Smokin’ Al’s Famous BBQ Joint

It should be noted that this location in Bay Shore has closed, as of the beginning of March 2013. The space was too small, and the owners are looking for someplace bigger in the area.
I have heard — and also passed — the location in Massapequa Park on Merrick Road that continues to be open and serve awesome BBQ to the masses on LI!
I truly hope that they find a South Shore location to fit their needs SOON!

I know this is a LI institution, but I’ve had some pretty average meals here. What you order can determine your experience. Here’s a rundown of what I’ve rocked…
The Good:
The burnt ends are fantastic. Really nice smokey flavor and served over a bed of haystack onions.
Side of baked beans was my fav part of the meal.
The coleslaw is awesome.
Lots of food.
Service was on point. Drink refills and regular check-​ins.
The Bad:
Wings were full wings. Not crispy on the outside, really messy to eat.
Yea, like other reviewers noted, the bathroom is def dingy.
The Eh:
Mac and cheese was average
Lean brisket sammie was good, but nothing special.
The last meal I had (wings, large side of mac, brisket sammich) cost $ 45
Overall, I will still continue to come back here to try out more of the menu (especially the fried pickles, BBQ Spud and smoked sausage)

A previous review says that this place is terrible and nothing like BBQ in the south. WELL DUH. Considering that Long Island isn’t known for BBQ at all and is better known for seafood, this place is decent, something Long Island has been lacking for many years and a welcome addition to restaurant choices.
So hubby and I went here for lunch today. This isn’t the first time we’ve eaten here, but the first lunch and my first Unilocal.We ordered the hush puppies as an appetizer and the portion was huge. A dozen dumplings were on the plate which came with a cinnamon dipping sauce. Way too much for 2 people as a starter, but would be wonderful for a larger party. We had two each and took the rest to go and they were delicious.
I ordered the BBQ chicken sandwich with their sweet BBQ sauce. I’m not much of a hot and spicy gal. The menu and the waitress said that it was thigh meat on the sandwich. I found the chicken to be dry, but still very tasty. I’m still scratching my head how chicken thighs could be dry but at least they were edible. My hubby ordered the pulled pork. I had a taste and it was fantastic and made me wish I hadn’t ordered the chicken. Both sandwiches came with fries and cole slaw. Again both sandwiches are huge portions. We only ate half our sandwiches and took the rest to go.
The bathroom appeared to be clean, but it was hard to tell because the entire restaurant has dim lighting.
Our waitress was very friendly and attentive, and we were in and out within an hour. Perfect for a lunch. I will definitely go back, but I don’t think I’ll be ordering the chicken again.

I haven’t had much barbecue in restaurants, especially not in New York, but from the reviews I’ve seen, folks put here haven’t been to many TRUE barbecue spots. So in the context of NY barbecue, this place must be ok.
Everything was passable, and if you haven’t had genuine St Louis or «put your foot in it» type of down home barbecue, you’ll like the place – if you’ve had anything that could be described in the ways that I just have, then, you may find yourself a little disappointed.

OMG the ribssssssssssss were soooooooo good!
St. Louis ribs were better than the Baby back. The cole slaw & cornbread were the best I’ve ever had. Mac n cheese was so-​so, I don’t think I’d order it again.
Stop reading reviews and just go! Put your loose jeans on and be ready to EAT bc these portions are huge: P

Smokin’ Al’s made a barbecue lover out of me. The monster beef bones were the first ribs I ever had that I enjoyed eating with my hands.
One word of caution: Don’t wear anything too nice or a fresh of pants you were hoping to wear again. By the time you leave everything on your body will reek of the place. I’d advise ladies to leave their pocketbooks in the car and if it’s winter, I’d leave coats as well.
And be prepared to slip into a food coma afterward.

Who can say no to HEAPING mounds of flavorful BBQ food & beers flowin?! Not this girl.
Plan on sharing meals. The portions are HUGE!
& make sure someone gets the pulled pork so you get to try some!

For NY they do some pretty solid BBQ. But what makes this place special is the great beer selection and music. The combination of Beer + BBQ + live music is hard to screw up. They certainly get it right. If your use to down south BBQ you wont be particularly impressed but if your use to NY BBQ you will forget all those other places and keep coming here. At times they do miss the mark on the BBQ, I have had a plate or two of food there that seemed to be rushed out of the smoker or something but on the other hand I have had some great food there.
A great place to go on Friday night when your in the mood for something a little more then just a boring dinner.

