Smokin' Al's

Went to Smokin Al's, Massapequa site. Ordered baby back ribs, the ribs were cold. My companion ordered the combo, St. Louis Ribs and 1/2 chicken. Ribs again were cold and fatty and the chicken was pink and bloody. I would not eat at this establishment again. We lived in North Carolina and the ribs do not compare.

Like the reviewer below me, I too, have been going to Smokin' Al's for years. The food and service are good, and it's a fun atmosphere to hang out with friends. Four of us went last night (7/10/09), we also ordered the nachos - a HUGE appetizer for 12.99 ($1 less than many of their entrees and a couple of dollars more than some of their sandwich platters). My friend and I shared an entree because none of us are accustomed to consuming 2500 calories in one meal - TOO MUCH FOOD FOR 1 PERSON! They charged us a $5 sharing charge. You know, there are a lot of other BBQ places on Long Island such as Famous Daves (was there last month and shared sans additional charge), Smokey Bones, Tennessee Jeds, Smokin' Sloes, etc. It'll be a long time till I go back to Al's. Maybe Al hasn't heard the news that the economy is down and every dollar counts. Maybe he should be looking more to saving money, by cutting down his ridiculous portions instead of gauging loyal customers!!!!!!!!!!

I've been coming to Smokin Al’s for years and recently, I brought a few friends to your establishment. Long story short, we ordered your bbq nachos and then afterwards, proceeded to order our main course. I had no idea about your rediculas share charge. So we argued with the waitress and then the "manager at the time" about this. He told me that if all the food came out at the same time, there would be no share charge. So I told him to take the nachos back and bring me a new nachos with our meals. He gave me a dirty look. I told our waitress that if the establishment won't back you up, then you should rethink your employment here. If we get charged a share charge, it's coming out of your tip. PLAIN AND SIMPLE.

If I may offer a suggestion. Add half plates to your menu. You serve a rediculas / non human sized portions. OFFER HALF PLATES FOR US HUMANS!!!! Don't you think this what's wrong with our society today. The need to be gluttonous and gorge ourselves with food. Right now I have dinner for 2 extra people sitting in my refrigerator that will probably not be touched and will be throw out tomorrow. Another waste of food and money. OFFER HUMAN SIZED PORTIONS.

After this experience, I truly feel that I would rather support other local establishments other than Smokin Al's. The food is decent no doubt, but management and policies need to change. I will post this on all your review pages online to tell this story. I'll blog about it, I will shout from the tops of buildings about what happened. Being the owner of a large marketing company here on Long Island, I know that word of mouth is very powerful and there are 4 displeased customers that will complain and continue to complain for the foreseeable future. Ever hear the the customer is always right??? Guess not.

By the way, your collard greens are disgusting. They taste like sour kraut. Just 4 people’s opinions, does that matter to you??

Comments (1)

LaurieR - 08/09/09
Get over yourself hotgraphix. Anytime you go out, expect large portions. If it was smaller, you'd probably complain about paying "so much for so little". I've eaten at smokin al's and absolutely loved it. And fyi, waiters and waitresses don't even make minimum wage. We depend on our tips for our living and thus a sharing charge is not ridiculous. People tend to base their tip solely on the amount spent, not necessarily the service received. More often than not we get jipped for no reason. So we're gonna do what we can to get our bill and thus our tips up. If you can't afford to tip, then you can't afford to eat out. Deal with it.