I travel to Texas quite a bit and this is a great substitute between trips and the best bbq in…read moreOmaha by a long shot! Get the brisket point, it is sooo tender but be prepared for a little fat. I hate that I even have to say that but given some of these reviews complaining about Smokin Barrel running out of meat, it's obvious some people in Omaha don't understand bbq.

I love the new location. I was excited to see that as long as they have the food they were open…read moremuch later than I remember them being when at the previous location I only had the choices of brisket and turkey - not a turkey fan so I had a brisket sandwich - so very good. I can't wait to go back.

Hands down the best bbq I've had in Omaha. The most consistent too. Definitely be aware of the…read morerushes here. The line can be put the door. We got our food fast and the value was incredible for all you get. The brisket is a must, but the burnt ends are hard to pass up. The other proteins are good, but I like to stick to the A list. Plenty of seating. So glad they removed the booths and put in more tables. Can't wait for our next visit. Definitely getting the smoked wings next!

I had to update my review because I recently revisited this spot…read more They have great barbecue at the spot. They do a great job with their smoked meats. They have great flavor. I really enjoy the mild barbecue sauce. I still stick by what I said about the sides I thought they were just average, but overall, this is a really good barbecue spot ! The tank sandwich is fire!

Dang delicious!!! I've had a tin of BBQ across the states, and this is in the top 5. Brisket fell…read moreapart and had a great seasoning. You can always tell a great BBQ when you don't need sauce to season or moisten the meat. Pulled pork was excellent, the the corn bread had to be the best I have had anywhere. It tasted like they deepfried it quickly to add an extra crunchy outside and the flavor was on fire! Definitely a must if you visit Omaha

I'll round up the rating to four stars, partially because the people here were superbly nice. Very…read morewelcoming and friendly. After a fun day at the zoo, we decided to finally try Smoking Jay's. On this day, we took advantage of a special that was enough to feed two. Three pork ribs, brisket, two sides, toast, and cornbread. First, like every barbecue place, I like to try the sauce first. Good BBQ doesn't need sauce but a good BBQ restaurant should have it. Strange thinking, I know. They have two sauces here. Spicy and regular. Both seemed overwhelmingly full of, I think, molasses. I didn't care for either but favored the spicy (which is hardly spicy). Strangely, the sauce tasted better when paired with the meat. Imagine that! You get two choices for brisket, fatty or lean. We chose lean and it was not great but better than okay. Well seasoned too. Notice the nice smoke ring in my picture! The ribs? They were 100% perfectly, delicious, and NOT fall off the bone (which should never be for legit BBQ - a good rib has a tug). Bravo for great ribs!! The side dish of BBQ beans was pretty good, better than most, but there was something in there that was not to my liking (best guess, bay leaf... yuck). The coleslaw was alright. There was also a nice small side of spicy pickles and onions too. Overall, we will come back when convenient and get those ribs again! Okra is another side dish that we will try next time. Super friendly people here!

Love this place, it's some of the best BBQ in the DSM area…read more Staff is always friendly and the service is always excellent

Great bbq to be had at Kue'd Smokehouse!…read more I am a big Smokey D's fan but my cousins said this place was just as good and I have to say I'm a convert. Some things were better, others not as good, but good overall. Great brisket and burnt ends were ok but a little light on the smoke to be honest. The pulled pork was dry in some places and nice and juicy in others. The smoked Mac and cheese is mighty tasty and not too bitter from the smoke. Glad we tried the redneck nachos. They are made on house made potato chips and are a very unique treat. Also great bbq sauce! The original and spicy have excellent flavor. Glad to have another bbq spot in the DSM area to go to!

Great cafe! Great service. There are some excellent items on the menu. A fun place to visit. Highly…read morerecommend. (I hope the cooks can go back to making the gravy for the hot beef platter the way they did a few years ago. The gravy back then was not too salty, was not dark, and had a very delicious beef flavor. Classic!)

