Establishment: Flaggstead Smokehouse
Genre/Type: Barbecue, stick-to-your-ribs kinda food.
From their website: "The idea for the Smokehouse started here in Farmington, Connecticut, in 2007, when the Flagg family escaped from New York in search of a slower and more serene lifestyle. After a few months, and numerous failed attempts searching for true Texas style bbq, I decided to call my dad, Herschel (Pop) Flagg, out of retirement. He left the sweltering heat of San Antonio, Texas and brought with him the secret Flagg family recipes to Farmington. The Flagg family recipes have been handed down for three generations. Papaw Flagg passed on to my father, Herschel, his recipes that have since been passed on to me. After years of urging from family and friends, my dad started his smokehouse in Boerne, Texas in 1988. "Podnas" opened its doors and the Flagg style of Texas BBQ was introduced to the world.Now some twenty years later with the help of Pop, I opened Flaggstead Smokehouse in Farmington hoping to pass on the Flagg legacy to my two little ones."
Location/Contact Information: 1085 Farmington Avenue, Farmington, CT 06032; (860) 674-6028;
Website: www.flaggsteadsmokehouse.com
Cost:(total/person average) ballpark around $8-15/entree, some a little more
Alcohol: beers in bottles, some other malt/hard lemonade beverages
Beverages: Sodas, Iced Tea, other bottled beverages
Take out or Eat in?: Both--they even do on-site barbecue pit catering, and takeout at the counter.
Our first impression(s): Despite my need for some Tums a little later, it will be a repeat offender. A friend and I had dinner--casual, relaxed, and in a t-shirt wearing environment. Walk in, stand at the counter and stare at the immodestly sized menu (ribs, brisket of beef, pulled pork, pulled chicken, half chickens, and a few sandwiches, with a whole lotta sides.
He chose a side of brisket and a small rack of ribs. Side of potato salad and baked beans. I had the same ribs, pulled beef brisket (I wanted pulled BBQ chicken, but they were out), macaroni and cheese, cornbread and beans.
The brisket was hailed as 'great', being tender, well cooked, and barbecue sauced appropriately. The bottles of apparently 'house made' barbecue additive were tasty, spicy, and sweet, with all the right parts of tongues being affected. The Tabasco lovers needn't worry--it was there. The ribs fell off the bone with a plastic fork and knife--this makes me experience the joys of barbecue as it is supposed to be--tender meat, well seasoned, deliciously prepared, and, if i may say, (being one who hasn't before feared portion size to be a problem), properly portioned. Five ribs with succulent meat that can be eaten off bones or pulled with a fork.
My pulled/chipped beef with barbecu-y goodness was tasty--sticky sweet with some zing, but not crazy spicy. This portion size was big--a paper-trayful with plenty of moisture, and nothing dry. The ribs were equally succulent, and also fork-worthy. The cornbread, on first impression, is from a mix, as it was far too uniform, and without those little chunks of corn I love to find, but was good for dipping into sauce remnants.
Mac and Cheese was (as the world has reintroduced the adult version of this guilty pleasure in more restaurants than truly need it) yummy and cheesy, and clearly house-made, but the pasta was a tiny bit overcooked--I dig firmer pasta, but the kids in your group will no doubt enjoy it.
The beans were a typical house-made variety, but I'm unsure if the beans are soaked and truly prepared from dry beans, or if they're doctored up collections of the canned variety, but they were yummy.
Overall, the meal was yummy--the caveats of well-prepared pulled beef (bones, icky chunks of gristle, etc) were absent, and the meats were all nearly perfectly cooked.
We did not indulge in the 'challenge' dish so commonly prepared and advertised in many barbecue places (remember the 'old 96-er?). If i recall, 16 ounces in a pound x 5 pounds = about 80 ounces of pulled beef WITH sides, that, if indulged in less than 60 minutes. The details are in the restaurant, but as of today (July 9, 2011), only one name is on the list with a picture of a full-looking gentleman who completed the task. I don't think there are enough antacids for me to attempt that these days...
Our Scores (on a scale of 0 (horrifying) to 20 (deliciously awesome and worth every shekel: 15/20 and 16/20 (for barbecue-specific scoring, that is)...
Overall, I'd say this is a great place for family or group dining, and great in the good weather as you can eat outside on the patio as well as indoors. The paper plates and kids' play area outside make it feel homey and comfortable, and the amazing barbecue aromas emanating from the building and its parking lot make you hungrier on approach. Enjoy it!
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