mac and cheese | Page 7 of 8 | Mass Food & Wine

"Not Your Momma's" Fried Chicken — “Not Your Momma’s” Fried Chicken served with mac and cheese with cucumber salad substituted for collard greens.

Going southern at Smokestack Urban Barbecue meant fried chicken! A large platter of chicken arrived at the table along with two small bowls of sides—this was obviously a meal that I would be enjoying the next day as well! The chicken was perfectly fried and still very hot with crispy skin and meat so tender that it fell off the bone with little effort. There was plenty of white meat, which is often lacking with “half chicken” preparations. The cucumber salad was comprised of thinly cut cucumber slices, shredded carrot and scant red pepper pieces all drenched in a vinegary dressing. I loved this – it was a great contrast to the richness of the fried chicken and it had a great flavor. The mac and cheese was simply ok. It was creamy and covered with crushed Ritz crackers, but I found it bland and lacking flavor. It was much improved with a splash or two of hot sauce but it still didn’t “wow” me.

Overall, this is a meal I would certainly order again (and again…). If this dish is representative of the food that Smokestack has to offer, we’ve got a winner!

Sliced Beef Brisket at Smokestack Urban Barbecue

It used to be difficult to find a restaurant in the Worcester area that focused their culinary skills on BBQ, so when Smokestack Urban Barbecue opened their doors in 2010 with a focus on Southern Style BBQ many were eager to give their bountiful menu a chance.

A safe bet with any BBQ restaurant is the Beef Brisket. At Smokestack, it comes with traditional cornbread and a choice of two sides; our choice was the Cucumber Salad, BBQ beans, and, taking advantage of an added third option, the Mac & Cheese. Prepared in true Southern style, the brisket is dry smoked and prepared with a flavorful Southern inspired rub; two house BBQ sauces are available at the table to “add the heat or the sweet.” The meat, enough to take home for lunch the next day, is prepared perfectly, rendering the necessity of a knife obsolete. With an intense smoke flavor, this dry rubbed meat is thinly sliced, tender, lean, and cooked to perfection. The Mac and Cheese compliments the meat, yet is also dense with flavor unlike the watery consistency of many local versions. In addition, both the BBQ beans and cucumber salad worked together to bring different flavors and textures to this meal, creating a true southern BBQ experience.