We decided to take SR 2 instead of the interstate while traveling from Indiana to Utah and stumbled…read moreacross this gem. Junction Cafe has a large menu and reasonable pricing. My husband ordered the brisket sandwich with Cole slaw and I had the pulled pork Street tacos. Both were excellent! They offer several different sauces. We sampled the Frog Spit and Carolina Gold...yum! Well worth the stop and I am sorry that I didnt take photos before we dug in to our delicious lunch.

We went to this location at the end of the night, so I won't complain too much about some of the…read moreitems that they did not have. They were out of a lot of sides and sausage. The brisket however, made up for all the things that they were missing. It was so seasoned and so tender that I could have probably eaten a couple pounds by myself. I'm so glad my fiance made the executive decision to buy an extra side of the brisket. It also came with pulled pork it was good and the ribs are okay, they were A little tough. Really wasn't a fan of the sides. This was our first time eating here. Adding more flavors of sausage would be a great addition to the menu.

Delicious!!! I have had this restaurant on my list to try and finally made it there... no regrets!…read moreWill definitely return! Follow on instagram for awesome daily highlights. I had the grilled cheese with shredded pork special... it was a large sandwich, they didn't skimp on the cheese or meat! It was delicious. I chose the coleslaw for my side, it was fresh and creamy- great flavor. And they serve Coca-Cola, another positive:) It's a clean and comfortable restaurant with good decorations. The staff were pleasant and helpful too.

As soon as you walk in, you are greeted promptly and handed menus. Once you're ready to order, you…read morego back up to the counter. I ordered the turkey leg dinner, which comes with two sides. I got the mac and cheese and baked beans. The turkey is smothered with BBQ sauce, or you can opt to have the sauce on the side. The turkey leg was juicy and tasty. The service itself was on the slower side, but we didn't mind since we were catching up with family. The staff was very attentive; as soon as they saw we had a toddler, they brought out some mac and cheese, which was really thoughtful. They also bring out a sampler plate with different menu items. They were out of a few things, but we didn't mind and had great substitutions. Overall, this is a nice spot to get some tasty food. The place itself is small, so it can get pretty cramped. We will definitely be back.

Absolutely delicious food. I got the chicken dinner with Mac and cheese and collared greens…read more Chicken was moist and tasty, Mac and cheese was warm and cheesy, and the collar greens were flavorful. Came in quickly for a meal and left super happy. Visiting here from New York, but it I'm in Nebraska again, this would be a must stop!!

A very odd set up walking in. Old school styling and outdated bathrooms. Now to the food, which is…read morethe reason why we are here. Two meat combo with brisket and tips, baked beans, and corn muffin were fantastic. The smoke flavored is on par with those fancy KC joints. Plenty of attention from the staff to ensure drinks topped off and every thing was aa per liking. Pick a time off peak hours or you might and up waiting a bit.

We regularly visit Parker's when we are craving delicious BBQ. This place is not fancy, but the…read moreservice is warm and the food is always delicious. I'm partial to their pulled pork, and the cornbread muffin is a must-have side. I also love that there is a to-go station at the front with pre-packaged sauces. I am partial to the tangy yellow BBQ sauce!

Food and service are both great and everyone that works there is super friendly. It's the best…read moreplace to go around here for a quick lunch that's not fast food.

Nice afternoon stop. Food was solid good. Burnt ends, sampler plate 2 meat. Tried most of what…read morethey offer meat wise. Also a cornbread muffin. Had the Cole slaw and beans. They make the slaw in house and I loved it. Has a light vinegar based dressing not the heavier sugary mayo one. I LOVED it. The meats were moist and flavorful. I preferred the Carolina mustard sauce. I don't love a hot bbq sauce and it was just perfect. The sweet bbq was also nice. The beans were ok. Nothing amazing. Would definitely return and putting this on our worth returning to list. Interior is cute and bathrooms were clean.

