 theme going). We picked Mac and Cheese, Pimento Cheese Grits, Baked Beans with Bacon and Corn Pudding for our sides, because we had no need for greens.

Yet, Smokejack seemed to disagree, because when The Jack arrived, it cam with a boatload of pickles tossed in one corner. I did my best to ignore these as I dug into the meat. While each item seemed to borrow BBQ styles from other places, they were all great. The Memphis-style spare ribs were fantastic, as were the baby back ribs. The burnt ends probably could have been a bit more tender, and the pulled pork could have used more flavor, but then again the rubs were so great on the ribs that the pulled pork probably would have tasted better on its own. The chicken was even pretty good, and super juicy.

As for the sides, I was pleased with all of them. The baked beans did not fall into the nasty habit of being overly sweet and the mac and cheese didn’t amaze, but still tasted solid. The pimento grits were probably my favorites, being creamy, textured and flavorful.

I left Smokejack packed to the brim, and happy with the quality as well. Atlanta locals may not think Alpharetta has good BBQ, but this transplanted Los Angeleno was impressed.

After attending the LA BBQ Fest, all I wanted to do was find a good BBQ place to go to whenever I wanted to. I heard some great things about Baby Blues BBQ and saw their mac n’ cheese at the BBQ Fest, so I decided to try the place out.

The restaurant looks like a BBQ place should, reminiscent of a shack and nothing fancy by any accounts. The wait to sit inside was pretty long, while outside seating was pretty empty. We decided we may as well sit outside and eat because it would probably take just as long to get our food and eat outside as it would to just wait out there for a table inside. Does that make sense? Well, it does in my head. Anyway, the waitress was there in an instant to offer my girlfriend use of her jacket, which was one of the nicest things I’ve ever seen a waitress do, and she accepted the offer.

The platter prices looked expensive, but then we realized that they could be easily split by two people. As an added bonus, there were few vegetables to be found and the only ones that really existed were in the optional sides. We decided on “The Three Kings” platter, featuring 1/3 rack of Memphis ribs, beef brisket and 1/4 chicken. We figured this was the best way to get a sampling of their food. For our two “fixins”, we got that delicious-looking mac n’ cheese and mashed sweet potatoes (the latter being the girlfriend’s choice).

The food came out and looked perfect. No silly garnishings or other wasted vegetables. Even the corn bread looked delicious. We set to work at once to eat our meal. Everything tasted as good as I had hoped. The ribs came right off the bone, while the chicken and brisket both had that tasty smokey flavor you hope for. We tried out all three of their BBQ sauces and I liked them all. The hottest one was a bit much for BBQ, but mixed well with the others. The mac n’ cheese was everything I had hoped since seeing it at the BBQ Fest. The only real downside was the size of the brisket. Compared to the other foods, I felt that the portion size could have been a bit bigger.

Finally, I have a great BBQ place to go to in LA. Between the friendly service and delicious food, I would recommend this place to anyone with a taste for good BBQ.