Smoque vs Fatboys [General]

2012 Jan 17
My girlfriend went to Fatboys and found the food to be average. In fact, she and others found it under seasoned. How you can under season BBQ meat is beyond me. She said that the food needed the sauces provided but only the mustard baseaspen was tasty. She now had me craving BBQ so I headed to Smoque. It was fantastic. I had the sampler plate with jerk chicken, pork ribs, and pulled pork. I could not finish this beautiful plate of goodness. The jerk chicken was moist and flavouful but a little mild heat wise for me. The ribs were beautiful, moist and perfectly charred. The hands down winner was the pulled pork. Awesome! Sweet with a nice vinegary bite, this pile of succulent pork was full of beautiful bark. Gotta go again soon.

2012 Jan 17
I was at Fatboys a week before Xmas. I was not impressed with the food. I sent back my first plate of ribs - the leather sole on my shoe was more edible. The second batch was not bad, but a touch overcooked.

A friend of mine had the pulled pork and it was super dry - overcooked.

The sides were so so. Wings were greasy - not good. Coleslaw was OK. Collard greens were good.

Overall, not happy and a bit embarassed that I recommended we go there. I'm hoping they were just going through some opening pains as I really don't want people to think that is what southern BBQ is.

Will go back and give them another chance in the future.

2012 Jan 17
We also went to Fatboys, and I won't return. Unless I'm looking for decent chili. Everything else, from the chicken to the ribs, was shoddy. Tasteless, if not bad tasting. I don't know how you can screw up bbq like this. One note, I would buy the sauces. These guys spent a boatload of money on the place, serious attention to detail.. sadly they missed the point.. of good food.

Smoque on the other hand, has GREAT ribs, VERY tasty jerk chicken and pork. The bisket was dry though, and the rib portions are a little on the small side. But the flavor is definitely great.

2012 Jan 17
I haven't been to Fatboys yet.

But the meat at Smoque is a near religious experience (or as close as I get). I wanted to shout amen, hallelujah and praise be to Warren Sutherland for blessing us with this beautiful BBQ.

2012 Jan 17
I've also been to both.
Smoque wins hands down. I can't imagine ever eating at Fatobys again.

Fatboys is to BBQ what Hooters was to pub food.

2012 Jan 17
@Hippo, you're spot on!!! There was lots of silicone and attractive broads at Fatboys.. it would appear cosmetic surgery was a prerequisite for the job there. You'll notice I didn't complain about that bit.. :)

Fatboys just needs to have some decent food.. but even after a "consultant" this being their end product was disappointing. The place looks great, service was good... Wished they had a better drink menu.. or sold their sauces..

PS. I enjoyed Hooters buffalo shrimp.

2012 Jan 17
Just wondering why none of these experiences are put into reviews? I was going to give this place another shot but was waiting for some pictures and more reviews guess I have the answer from this forum nothing has changed since I last visited .I'm getting the impression that this place is more concerned with live entertainment and the party bar scene than actually serving good food. The people running this restaurant must read what people are saying or they wouldn't be prompting Facebook fans to write favorable reviews on other food sites. I do not understand why they just don't fix the problem. I can say the ribs I tasted needed way more dry rub and more smoke with less time actually in the smoker. Fatboys need to source better fish and chicken products or cook fresh, learn how to smoke foods properly,make their sides that day if they even make their own and get rid of those generic sauces from a grocery store. I remember reading about how Warren Sutherland stayed in his restaurant for a couple of days perfecting smoking meats in the big Pride Smoker. Should we not expect the same from Fatboys? What were they thinking opening to the public before they actually could serve edible food. Steph needs to give Fatboys some more lessons!

2012 Jan 18
I believe they have a Southern Pride smoker at Fatboys - same smoker used in many places down south. This means whoever is taking care of the meat coming out of the smoker doesn't know what they're doing as it's a pretty straight forward smoker to operate.

I wonder if they have a dedicated pit boss or just some shift workers operating the smoker.

Ottawa deserves to have great BBQ.

