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The Hambone Opera

4.5 (58 reviews)
InexpensiveBarbeque
Closed • Closed

The Hambone Opera Barbeque Restaurant Photos

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22-hour slow smoked brisket carving station (pay by weight)
Mike O.

Holy slow-smoked bbq, Batman! This spot is legit! The 22-hour slow-smoked local wild cherry wood brisket is falling apart on my fork as I bring it to my lips. Wow. Trenton Farmers Market is a chintz and organic veg browser's dream come true. Committed only to "check it out" you go from booth to booth making mental notes. BUT.. HAMBONE OPERA WILL STOP YOU IN YOUR TRACKS Carving station at the counter featuring the best brisket you've ever had beckons you to go big. Electric knife shaves the hunk into small strips for weighing. Choose on its own, sandwich, or platter. Tip: go for the platter. PLATTER flavors and textures so perfectly selected to bring you the maximum flavor intensity and pleasure possible. ++ squishy bun soaks up all the sauce you can hit it with ++ slaw not to crunchy and spiked tart with celery seed ++ baked beans are perfectly sweet and soft ++++ add pickles, jalapeños, hot pepper ragu, and sauce with all your hot and spicy favorites. Enjoy your platter at the family dinner table, complete with leather covers (just like at grandma's). Buffet of sauces, pickles, peppers, sours, sweets, picantes, and napkins (!!) immediately behind.

a woman at a cash register
Gerald S.

Aside from the high price found across the board at Trenton Farmers Market, the baby back ribs offered by Smoke Chef Jeff of Hambone Opera are terrific. Meaty, tender, pull off the bone and barky, this hole in the wall is considered the best Q in New Jersey by those who know. The main man himself learned the wood science while in Texas and brought his experience and original notions with him when he came here. The sauce is Kansas City red tart, but the secret lies in the wild cherry wood logs with which the meats are smoked for 12-13 hours in the huge closed steel smoker out back of the market. The wood is the thing in the hands of a well trained smoke chef, and Jeff has developed it to the height of culinary arts it was meant to be. You can taste it in the mild sweetness in the heart of each rib before it is overcome by the spicy Kansas City rub and sauce, and yet again by the more tangy squirt squeezed on as the final step before eating. This was great BBQ. At $14/lb, it was not cheap, but what you would pay for eat in platters, not takeout. Nonetheless, sometimes the splurge is worthwhile. It certainly was this time. The brisket looked just as good, as did their smoked beans. Next time for those.

Dry brisket barely ate it when got home

I've eaten at this place several times and the food is usually good, very good barbecue and sides. This is only a review of the brisket the last time I went there. It was dry and not very good only because it was the end piece that may have been sitting there for a while under the heat lamp. I suggest if this is the case to cut off the end and maybe start off fresh where it would be juicy and tender? I don't know, I have had three different briskets at three different barbecue places in this area in the last 2 years and all of them were bad and dry maybe because they were warmed up. Brisket is meant to be tender Juicy and Delicious. I will be back and definitely take a look to see if the exposed brisket side looks dry and if so I would ask for a different cut and hopefully they give it to me

just a sample. They will also do pig roast with band music.
Tara M.

Ok Me LOVE BBQ!! I used to have a smoker way back when so I can appreciate the love that goes into the process. The final outcome is glorious and orgasmic!! Jeff is the MAN with a smoker. We talked about his process bc knowledge and curiosity. My friends had the ribs and the brisket sandwich, they were out of pulled pork but was told by customers that its EPIC. The sandwich was HUGE it looked delicious but a little too fatty for me. I did take a bite of the rib (of course my friends share) it literally tasted like my own. Their bbq sauce was out of this world, I tried the spicy one and it was a sassy and smoky with a kick. YUM! well my friend decided she wanted to feed her family and her friends so she wiped them out of ribs and their chicken legs and wings. LOL Their smoked baked beans are by far the best in the entire world they were so soft but not fall apart and the flavors of peppers and onion and mmmmmm. I am not a fan of mayo coleslaw but it was pretty good. So we all went back home and dug in to the deliciousness that was Hambone Opera. The chicken was falling off the bone I added a nice drizzle of the spicy bbq and it was a party in my mouth and of course the nice heaping helping of baked beans on the side. They also do a cornbread which was sweet and cakey if that's your thing. (personally I like it gritty and savory) but it was delicious also, with the baked beans which I did mix in. SO if you haven't been here Wth are ya waiting for get you BBQ on!!! YOU will not be disappointed BEST BBQ NJ!!

Brisket sandwich platter
Stacie C.

After reading some not-so-hot reviews of another nearby BBQ joint, I came across the rave reviews for The Hambone Opera. Lunch plans were set. It helps to know that Hambone Opera has a stand in the Trenton Farmer's Market, a fact I missed when reading through other Yelp reviews. This also explained why they were only open until 4pm. Once at the market, we nearly walked right by the stand. I was just so excited for BBQ. The menu was pretty basic, ribs or sandwiches. Platters came with cole slaw and baked beans. I went with the brisket sandwich platter. The brisket was pulled and covered in mild sauce on a kaiser roll. The brisket itself was very tender and juicy and didn't really need the sauce. The cole slaw was nice and crunchy which indicated to me that it was freshly made. The beans were good but I later noticed big cans of Bush's baked beans in the kitchen so I think they were maybe just doctored up. At around $10 for my meal, I thought it was a great deal. They have a few tables and a counter and welcome you to stay there but meals are all packed to go. Don't miss the fixins bar with homemade pickles, peppers and onions. I was happy to find something so good in Trenton.