I believe the phrase is «finger-​lickin’ good»? I had the crave for an all out BBQ feast and after a poor experience at a BBQ chain last week (I won’t go bashing business names), I wanted to go to a non-​chain in search of some true flavor… so Smokin’ Al’s it was.
Walking into this joint, you’re immediately blasted with thick, smokey air. I wish I could eat air, because this air would taste delicious. Since the restaurant is relatively small. probably only seats ~50 people, the aroma resonates and seeps deep into your pores. Country music, friendly wait staff, happy & overstuffed customers all around.
This food gets 4.5 stars. It has to be the best BBQ place on Long Island. Since I don’t live in the South, maybe I’m completely off base here… but there is literally nothing around that competes with Smokin’ Al’s.
Their pulled pork is delicious, saucy and tender — I highly recommend. Pair it up with ribs in one of their combos. Mac and cheese, cole slaw. so much goodness!
Huge portions!
Cons:
–Disgusting bathroom — looks like it’s never been cleaned.
–Horrible beer selection only carrying the basic tasteless beers: miller lite, heineken, amstel light, etc. A local, non-​chain restaurant on Long Island with delicious food should offer an array of local beers! Dear owner — do it up right with some LI microbrews please!
–Expensive! Our bill for two people with tax+tip was $ 60 for 2 meals, 2 beers, no appetizers, no desserts.

I was craving something really good and dirty on a recent trip to Long Island. Luckily, my fellow Unilocaler Nick W. had Smokin’ Al’s up his sleeve. Upon walking in, I realized this was the perfect choice when I took a breath of that sweet barbecue air.
Everything is large and in charge, especially the clientele. Al must be an obese person, because the portions given are meant for the largest of large people. The Haystack of Onion is bizarrely huge, to the point where you wonder how they kept piling it on.
Here is a play by play of our good eats:
Mac&Cheese: We ordered a table size side for our appetizer. It was a good choice. The pasta is a little harder than I would have liked, but for Al’s, I can’t complain. It isn’t the best Mac&Cheese, but it isn’t bad either. I’d definitely order it again. (By the way, the cheese is a cheese sauce poured on the pasta, it isn’t cooked together.)
Half Rack of Al’s Speciality Ribs: Not the best, but really good, especially for LI. The half rack definitely has a good portion of meat on them and fall off the bone easily. Again, I’d order these again.
Cole Slaw: The hidden gem of this trip. Recently, I’ve been enjoying Cole Slaw more and more so I went for the leap on this choice of a side. It has a bit of Ranch dressing taste to it and it’s almost too wet, but once you start digging around the bowl for the rest of the cole slaw, you’ll enjoy the wetness.
Cornbread: Large portion. Delicious.
Sweet Potato Fries: Tossed in cinnamon, which is a nice touch. I was surprised with how good these tasted.
Sauce: The three different sauces were all very tasty, especially the Rattlesnake, which is their most spicy sauce. It doesn’t hit you with the first bite, but once you’ve had a few, it will require a drink of water.
Overall, I was very satisfied with my time at Smokin’ Al’s. On my next visit, I will probably order the pulled pork sandwich to try something a little more toned down, but otherwise, I might make the same delicious choices.

Best BBQ on Long Island? You bet your sweet Al’s it is!
Best apps. Haystack of onions is so sweet, crunchy and tangy, it has it all. Burnt Ends? They got em. Tender beef tips in their tangy original sauce, over fried onions, awesome. Fried pickles? They fry the spears instead of chips like they do down south, but either way these are always awesome.
Platters? Pulled pork, spicy sausage, chicken breast, all the greats, with a chunk of corn bread, choice of 2 delicious sides. These you can get the classics, corn on the cob, collard greens, sweet potato fries, baked beans, coleslaw, you get the idea.
Of course they have ribs, ribs, and more ribs. That’s not a joke by the way. In the combo section of the menu it says «Ribs & Ribs» or «Ribs Ribs & More Ribs». I don’t even want to know how many ribs that is, because just the straight up ribs should cover it.
Also some great hush puppies with some sweet maple sauce that really complements it.
And you can finish it off with some great apple pie crumble. There are other things on the dessert menu, but after you try this, you will wonder why.
The one downfall may be the brisket platter. 1 time out of 3 it was good, still not great, but good. The other 2, dry and tough. Skip it.
Wrap Up;
I notice some reviews on here are comparing it to BBQ joints of the south saying it doesn’t measure up. Of course it will not stand up to them. That’s like saying a bagel in Nowheresville Iowa should be as good as one from Murray Hill. The comparison doesn’t even makes sense. So this place is not as good as the south, so instead of the drive to Bay Shore, let’s just go to Memphis.
But when it comes to other BBQ joints in the area, it’s like men amongst boys.

