Holy Smoke, Mahopac NY

A friend of mine, Ernie Davis, told me we had to try this place. He said the barbeque was excellent and the beer selection amazing. I'd been waiting for the opportunity to stop, it is a bit off our beaten path being in southern Putnam County and all, so today when we went to Danbury we detoured on the way home and stopped off for an early dinner.

Holy Smoke is a large red building located on Route 6N in Mahopac Falls, just south of Secor Road off the Taconic Parkway. Easy to find, but we did overshoot it and had to turn around. Entering through the bar I can see that Ernie was right about the beer. I saw quite a few tap handles and some signs announcing that they carried some good brands, including Victory. I decided to pass on the beer as it was early and I had a long drive to get home. Water would be a good choice.

One thing that struck me as we entered was the smell of smoke, the smell that should be present in a barbeque place. That smell was just right. It didn't knock you out and make your eyes water like some places I've been. That was a good sign. The really nice and pleasant waitress told us to sit wherever we wanted as it wasn't crowded at that time. We found a table and she brought us menus and the water we asked for. We looked over the menus and the waitress answered questions as she cleaned off the table next to us.

Well, we decided on the "PigNic", a combination that said it would feed two, for $32.75. It came with four items and the choices were; 1/4 rack of St. Louis ribs, 1/4 roasted chicken, Carolina Pulled Pork, Chorizo or Brisket and four sides. We doubled up on the ribs and had the pork and chicken (we substituted pulled chicken for the roaster) and for the sides had baked beans, cole slaw, potato salad and creamed spinach. Our waitress said it would be ready quick and I was relieved as the menu said that some of the items slow cooked for seventeen hours. I'm glad we only waited about ten minutes as the smell was making us hungry. Seventeen hours would have been hard.

The food was delicious. Quite possibly the best barbeque I've had, even better than Dreamland in Alabama. There was a smoke flavor to the meat that didn't overpower it, just right and with the right amount of heat. The Ribs were very good, the chicken was good and the Carolina Pork was excellent. The sides were great too, especially that creamed spinach with a hint of cheese in the background. The only thing wrong with the food was that there was just too much of it. The menu said it would feed two, but we could have fed four with the portions served. Trust me, we tried our hardest to keep eating but we filled up. We brought enough home for tomorrow's lunch, and a bit more.

If you like barbeque you really need to stop by and try this place out. Good food at good prices, friendly service and a good beer selection. Visit the website for more information.