I recently drove my son up to Albany, NY for his college orientation. As usual, I turned to Google to find the top BBQ places in the area. Capital Q Smokehouse came up at the top of the list. I read quotes online calling it the “Best BBQ in the Capital Region”. It was only 3 miles from where I was staying so I was excited to have “the best bbq” nearby.

My son and I jumped in the car and headed right over. I actually drove right by it. I was expecting to see a traditional restaurant. Capital Q Smokehouse is on a residential street in a house with the restaurant on the lower level. As my son and I got out of the car and approached the restaurant, we were both very skeptical. We weren’t sure whether to continue or turn around and find someplace esle to eat. We decided to take a chance and go inside to see what they had to offer. It is very small and mainly for take-out. There is limited seating at a counter along the front window. The staff was very friendly and extremely helpful. They graciously accommodated my request to take pictures of the food and offered suggestions on what to order. This restaurant has a surprisingly large number of sides to choose from for a restaurant that size. I was impressed they offered so much.

Because I love brisket I had the sliced brisket with macaroni and cheese and corn bread. I also ordered the Dozen Smokin’ Wings tossed in Okie sauce and Maple Mashed Sweet Potatoes to share with my son. He ordered Okie Beef and Burnt Ends in Okie sauce with Croakers and Corn Bread.

The sliced brisket was very good. It was comparable to some of the bigger BBQ places I have been to in terms of taste and tenderness. The Maple Mashed Sweet Potatoes were the next best thing we had. Everything was right about them. They were smooth, buttery and sweet. The corn bread very good which says a lot because I can usually do without it. The top of it was buttery and slightly sweet which is how I like my corn bread.

I was not familiar with the Okie sauce they serve on their meat. I should have had them put it on the side instead of tossing the wings in it. It’s a red sauce as you can see in the picture with a slightly thick consistency like it was made from tomato paste. I would have much rather had the wings plain and been able to dip the wings in the sauce if I wanted to.

My son enjoyed and ate everything he had, just like a 17 year-old growing boy would! He finished the Croakers before I could even get to try one so I will have to take his word they were good.

The one thing I was really disappointed about was there was no dessert menu. I always expect to have a few good things to choose from like banana pudding or red velvet cake. They did have Apple Crisp as a side. I thought I could order that as my dessert so I asked for a sample. Thank goodness I did because it was not sweet like you would want for dessert. I passed on the Apple Crisp and decided I would buy dessert elsewhere.

Overall, Capital Q Smokehouse was not bad. Now that I know what to and what not to order, I would go back and stick to the brisket, Maple Mashed Sweet Potatoes and corn bread. I still question whether or not this is really the best bbq the Capital Region has to offer. There is only one way to find out so I will definitely make it a point to try some other places on my future trips over the next 4 years.

Enjoy~Allison