Tuesday Night BBQ

I had a great dinner tonight that I may regret at 5:15 a.m. when I get up to run — but for tonight, it was amazing!

James and I have been wanting to spend time with one of James’s best friends from high school and his girlfriend (the friend’s gf, not James’s..that would be weird), so we decided to do dinner tonight.

An added bonus was that it is Milwaukee’s Downtown Dining week , which is when several restaurants throughout the city have a pre-set three course menu (with two or three choices per course) for $20.  James and I always like to take advantage of Downtown Dining, so we suggested the Smoke Shack.

Smoke Shack in MIlwaukee

The Smoke Shack is a new-to-us (and relatively new to the city) BBQ restaurant in the Third Ward.  James and I were both super excited about going here because the pre-set menu looked very similar to the menu at Joe Buck’s, a restaurant we absolutely loved in St. Louis when we were there for a moot court competition.  (Yes, THE Joe Buck — not a huge fan of him, but the restaurant was legit).

The atmosphere in the Smoke Shack was fun, super laid back, and rustic/western chic <– I made that up.  The inside was all wood and the drinks were served in mason jars.

Cool atmosphere

Outside the Smoke Shack

There was also a patio outside the restaurant (you can see some of it on the right side of that picture).  It was be a great place for outdoor dining, but unfortunately, there was a long wait tonight, so we chose to go inside.

I ordered another one of my favorite beers from Milwaukee Ale House to start.

Beer in a mason jar

James and I both got the side salad, 4-meat combo (pulled pork, pulled chicken, sausage, and beef brisket) platter with sweet potato fries, and I got whiskey ice cream for dessert and James went for the bacon bourbon brownie.

Yes, you read that right — BACON brownie.  I had a few bites half of it and when I first tasted an actual crispy piece of bacon I was taken aback, but it was really good.

I didn’t get any pics of the food because I was just so excited to see Mark and Samantha, but trust me, it looked just as good as it sounds (and tasted just as great as well).

We both really liked the food and the restaurant in general.  If you are looking for a lot of food, a fun atmosphere, and a super casual place to eat, you can’t go wrong with the Smoke Shack.

However, now I’m stuffed, exhausted, and have to get up bright and early to go for a run, so I’m calling it a night.

Hope you had a fun Tuesday night, as well!!