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11 years ago

Some of the best bbq I've ever had. Must go! JUST DO IT!!! Great people and clean eating station. I plan on going back next week.

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12 years ago

The best smoky ribs in the area. I've tried also the beef brisket and I would recommend it to everyone!!!

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11 years ago

Had a craving for BBQ...found this place on Yelp and LOVED it! The ribs and beans A+++++! Will be back soon!

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12 years ago

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11 years ago

Great BBQ. They served 65 people at a party at our house. Everything was a knockout (and I speak as an ex -Texan). Recommend to everybody.

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10 years ago

Fantastic slow cooked bbq. I had the brisket, and it's the best I've tasted in my life! Highly recommend.

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10 years ago

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10 years ago

My god I love this place. I go here for lunch at least once a week. I suggest getting the ribs..

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NJ Weedman's Joint - Salmon egg roll

NJ Weedman's Joint

4.2(60 reviews)
1.6 mi
•$

This review is about my experience attending Weedman's annual 420 block party! This event is such a…read morecelebration of a flower that makes the world a happier place to be! This review is for the day event. There is also an after party that looked like a good time. Something I immediately noticed up arrival was the level of security provided at the event throughout the day. There was a police and security staff presence. You are throughly scanned with a metal detector to go inside or to the outdoor space. Your purse is open and looked through. Several individuals in line had pat downs. The security was very thorough and still friendly. A lot of effort goes into making this feel like safe space and I really appreciate that. The block party was happening this year! A DJ provided some great music throughout the day. Outside in State Street there were some amazing street vendors selling clothing, jewelry, and make up. Terri's tshirts had the most amazing shirts. Every item is hand made and unique. Most of his tshirts also had matching tie dye patterns on the front and back. I will definitely shop with him again. After shopping we headed inside and ordered some food. There is also a smoothie bar on the left side. You can get your food and drink medicated or non medicated. It's an extra $10 to get an item medicated with 300g of thc. You could not order off the regular menu for this event. Instead there was a whiteboard of specials to help with speeding up service. The food was amazing! Food took longer than expected but we didn't mind as we were enjoying the party. It was disappointing for two of us to have our food brought out after everyone else had finished eatting and bagged up. We had to remind the cashier twice we were missing food. It was 20-30 minutes after everyone else's food was served that the last meals arrived. Definitely an area of improvement for next year. After lunch we moved to the back lounge area and there were more vendors, but these were all cannabis products. The prices were insanely low. The variety of items to pick from was fun to check out. The gentleman selling the infused beverages was giving out free samples. Several vendors had samples as well but he and his product were most memorable. There back outdoor lounge had some very comfy looking outdoor furniture and a stage for performances. Next time I'd my bring my food there to eat. I always love the Street style art that's all over the facility. The decor is the best. They even decked out their ATM. If you are into cannabis this is really a cool spot to visit, especially on 4/20.

Food is delicious every time, service is always excellent. Leave feeling happy and content every…read moretime I come here, great atmosphere, good prices, amazing food

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NJ Weedman's Joint - Great food, art work, music &wait staff! and does alot for the community! Breakfast & chicken sandwich my fav, but lots to choose from vegan

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Bella Sicily

Bella Sicily

4.0(9 reviews)
2.7 mi

Great pizza shop located in the heart of Morrisville. They have a large parking lot that was much…read moreappreciated with the recent snow. The place smells delicious. There are lots of specials and large menu to pick from. There's a nice size dining room area with lots of tables. Service was friendly and pizza was delicious.

I don't ordinarily venture over the Delaware River into Pennsylvania to have pizza, but I'm very…read moreglad I took a chance on Bella Sicily in Morrisville after attending a show in the area. While there weren't very many Yelp reviews, it was the virtually perfect Google reviews that drew me in for a meal. The interior dining area is tasteful and bright, but also pretty no frills (in other words, not fancy). We started off with a cup of pasta fagioli soup and an order of garlic bread with cheese, and went with a large pizza and chicken parmigiana w/penne vodka for our meals. While the soup, garlic bread, chicken parmigiana, and pasta were all solid, the clear stand out was their pizza. It had the perfect dough to make for a flavorful chewy crust combined with a combination of high quality cheese and tomato sauce to make for a delicious and memorable pizza experience. It definitely met my high standards which I set for pizzerias that I'd regularly frequent. Service was excellent as Salvatore checked in on us several times to ensure everything was to our liking and took the time to chat with us out his family history of pizza making in the area, pointing out the wooden pizza peels on the wall. He's from Sicily and if you dine in, you can see him masterfully spinning the dough during the pizza preparation. Both Salvatore and the other employee on duty were very cordial and seemed genuinely appreciative of our business. While I'd probably skip over the pasta dishes and go straight for their delicious pizza next time, I'll definitely be back to Bella Sicily and would recommend them to others for a tasty and high quality pizza experience.

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The Hambone Opera - bbq - Updated May 2026

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