573 Monroe StreetI was home from our Cincinnati for about a day and a half then it was back on the road for work. I spent a couple of nights in Detroit on the company so while I was looking forward to getting back to my own bed, I wasn’t about to turn down quite a bit of overtime and a trip to The D.
The company put it us up at the Greektown Hotel. We got to Detroit pretty early and decided to see if we could check in early. We were a little too early and our rooms weren’t ready yet. We didn’t have any place to be at that moment so we decided to go for lunch knowing it could be the only meal we got that day.
Monroe Street near the Greektown Casino and Hotel is a pretty good place to be if you’re hungry. There are several restaurants along this stretch and we had our pick of anything from Greek food to pizza.
We chose barbecue.
Red Smoke Barbecue is on the east end of Monroe Street near St. Antoine Street. The buildings in Greektown are all individual storefronts but they’re all connected with a common wall. There’s a small outdoor dining area right along the building near the main entrance but we’re not al fresco kind of guys.
Like a lot of restaurants in this area, the dining room is a long, narrow room. The bar is up front when you walk in and there are tables past that. It took a little while but eventually a host came over and grabbed a couple of menus before showing us to a table.
The menu looks like any good BBQ menu. Lots of smoked meats with an added emphasis on delicious sides.
I picked the Texas Beef Brisket Platter. The plate includes several slices of super tender, juicy, salty smoked beef brisket sitting on top of a slice of Texas Toast. The waitress asked if I preferred lean or deckle. I told her to mix it up. The platter also came with choice of one side. I picked the fries. I may have tried the mac & cheese but it costs extra even though it’s a side choice. The plate is finished with a jalapeno corn bread muffin.
I tried being good and using a fork but the brisket was so tender it just fell apart every time I put a fork through it. It didn’t have a distinct smoke ring but it still had a strong smokey taste. Getting parts of both the point and the flat was a good way to go. The point part of my plate had a little bit of fat and just fell apart when picked up. The flat slices were a little leaner and gave the bark a chance to shine through.
There was sauce on the table but this brisket really didn’t need it. The sauces were a good mix of hot and sweet. I typically stick to sweet and really liked the Memphis Mudd which I used on my fries.
The fries were a good delivery vehicle for the sauce. They were battered fries that were super crispy on the outside. They didn’t have a lot of flavor on their own but I tried all four sauces and when I found the one I liked, really used the fries to get as much of it as I could.
The bill for my meal was just under $20.
I have passed Red Smoke Barbecue in the past and always been curious about it. As a non-Detroiter, when I think of Detroit BBQ, I think of Slow’s. There’s nothing wrong with that but Red Smoke Barbecue should be mentioned in the same breath. The location in Greektown is great and the food is smokey and delicious.