2012 Jan 18
Why do you keep using that word? [deserve]
I don't think it means what you think it means.

We don't deserve great barbeque, though I'm sure we all crave it. I know I do.

2012 Jan 18
I have now eaten from both spots and I have to agree with most of the reviews, Warren Sutherland(Piggy Market and formerly Sweetgrass Aboriginal) knows his stuff. Smoque is really delicious, like finger licking delicious. Like suck the sauce from my napkin delicious. My wife likes to look at him too... I liked Fatboys for the servers, not the service, certainly not the food. Maybe they are just finding their footing, maybe they don't care? Are they restauranteurs or business people who heard about a good cash business called restaurants? Food is a tough business, margins are low, staff turnover is high and the pitfalls are myriad. Either you love it and are dedicated to doing a few things really well or you are a businessperson who watches every penny and does things well ENOUGH that people will keep coming back. If enough people put up with it and keep spending their money there, they will still be around... money talks. So in a sense, getting to Kitchen's comments, we get the restaurants/food we deserve.

2012 Jan 18
I've eating at both, and while Fatboys beef brisket is better, everything else pales in comparison to Smoque. The pulled pork, Ribs, and chicken weren't as flavourful, the sauces were pathetic, and the beer selection was just sad. No local brews, nothing good on tap (bud, bud light, Keith's red.). I don't really get any feeling of love there. It just made me feel like I was in a souless paint by the numbers chain bbq joint, even though it isn't one. Smoque all the way.

2012 Jan 18
Every great city deserves great BBQ!

2012 Jan 19
James C, what did your beef brisket at Fatboys look like? Mine was... a thinnish slice of beef. Completely different style than the cubes at Smoque. And yes, I quickly realised this was a different style. Now, I was there on Jan 12, the evening of the big snow fall and the market was near-deserted. The house blues duo was not bad (for amateurs), but.. no drink menu? If I hadn't seen the stacks of root beer/vanilla cream soda in the large foyer, and asked about it, I wouldn't have known it was an option. (Too bad it's from the US and is made with HFCS. The taste wasn't bad otherwise.)

Not initially impressed, but I'll go back when it's busier and things roll better. Growing pains and all, and also I'll research what Southern Style is all about. Smoque is more international, as was mentioned, and isn't trying to be something necessarily found in the US south.

2012 Jan 19
Niall, it was thinly sliced beef, yes, but it was very juicy and very flavourful still, while Smoque's brisket were cubes that were incredibly dry and chewy.

2012 Jan 19
I have to agree with Niall...the only thing good at Fatboys is the brisket...Overall Smoque wins on everything.

I couldnt believe the sides expecially the wings and the mac & cheese! The wings were greasy and taste less and the mac is straight from a can. I really hope that they step up since the patio looks really nice for the summer.

PS: I think the Shock Top (beer) on tap is local...and they also have an American beer on tap i dont remember what's it called but decent beer. Bottom line is Fatboys needs to step up their game.

2012 Jan 20
Shock Top is actually a beer brewed by Labatt's as are all their drafts.

2012 Jan 20
Triple D the American beer on tap is Rolling Rock an extra pale ale brewed by Anheuser-Busch InBev and when they say extra pale they mean it.

2012 Jan 20
"I couldnt believe the sides expecially the wings and the mac & cheese! The wings were greasy and taste less and the mac is straight from a can. I really hope that they step up since the patio looks really nice for the summer. "

Can you realy purchase Macaroni and Cheese in a can? I am not sure if that is cool, disgusting, or probably both. Enquiring minds want to know!


2012 Jan 20
Actually, the night I was there, the brisket was dry and boring. The pulled pork was dry too, but not as flavourless. Sauce addition was needed.

Another negative for me: the meal is served in aluminium pans. Um... best way for the meat to go cold fast. Smoque has metal treillis baskets, so it minimises metal contact. I've never had meat go cold. (Okay, it's never been there long enough to get cold. It gets nice and warm in my tummy.) At Fatboys, all I had was 1/4lb of brisket and 1/4lb of pulled pork, not big portions, and I wasn't dawdling.