Maybe I have too high of expectations. I've been to a lot of BBQ joints down in Texas, Florida, the…read moreCarolina's, etc. What can Omaha offer? I'm sure you can find decent BBQ still in Nebraska, but this isn't it. First of all, the price of BBQ is outrageous. I think that's a product of this economy, but we spent over $30 on a 3 meat combo and an extra side. One person could probably have this for their meal, which is a decent amount of food, but this is very pricey for what you get. SMALL sides, and the sample you get 3 spare ribs, 5-6 brisket slices, and maybe 1/2 a link of sausage. Our sides were the Pit chips, Mac n cheese, and a small sliver of corn bread. Nothing else- no drinks, we're just interested in the food. Normally from a "true" Texas BBQ joint, you'll get an entire loaf of bread with your meats - we didn't get any bread at all. If you get a sandwich like their brisket sandwich, you'll get the missing element, but if you have a combo with just the meats, it might go a long way to making the experience better. How was the food? We got our food to go. Give it a little time to rest before opening it up. The smells were decent, so I knew that it was smoked meats (the bare minimum requirement for actual BBQ). Let's start with the sausage. Nothing special - probably bought from the grocery store next door and thrown in the smoker. No cheese in the sausage. It was OK, but wasn't great. It reminded me of an Oscar Meyer kilbasa with a little more kick (spices). Real Texas BBQ like a Rudy's sausage blows this away - not even in the same league. I appreciate the attempt, but if they are serving this stuff, they need to go back to the drawing board. It absolutely does not taste or look like they make their own sausage, but I would love to hear if they do. It would be shocking if they say that they make their own sausage. Brisket was probably the star of the combo. The first few pieces were tender and had a nice arc when you put your finger in the middle. Paired with their BBQ sauce (the sweet is better than their spicy sauce), if it was a one meat combo and they gave me more brisket, then I would have been more satisfied. If you're dragged there, go for the brisket. But I think a good bbq joint needs good ribs. The cooking was pretty spot on - not fall off the bone, but relatively clean bones. The spare ribs might have been a better choice. The bark on the ribs were decent, but just my preference, I like to have saucey ribs. These were maybe sauced and then thrown on the grill, but maybe not. The bark is pretty salty. Maybe good for drunk food, but they could do better on the ribs. Adding their sweet sauce at the end on the grill would make these ribs MUCH better, because all the elements are there, it is just the execution that lacked. My biggest problem was really the portions. The sides were REALLY small. The pit chips were just kettle chips (nice and crispy) with a HEAVY dose of spices. Not bad, but not amazing, and that tells you what you need to know about the sides. Mac and cheese was decent, but can you give me more than 1/2 a spoon full? For $3.00, I would expect about twice or three times the size of the container we got. The small portions sizes make me feel ripped off - when you pull it out of the bag and immediately say "really"? Everyone agrees that it should be like a $1 side if you were to say that you got your money's worth. If you charged $3 for a side, give a decent portion, would ya?!! Finally the corn bread. I love a "famous" corn bread from a competing bbq restaurant, and compared to them, this is rather disappointing. It certainly is sweet, and the taste is ok, but honestly, the way it tasted, it almost exactly tasted like a yellow cake mix from a grocery store. At the "famous" place, you have some grittiness from the corn - this didn't have much of that. It was fluffy and crumbly, so it had potential, but the experience wasn't there. The corn meal grittiness, kicking it up to double the amount, maybe triple, it would have been much better. As it stood, it was a small slice of yellow cake. So overall, you and your drunk buddies going here for drinks and getting some drunk food, I'm sure that's how this place survives. But the food - the reason why we went - it's not something you walk away and say that was an incredible meal! Small portion sizes, expensive food, and just OK flavor, it definitely wasn't worth it. I would say it is most definitely salvageable with some tweaks, but as it stands, I would put this in the mid- to bottom-tier of BBQ I've eaten in Omaha. Probably won't be back unless I hear that things have changed.

This place is great!! I had the Kickin Pork Ciabatta…read more Very well kept, clean restaurant with very comfortable chairs! Though I didn't get a refill of my water despite being the only person in the restaurant. The flavor on the sandwich was amazing, but the bread overpowered it because the bread:meat ratio was lower than I would have liked. I got the pork rolls and grande pork nachos, both appetizers, and they were phenomenal! The nachos are HUGE! I'd definitely recommend coming here!