Smoked Down BBQ

• (Food Cart)
• Kalamazoo, MI 49001
• (269) 365-5846
• Website
• Sample Menu

When this summer started, I thought for sure I’d be eating at Lunchtime Live every Friday.  Now that summer is almost over, I’ve made it to exactly two.  It seems like Friday is always the day we’re out of the office for the majority of the afternoon so I never get the chance to go.

Last Friday was the rare Friday that we were done with our assignment pretty early and just had some office work to do the rest of the day.  Co-Worker and I kind of went our own ways for lunch. He had some errands to run and I walked over to Bronson Park.

I knew before I left where I was going to eat.  I have been hearing things about a food cart and catering company that has been setting up shop around downtown all summer.  I saw they were out from my office window and that’s what inspired me to go get lunch..

Smoked Down BBQ is one of a growing number of portable BBQ restaurants that seem to be popping up.  That’s not a complaint.   I love BBQ and I love that I’m pretty much able to get BBQ whenever I want it.  It wasn’t that way just a few short years ago in Kalamazoo.

Smoked Down BBQ is run by a man who carried on his family’s traditional BBQ sauce and added some meats to go with it.  The small cart looks like the hot dog carts you see on the streets of New York City, but this one doesn’t have hot dogs boiling in an unidentified liquid you’re told is water.

The cart has a pretty large menu that is written out on a dry erase sandwich board next to the table where you order.  The day I stopped by, they had pork, brisket, sausage, and yes, even hot dogs (but not in that boiling water stuff).

I ordered a Beef Brisket Sandwich and made it combo which adds on a side of Mac and a Coke.  The cost was a little over $12 and I was able to pay with a credit card.

There was only one other person ahead of me in line so I got my food incredibly quick.  The sandwich and mac were put into a paper boat and handed to me.  I grabbed a fork and some napkins from the table and my Coke was handed to me out of a cooler.  In less than five minutes, I had ordered, had my food, and was back on my way to the office to eat.

I was sort of picking at the brisket on my way back to my desk and it got me really excited.  The brisket was super tender and it fell apart just looking at it to intensely.  I opted for no sauce and this brisket didn’t need it.  It had a slightly salty taste all the way through it.  The white bun it was served on was just there to hold the meat in one place.  It wasn’t anything special…just a piece of bread doing it’s job.

The side of mac came in a little cup.  It was a bright yellow and creamy  cheese sauce coating the traditional macaroni noodles.  There were what appeared to be some cracked black pepper in the sauce that seemed to give it a little bit of spiciness.  The mac was served as a side but it easily could have been a main course.

I really like what Lunchtime Live has been able to introduce to the Kalamazoo community.  It’s a Friday thing I know a lot of the office workers downtown have looked forward to and it’s even being copied in other cities (Grand Rapids does Relax at Rosa on Thursday’s).  There are so many options and easily something for everyone.

Smoked Down BBQ has a really great product.  The brisket cooked almost exactly how i like it to be cooked.  It’s so tender that you really don’t even need teeth to enjoy it.  Like most BBQ, you’ll get a little bit of sticker shock but there’s a reason for that.  Delicious BBQ takes time and quality ingredients….and this is delicious BBQ.