Having lived in the South for a good amount of years, I’m used to a certain standard of barbecue. Smokin’ Al’s falls so miserably short that even getting my money back for the meal wouldn’t be satisfying. In fact, this place may be the worst barbecue I’ve ever had to put in my mouth, making it absolutely a massive disgrace that the owner plasters his barbecue travel «experiences» all over the menu, because that means he knows better and still passes this shit off as edible.
Smoking technique is hugely important. In that respect, they kind of have it right. However, the sauce is almost equally crucial, and this is where the experience gets completely ruined.
One-​note and completely one dimensional, their thick sauce is basically brown sugar and cinnamon. It’s entirely too sweet and completely unbalanced, and left a slightly acrid taste in my mouth. I very rarely ever leave food uneaten, but I found myself unable to power through the tough, unyielding ribs and clean my plate.
Their pulled pork was okay and served Southern style, but nothing to write home to New Orleans about.
As for sides, the macaroni and cheese was … from a box. Honestly, it tasted like Velveeta, and had absolutely no character. The baked beans were … from a can. Or so they tasted. The fries were overly greasy, and again, one-​note. There was simply nothing special about any of the accompanying dishes.
The one somewhat redeeming factor was that the cornbread was average. It was so average, that it became the highlight of what was a truly mediocre meal.
I know it sounds really harsh, but I genuinely believe the rave reviews are undeserved, and just go to show that many people have not ever been exposed to real barbecue. Long Island is limited in this respect, and could use some healthy competition. Smokin’ Al’s is certainly smoking, but this is a fuse that would burn out quickly below the Mason Dixon.

The high ratings this place is getting is a testament to the fact that long island needs more BBQ places. Travel to Texas or Memphis and tell me this is a 4 star barbecue place. No way.
Ribs were tough. Sauce was nothing that wows you. There was no smoke flavor to the meat. Beef ribs were not meaty.
Garlic mashed potatoes don’t taste like potatoes and are grey.
Mac-​n-​cheese was like a kid side. Tasted like it was store
Bought and heated up.
Food ⁵⁄₁₀
Restroom ¹⁄₁₀ (totally gross, broken urinal. Water all over floor. Tiny)
Ambiance ⁵⁄₁₀ (nothing special and the place is too small.)
Service ³⁄₁₀ (had to hunt down waitress. Slow, no personality with guests)
Prices: ⁷⁄₁₀
If you’ve Been to a good BBQ place in Texas the difference is night and day.
If you want a better BBQ place in Suffolk go to Dixie’s smokehouse.

A short funny story about the time I went here. I was out on Long Island for a work function, and have a friend who lives there. We were going to meet up for dinner afterwards, so she suggested Smokin’ Al’s. So I just plugged it right into the GPS and drove there. Called her, said I’d meet her at the front door, she said okay, see you in a minute. I wait by the front door. 1 minute passes. 2 minutes, 3 minutes. I’m thinking, where the heck did she park? My phone rings. She says: «Please don’t tell me that you’re the one in Bay Shore». Me: «I don’t know where the heck I am». Turns out she was at a different Smokin’ Al’s and I was at the one in Bay Shore. Story of my life. I got food to go.
Be warned: this review is not about their BBQ. I’m not a huge fan of BBQ, so I got their caesar salad and macaroni and cheese. It was late, almost 9pm. I was a little shocked that the caesar salad was like $ 13 or something, but when I got it, I immediately understood. It was huge. Like gigantic. I wish I had taken a picture. I ate half of it and was stuffed. The mac and cheese was delish!
Maybe next time I’ll actually go to the right one and be able to sit down and have dinner. ;)

Best BBQ on Long Island in my opinion. I drive right past another BBQ joint within a mile of my house to drive 30 minutes to get to Smokin’ Al’s.
If you eat in, expect to wait 30 minutes to an hour for a table. It’s worth it but there is no place to wait so you’ll be on the street. Having done that a few times, it’s take out for me. However, inside they play the great music of Louis Jordan and others. Fun place, great food.

