For a long time, locals have been craving a little something different from the restaurant scene here in Truckee. Don’t get me wrong, a $20 lunch is more than appetizing, for some people, sometimes… Personally I’d rather have a good and hearty home-style meal where the price is right and the atmosphere is warm and hospitable. Smokey’s has got the goods.
Owner and head barbecuer Mike Lathbury, a Tahoe local of 24 years, is originally from Cottsneck, New Jersey, and that’s where the sauce started. Growing up, he remembers his father as the consummate backyard BBQ maestro. ‘He was a meat and potatoes kind of guy,’ Mike said, ‘He was my inspiration.’ Now Mike is the head honcho and he’s doing it right.
He is proud to say that all of Smokey’s recipes are original. The sauce is made from scratch as well as the seasoning ‘rub’ that goes onto all his smoky treats. Smokey’s has a variety of down-home indulgences from custom burgers, tasty shredded pork sando’s, salads, wraps and ribs five ways. Carnivores will rejoice over the St. Louis Ribs, they are incredibly good. They have also just recently added salmon to the lineup for all you seafaring folk. This writer would recommend a pulled pork sando with a side of baked beans topped off with a tasty chocolate milkshake. Mmmmm good…
Smokey’s is also doing breakfast from 7 to 11 a.m. Bring your appetite – the breakfast is big, really big. The Grande Machaca Burrito is ginormous and will fill you up for a couple of days. The Grande Machaca has a vegetarian brother for all the plant eaters of the world.
Mike believes in the local and wants to provide good food at affordable prices year round. ‘I’m just a local, catering to the local crowd,’ Mike says. It’s easy to be influenced by the visible wealth of certain segments of a community, especially in a ski town and it’s a difficult task to keep it local and not just see big dollar signs. Smokey’s, Thanks for thinking of the local and for contributing to a more sustainable year-round community.
Smokey’s offers catering and is also gearing up for the football season with Monday night football, $1 PBRs and 25-cent wings. Stop in and check all that’s smokin’. Bon Appetit. Or should I say, Dig In.
Smokey’s is located at 12036 Donner Pass Road, across from the Factory Stores near the I-80 overpass on the west end of Truckee. 582-4535 or mike@smokeyskitchen.com.
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