The puréed carrot side was interesting, though the mayo(?) on top was... no.

To be clear, I will go again, when it's a bit more busy and things are rolling well. Some places are best with a small crowd, others with a bigger crowd. I'll give them another chance, some of the reviews seem fine.

2012 Mar 16
I haven't been to either, but here's a huge great black mark against Smoque. There are eight of us going out tomorrow night, so I called Smoque Shack to make a reservation only to be told that they don't take reservations for parties of less than ten people.

I'm sorry, but that's crap. No way am I coming to your place with 8 people on the off chance that I might get lucky enough to find a table. Fat Boys have no problem taking my reservation, though, so I guess I'll not find out whether one's better than the other because I have no time for businesses that are so arrogant as to say that I must work to their timescale. Unless, that is, they're a low rent fast food place, which I'm presuming isn't the market they're going for.

Very, very poor.

2012 Mar 16
I'm not a fan of the more than 10 reservation policy either, but I'm far from hating them for it. Every once in a while I try and make reservations for a place to be told that they don't take them or that they only take X amount of reservations and reserve the rest for walk-ins (Mill St). It's not always ideal, but I've accepted that restaurants can adopt such a policy if they wish. Some places I've never tried to make reservations at since I assume they don't (ie. the Manx, Art-is-In) and some places just don't bother to honour reservations (ie. Clocktower).

BBQ joints are the kind of places where I understand the no reservations bit. I couldn't imagine calling Schwartz's deli in Montreal and trying to make a reservation (not that Smoque is an institution in the same way...). And yeah, I guess it does mean you have to work to a restaurant's timeframe but with the exception of the 24 hour McDonalds, that's about the norm anyway isn't it? I like eating early dinners and some restaurants don't even open until 6! I mean, c'mon, right?

I don't think Smoque is arrogant -- it just doesn't fit in the business model. Plus, if they were arrogant they would take reservations just so they could say snooty things like '"I'm sorry sir, we're booked until the 3rd of May. Would you like to come then?" I understand the frustration with Smoque(personally, I do!) as it makes things difficult especially if you have a group between 5-9 people but then maybe you go back another time when you're more people or fewer people.

All sorts of things in this life are first-come, first-served (brewery tours, classes at gyms, fast-food, movie tickets, grocery store lineups etc). Heck, I haven't had the Art-is-in Jalapeno bread yet because they're always out by the time I get there. Obviously, I can't think that all restaurants ought to not take reservations (especially fancy-pants places) because who wants to know for sure whether they'll get into a place on any given night, especially if you're due at the theatre afterwards or it's a first date or whatever. But, on the day when you've got time, stop in and wait if you want; get take-out; or maybe you'll be seated right away and it'll feel like you hit the jackpot.

Of course, we're all free to disagree and if that's the case then I hope fatboys is good. I've heard it's improved since it opened. But, please don't write off the Shack just yet.

2012 Mar 16
Hey, it's their right to choose whatever policy they wish. I'm just not going to make the effort to visit if I'm so unimportant to them as a potential customer that they don't really care whether I get a table or not.

If it's a fast food joint, fine. But they aren't priced like one, so why behave like one? Their food might be great, but I won't be finding out because their understanding of customers is clearly non-existent.

I don't like being told before I even set foot in the place that their schedule is more important than mine, and it doesn't even make sense as a policy. Taking reservations doesn't prevent walk-in traffic, but not taking reservations makes it far less attractive because - like me - many people aren't prepared to go out with a group in the hope that at some point in the evening they might get a meal.

I'm not sure I understand your justification of the policy based upon the fact that other types of businesses that aren't restaurants don't take reservations. Restaurant reservations are first come, first served; not taking reservations is a simple statement of "we'd rather you wait for however long it takes for a table to come free in order to ensure that we can have maximum turnover of tables and make as much money as possible". That's fine if you're MacDonalds, not if you're a proper restaurant.

It's stupid and it's arrogant and it's intensely annoying, and I will make sure I tell everyone about it that I get the opportunity to because frankly, businesses with such an infuriatingly bad grasp of customer service deserve to be shunned.

