Dailie’s Smokehouse

Pulling up to Dalie’s Smokehouse I was very hungry and had very high expectations for the food. The website was full of gourmet looking pictures and every Google review said the place was amazing. So walking up to the door I was ready for some awesome food. Once in the restaurant I was surprised by the layout. You walk through the crowd of tables to the front desk where you order your food. The menu was posted above the waiter and reading it was semi-confusing. Being a kid who goes out to eat around three times a week, this type of layout was a bit new to me. Once we decided on which food we wanted, we ordered from a very nice and polite waiter. The man knew the menu and had a very easy way of explaining it to us. I ordered a beef brisket and a tall glass

of sweet tea. The tea was a self serve which was good because you could get free refills, but my tea wasn’t as good as I expected. I filled the cup halfway with ice and poured the tea into the cup. Surprisingly the tea was hot and nearly melted all my ice by the time I sat down. Maybe it was freshly brewed but that doesn’t make sense because of the next problem I had with the drinks. Being very observant of everything that was happening I noticed that a worker went to go change the tea in the container I got mine out of. I watched her pull the lid off the tea when she accidentally dropped it onto the dirty floor and proceeded to leave it there while she changed everything else she need to change. Instead of going to clean off the dirty lid she placed it back on top of the tea and left life nothing happened. This may not seem that bad and the rest of the restaurant was relatively clean but this makes you wonder what else they cut corners on and don’t clean.

After I got my tea and sat down I began to look at the variation of barbecue sauces. The table had the sauces of, Voodoo, Dalie’s Vinegar, Cranberry Cayenne, Carolina Mustard, and Papa Joe’s Original. Along with these house sauces they also had the regular Heinz Ketchup and cayenne pepper hot sauce. It only took about three or four minutes from the time we ordered to get the food to our table. That was faster than any fast food place I’ve been to. The food came in a basket with a fork and knife. The utensils were plastic which isn’t a big deal, but it wasn’t as nice as I would have expected. The platter was simply decorated but it looked nice and got the job done. My first bite I was hit with the smoky taste of awesome beef. I was very pleased with my initial taste but the beef was kind of dry after chewing for a bit. I decided to smother the voodoo sauce on my beef and that really stepped up the game. The beans I ordered as a side were the best thing I had. The beans were covered in some sort of great barbeque sauce and I downed the entire cup of beans before I took another bite of my brisket. One complaint I had with my brisket is that on the website the

picture showed melted cheese on the brisket but mine only had meat. I would’ve understood if I ordered it without cheese but I was never proposed the option when the waiter took my order. My mom got the regular pulled pork sandwich and she didn’t enjoy it as much as she expected. I tried it and that bite didn’t make me want to come back for more.The pork was plain even with the sauce my mom put on it. The only thing good she ordered was the steak fries. The steak fries were fat and thick but had a perfect balance of crispness which I enjoyed. Besides the mediocre food the atmosphere of the restaurant was nice. There were plenty of TV’s to keep my eyes busy and enough music to keep me entertained.  As well as the seating inside they also offered an ample amount of seating on the patio.The patio had music going as well as a few TV’s that were playing various sport games. We did not get to sit on the patio due to rain but it was very clean and looked like an enjoyable place to eat.

After eating all the beef and trying the, “voodoo” sauce I needed to go the bathroom. The bathrooms were actually kind of nice but I did find some interesting machines in there. Walking in I hit the door on a power washing maching laying in the corner. This surprised me that they parked this in the bathroom but besides from it hitting the door it was relatively out of the way. Paper towels were displayed right by the sink and the soap actually smelled nice. I am a huge germaphobe and this place had a trash can right by the door handle so I didn’t have to touch the handle with my bare hand, rather with my paper towel. Even though the workers may cut corners on the tea container they definitely keep the bathrooms very clean.   

Dalie’s Smokehouse comes from a large family of smokehouses that started back in 2008. The first smokehouse was Pappy’s which is in Saint Louis City. Pappy’s is loved my many people but very recommended by firemen, public service personnel, and college students. There are now 7 smokehouses stretching all the way to Nuremberg, Germany. With as much success as these restaurants have showed I was not satisfied with my visit to Dalie’s. The food was mediocre at best and nothing made me want to come back for more. I have never been to any other of the restaurants in the family but I would love to try Pappy’s to see if the classic barbeque is actually better than the new place.  So if you are driving down Dougherty Ferry Road looking for a place to eat I suggest passing it up and trying something else. The only time getting some Dalie’s would be a decent option would be ordering from their carryout for a party. All in all Dalie’s had a few pros and a few cons but those cons stick out a lot more. If I had the option to go back I would, but they would have to really impress me or I would pass it up the next time.