I HIGHLY recommend!!!
This is Smokin’ Al’s original location in Bayshore. OMG, I love this place! I’d have to say, «Best BBQ» on Long Island! If not, prove me wrong!!! Seriously, this place is awesome. I’ve been going since it first opened and have been to their new location in Merrick (I think that’s where it is) several times as well. HUGE portions of delicious BBQ. Would go here anyday over Famous Dave’s. My only complant is that this location is a little small and super crowed because they’re always so stinkin’ busy! So if you don’t want to have that long of a wait go to their other location, and the parking is easier there too (they have a lot)… This place is definitely a must if you love BBQ.
Oh, and the décor is great too! It’s exposed brick, jazzy, funky, rockabilly-​ish with 40’s style cartoons of pigs. Really cool.

I usually dislike BBQ stuff… It just doesn’t appeal to me. Such heavy sticky sweet and salty sauce allll over everything! It’s so overwhelming for my taste buds.
BUT…Smokin Al’s has rocked my once non-​existant BBQ world! Smokin Al’s is literally SMOKIN! It gets smoky and very entrancing watching the waitors carry largeee entrees of glazy meats upon meats with corn bread and various sides over to diners. It was torturous while waiting to be seated. It gets pretty busy for a regular old Wednesday.
The boyfriend ordered the double platter, which includes 2 meats and 2 sides. He chose smoked sausage, beef brisket, mac n’ cheese, and fries. I got Combo #2, which includes baby back ribs, smoked chicken, cole slaw, and collard greens. Both came with corn bread!
EVERYTHING WAS SO DAMN GOOD except for collard greens (yuck)! The mac n’ cheese was springy spirally and cheeesyy! The sausage… oh my. Did I tell you I am sausage type of girl? It hit a cord and I was singing! My favorite meat out of alllll!
So read no more! GO EAT!

Arrive early and prepare for a bit of a wait, because no one on Long Island (that I have found yet) does barbecue like Smokin’ Al’s.
A busy, loud, family-​friendly place, Smokin’ Al’s is a meat-​lovers paradise. Veg-​heads can make due with the ample sides, but could also be a bit disappointed by the carb-​heavy choices. But hey, this is a rib place, for cryin’ out loud!
Go for the platters (your choice of one, two or three meat plates) that come with cornbread and two sides.
Large groups will need to kill some time, as Al’s doesn’t take reservations. But don’t let it stop you. Smokin’ Al’s is BBQ nirvana.

Highly recommended if you like BBQ… and I do!
The «Monster Beef Bones» …are MONSTER… and DELICIOUS. The meat was cooked perfectly through and so tender! We also ordered «Al’s Specialty Baby Backs» which were also delicious and the meat pretty much fell off the bone. So good.
DON’T skimp on the side dishes– they are one of the best parts of the meal. Definitely try the sweet potato fries, baked beans, and mac & cheese. Oh yeah, and the corn bread? YUM.
The portions here are HUGE. Like, I’m not kidding when I say I had leftovers for lunch and dinner the next day, and then for dinner AGAIN the night after that.

The most important factor in eating Bar-​Be-​Que is understanding where you are, geographically. If you are in the deep-​south, lower-​midwest, etc, your standards for BBQ should be much, much higher than when you are in the Northeast.
The best BBQ in the Northeast is located in Somerville, MA, and it’s called Red-​Bones. This is a 5-​star BBQ restaurant. Smokin’ Al’s is a solid 4-​star joint, and so far it’s the best I’ve found on Long Island. Can it be better? Perhaps. Since it IS so popular and packed nearly every night, I give them props for keeping the quality and taste consistently good.
You really can’t go wrong with anything on the menu. I always prefer the pulled-​pork. The brisket is pretty good too. I’m not the hugest fan of their ribs, although there was one time when I had the ribs at their Massapequa location and they were phenomenal.
Prices here, in my opinion, are a bit (just a bit) high for BBQ food, but the portions are very generous. Not that it’s expensive, but there’s really no way you can dine here without paying $ 12-​$ 15 for your entrée (as opposed to the greatest BBQ joint in all of the world, Rudy’s in Texas, where for $ 12-​$ 15 you can feed your entire family).
Ambiance is not important at a BBQ place, but nonetheless it’s pretty cool. The Bay Shore location is very small, so expect to wait for a table, especially if you come after 6:30 PM.