2012 Mar 16
Hey Johnny see if you feel the same way after you visit Fatboys. The saying good things come to those who wait may or may not ring true for you tonight. Good luck.

2012 Mar 16
I can guarantee you that I will feel exactly the same way about Smoque's customer service, or lack thereof, after I have visited Fatboys.

2012 Mar 16
Reminds me of Seinfelds soup natzi episode.

I would eat a McRib before I would go back to Fatboys LOL!

2012 Mar 16
I'm with Johnny on this. Seem to be an increase in the number of no reservation spots in the Capital, and I would only expect more as the city's food scene "matures" (along with a marked decrease in value, am I the only one who's noticed that?). If others are willing to wait an hour+ for some BBQ, more power to you, but I'll be busy having a drink and a tasty bite somewhere else.

2012 Mar 16
I dunno, sometimes places without reservations are the hottest places in town and precisely the place you want to be. See what I wrote over here about reservations at Lommerzheim in Cologne, Germany

Forum - Food Porn from Cologne, Germany?post_id=1424#post_1424

They were famous for no reservations, and that applied equally to Presidents of the United States who wanted to visit the place. There is something very egalitarian and just plain honest about that. If they are literally lining up on the streets before opening time, why waste your time and energy with a reservation system?

2012 Mar 16
p.s warby, you really need to learn how to parse your own links! :-)

2012 Mar 16
I agree that their reservation policy is silly. It just seems harsh to badmouth a restaurant based solely on its reservation policy. There are plenty of restaurants that I wish had online reservations, or that would answer their phone when you call, or that have brusque hosts etc. etc. Maybe some of them truly don't care, but it's rare that I actually end up at one of these spots and have anything less than a good time.

That being said, it's probably better to agree to disagree since otherwise this'll drag on forever. And judging by thumbs-up, most people seem to agree so I'll concede that point.

2012 Mar 16
If I had avoided places because of "no reservation" policies, or of the reality that it's difficult or impossible to reserve (Frontera and Back Lane are only 2 examples) I would have missed out on some great meals. It doesn't always make sense to me, but who am I to question their business model, when it seems that these places are thriving?

2012 Mar 18
Johnny how was the food? Got any pics?

2012 Mar 18
In a late change of plans, we went to Luxe. It wasn't bad, although they need to rethink one or two dishes.

We did get to sit and watch the groups of drunk idiot students who probably couldn't point to Ireland on a map all fighting with each other though, so it wasn't without its amusement.

2012 Mar 18
Johnny did you cancel your reservation at Fatboys last minute? Guess that would be a good reason for some places not to accept them. Lux must not have been too busy for them to accept a reservation for eight on a Friday night not even a day notice.

2012 Mar 18
I was just in New York and noticed a fair number of places that didn't accept reservations - we tried to eat at the tavern part of Gramercy Tavern, but were told it was 60 - 75 minutes wait (at 645!), so we went somewhere else - Buvette, very good - (that also didn't take reservations, but they got us in in about 10 minutes). Either way, both places were slammed, so it was not hurting them.

Trying to think through the strategy, I guess they think they can get lineups with no reservations, but people won't bother trying if they cannot make a reservation? ie no last minutes-ers?

2012 Mar 18
No Ken, we changed it on Friday evening when two people had to drop out - the two people who were so keen on BBQ in the first place.

Look, policy is for each business to dictate. If they don't want to take reservations then that's their call, I just don't like places that adopt that sort of approach. If Smoque took reservations, then what difference would have been made to what happened on Saturday night? They'd have filled my previously reserved table with walk-ins which, er, is what presumably happened anyway given their entire business is about walk-ins.

I say again, the policy makes little or no sense except from a very cynical perspective of turnover ratios. Taking reservations does not preclude accepting walk-ins, but not taking them deters potential customers.

