LANSDALE – Growing up with a Dad born in Texas, I have spent a lot of time eating barbecue. My annual summer vacations to visit family allowed me to indulge in some of the best southern BBQ that this country has to offer. Therefore, one could understand where I came from when I said that I was skeptical of the new BBQ place in Lansdale, Pennsylvania. After all, Lansdale is a far ways away from Houston and Dallas. But to my surprise, my skepticism was proved wrong. 

Smoke Daddy’s Homegrown Barbecue, located on West Main Street in Lansdale, is not too different from the barbecue I grew up on. The restaurant itself is really quite plain with open seating arrangements and a multitude of tables. The kitchen is easily visible to the guests as well. Each table comes with a bucket that includes two different BBQ sauces (medium and hot) as well ketchup. For me, I think the restaurant could use a little more southern charm. I could still tell that I was eating BBQ in Pennsylvania just because of the restaurant and building.

Although the interior was a bit “Pennsylvanian” for me, the service was phenomenal. I have eaten at many restaurants before where the service was good enough for me not to notice. However, the friendliness of the employees at the front desk was noteworthy. They were very inviting and already put me in a great mood to enjoy my meal. In addition to friendliness, the servers had my food ready within 10 minutes of ordering.

To start off, I ordered an appetizer of BBQ Fries. This dish is like a heart-attack on a plate, and I mean that in the best way possible. I had no idea what to expect with this. To my satisfaction, out came a smattering of cheeses and pulled pork.

Buried beneath all of this was the fries that did not disappoint. Although it was available with any barbecue meat, I opted for the pulled pork. With this dish, I found that either the medium BBQ sauce or the ketchup paired best. I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who goes to Smoke Daddy’s.

As for my entree, I aimed to cover as much food as possible in one sitting. After all, that is the spirit of eating barbecue, right? I ordered a two meat platter of pulled chicken and brisket. I started with the pulled chicken. It was served on a slice of white bread, just like all of the meat at Smoke Daddy’s. The chicken was tender and pulled apart in nice, bite sized chunks. For this dish, either BBQ sauce could be used, but I preferred the hotter of the two.

The brisket, similar to the pulled chicken, was served on a slice of white bread. I ordered it sliced, but it can be ordered chopped as well. I especially liked this brisket as the charred outer skin provided a superb textural contrast to the soft inside. The brisket was cooked just right so that it would break off in my mouth. For the brisket, I recommend the medium BBQ sauce.

To really provide a thorough review, I figured I had to try one of the sandwiches at Smoke Daddy’s as well. I went for the pulled pork sandwich. I was very impressed with this sandwich, especially the pairing of meat and bread. For the pulled pork sandwich, I was split between liking both BBQ sauces equally.

Of course, there is no great BBQ without great side dishes, and Smoke Daddy’s far exceeds the typical corn and coleslaw. I ordered three side dishes, the first being potato salad. The potato salad provided a great contrast to the pulled pork sandwich. The next side dish was the mac-n-cheese. This mac-n-cheese was absolutely delicious. The pasta was curly, thick, and decked with cheese. I found that the mac-n-cheese was even better when some medium BBQ sauce was added on top.

For my third side dish, I saved the best for last: sweet potato fries. Now, I have had plenty of sweet potato fries before, but nowhere near the level of these fries. The waffle cut slices of sweet potato must have sat in the fryer for the perfect amount of time because they were crispy to just the right extent. Any crispier and these fries would have been ruined, but that is what makes them just right. However, what really set these fries over the top is the brown sugar sprinkled on top. This introduced a whole new flavor combination that I had never experienced before. I found that the sweet potato fries were great when dipped in ketchup as well, but I would not dip them in the BBQ sauces.

By the end of my meal at Smoke Daddy’s, I was bursting at the seams from being so full. Which is very unfortunate because I still had yet to try the hot wings, sausage platters, pimento cheese sandwich, portobello sandwich, southern fried ribs, etc. It is clear that Smoke Daddy’s really is dedicated to bringing quality barbecue to our own town of Lansdale. Make no mistake, they do a great job! Now that the weather is warming up, and we head into the summer months, it really is BBQ season. So what are you waiting for? Head on over to Smoke Daddy’s for your next indulgent adventure.