2012 Mar 19
Had a quick bite at smoque shack last night. It was a full house and there were two large tables reserved for ten people. Though only one of the tables showed up while we were there. The smell of the food is amazing. Most of our table had the wings (half price special) and they were among the best prepared wings I have ever had. These badboys had some real kick. Try the piri piri and the jerk as I found those to be my favorites. I enjoyed the mac and cheese as well. I will have to go back and try the brisket again. The one bite I had seemed a bit sweet but my tastebuds might have been off from the heat of the the wings.I'll be back for sure as this place is pretty close to work.

2012 Mar 19
I'm no fan of long line-ups, which are unfortunately all-too common in Ottawa/Hull, but I also never ever make reservations. I pop in, and if I don't feel like waiting, I just walk to the next place. If a patron is so self-important that they must plan their evening to the nearest minute, then perhaps the drive-thru would be a better option because surely, they have more important things to do than wait around for food to be cooked.

On the flipside, how many times have we all stood in line, staring at empty tables adorned with a little "reserved" triangle ? That is a waste of a table. They could be accepting customers, but instead the restaurant must leave some buffer time because so-and-so is expected to show up in an hour, not enough time to serve another couple/group so the table stays empty.

Ultimately, if you want to eat there, wait the 30-40 minutes. Step up to the bar and have a drink while chatting with your company. Is that so horrible ? To me, Smoque is worth the wait.

2012 Mar 21
I've never been to Smoque's. I went to fatboy's shortly after they opened and wasn't impressed. However, I returned recently and found the food to be much improved and actually really enjoyed my meal.

2012 Mar 28
Better review than I would have expected.
www.ottawacitizen.com

2012 Mar 29
After reading the Citizen review (and the notes here and elsewhere), looks to me that the Fatboys better work on their food and it's consistency or the 22 seats filled out of 175 will dwindle even further.

I hope the Fatboys' ego's (which put all their swag and franchise expansion plans in place) get's humbled. For their own sake.

If they turn it around even I'll try them out.


2012 Mar 29
There was a lot of positive hype prior to opening, they consulted with Steph Legari as well... so what happened?! Maybe Ron Eade could lend some insight!

2012 Mar 29
Maybe they worked out some kinks by now.. but the last time we went the only good bit was the silicone in the wait staff. lol. Well that and the chili, and a couple of the bbq sauces.

2012 Apr 1
I haven't been to either one yet, but plan to try both in the near future. I do know that Fatboy's is owned by the same guy who owns Gracie's and Adult Fun Superstore.

2012 Apr 4
There's a joke in there somewhere but i can't quite make it happen...

2012 Apr 4
They both cater to people unsatisfied with their man's meat?

He only opens businesses that can be described as 'finger-lickin good'?

Resumes of employees include things like 'Expert in rubs and injections' or 'Saucy personality who doesn't mind getting sticky'?

2012 Apr 4
I feel dirty and shameful walking out of his properties?

2012 Apr 5
@James - No shame in a little sex toy shopping. After eating at the restaurants, however...

2012 Sep 23
I finally had the chance to try Fat Boys this week but it was take out at a party. I am not sure the delay in eating affected the food, but I think some of these dishes were not very good to start with.

Mac and cheese - good but very basic. Nothing noteworthy but a hit with the kids
Baked beans-I'm a sucker for beans and these were good. A little smokey and tomatoey but quite basic.
Brisket- the usually pink smoke ring was black and the meat overdone. Flavourless.
Ribs- lacking in seasoning. Pass.
Chicken-under seasoned but good smoke. I am not really sure what they are trying to do here.
Pulled pork-definitely the best of the bunch as it was sweet and smoky. Not too dry as others had mentioned.

Now, they did provide 3 sauces; sweet, hot, and mustard. The mustard was a hit but I could not eat the other two. Way too much smoke. Liquid I would guess. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think the smoke should be in my meat, not my sauce.

2012 Dec 11
So after all of this, I finally went to Smoque Shack today. It wasn't bad - the wings and rib tips we started with were very good, the piri piri sauce was exceptionally hot, the ribs were reasonable although a bit bland, and the beans were absolutely amazing - best I've ever had.

We had a reservation, though.