Red White & Que Smokehouse
“The best brisket I've just about ever eaten anywhere and no question best in NJ.”
“It was salty from the cheese, spicy from the jalapeño, and sweet from the corn, it is the ultimate combination.”
“We ended up ordering a half pound of everything and the pulled pork sandwich plus a sausage link.”
Red White & Que Smokehouse
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Caters: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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They get an A for effort! When I arrived I felt very welcomed and it was a very warm cozy atmosphere. I did mention warm…right?! It was soooo hot I was sweating over my meal. That evening it was rainy and in the high 50s so that would concern me if I was thinking of coming on a warmer day. The place is pretty small they have two tables, some stools and not enough room for a bathroom. Next time I would take me food to go. The owners on the other hand were super friendly and seem very passionate about their food. Now on to the bbq.. I was super excited because NJ doesn't have a lot of bbq restaurants and this place has 5 star reviews on how amazing the food is. It wasn't what I expected. We got a little of everything ribs, chicken, sausage and brisket. The piece of brisket I had was kind of dry, the ribs didn't have much meat on it and it didn't fall off the bone, I did like the chicken and the sausage. We also ordered cornbread, beans and mac. The cornbread was good but the beans were dry (didn't look like the previous pictures I saw) and the mac was bland. In conclusion it's a new place and I know that if they tweak a few things they could be the best bbq in town.
Unfortunately I have to be honest about this place. As a new hot business I was very anxious to give this place a try. There aren't many bbq joints around here so that coupled with all the great reviews made my mouth water everytime this place popped up in my search.
We came around 3pm friday and will say the staff was very friendly and eager to show us the menu and all they had to offer. With that said now the review starts….The second I steppped in I instantly started sweating, the place was an inferno. The fact that it was raining outside, the humidity made it fell like a sauna inside with all the meats cooking. I am familiar with bbq joints down south and alot have no a.c. but to me its very uncomfortable.
The food: We pretty much got a little bit of everything. The chicken was very moist and delicious. It did however lack flavor. The ribs were all bone no meat, kind of on the dry side, no real flavor. The brisket was ok some pieces were dry some weren't. The sausage was good so was the cornbread. Beans were dry and thick, mac was bland.
By no means am I trying to bash this place. I just know good bbq/food and have to be honest. Again the service was excellent however the food didn't meet 5 star standards that previous yelpers have given. Would suggest, wouldn't return.
Hit or miss. The pulled pork was great and so was the sausage. Brisket had large chunks of fat (more so than reasonably expected). Ribs were tough and not good. I was pretty disappointed with the sides too – collard greens and beans weren't flavored/seasoned well and the coleslaw was soggy/not seasoned well. They had some good sauces available so that helped.
Staff was super nice though.
Sodas for $1 each. The Yelp page said beer/wine but I did not see any alcohol offered here. It's a very small place with limited seating.
Definitely a hidden gem! This place is amazing, the people are so so friendly and the food is the best BBQ I've ever had (granted I only had the brisket but I will be back for more that's for sure!).
You can tell that the people working here, not sure if they are the owners or not, but you can tell that they really care about service, the food, and everything going on at the restaurant. Very energetic and kind people.
They have a sauce tray, which of course I tried all of them. All of them were great but the pepper expresso BBQ sauce was my favorite, the devil's spit XXX was a close second.
Only downside is that seating is a little cramped. Sat down at the window because other seats were taken, kept hitting my knees on the wooden thing in front. A table opened up and we sat there instead.
Highly recommend this place
I went to eat at this place because it has such amazing reviews on yelp.
Staff is very friendly and assist you right when you walk in the door with any questions and everyone has a smile on their face working there.
Ordered almost one of everything had the pulled pork the brisket ribs half chicken mac & cheese fried pickles potato salad and jalapeño and cheddar biscuits.
I'm a big fan of barbecue places. Was kind of disappointed with quite a few items on the menu. They definitely have potential and their smoky flavors were good.
The pulled pork was probably the best but wasn't very pulled had to pull it apart yourself when you got home. Great flavor.
Was very disappointed by the Brisket. Had a half a brisket and more than half of that was fat they just give you an inch and a half piece that you have to cut yourself the barely had any good meat on it.
The ribs were a little tough but had some nice flavor.
Was not a fan of the potato salad. Had a funky taste I could not figure out what it was. Mac and cheese was creamy but needed some pepper and salt.
My favorite was the jalapeño cheddar cornbread definitely had two pieces.
Overall I think it was over priced for the product received. I hope they are able to address some of these issues.
Don't think I would return
Thanks to Yelp Weekly for pointing out another (more or less) legit BBQ spot in North Jersey.
Let me start off that I was EXTREMELY disappointed they had neither chicken of any kind (whole, wings, pulled) nor did they have ribs. This was at 12:50pm on a Tuesday. I think they said at the beginning that someone placed a huge order and wiped them out. Either way. Not cool. I know it's common practice for BBQ joints to serve until they run out, but giving your entire batch of chicken AND ribs away??
I guess unfortunately for them, I usually just get brisket and sausage from a Texas bbq joint, but I happened to be picking something up for mum this time.
As for the service, they were pretty nice. One guy greeted me like I was a long time customer, and he was also apologetic at the end. The lady behind the counter was more on the indifferent end of the scale.
As for the food?
Let's start off with the good. The sausages were amazing, especially the lamb and venison. I don't exactly know what spices were used, but that was mainly because I was simply enjoying them. The Brazilian pork had good smoke.
I appreciate that they gave me both fatty and lean brisket. The brisket was ok, but nowhere near the best. I've had juicier brisket. The fatty part was definitely better in terms of texture and flavor. I probably would have liked more spice/salt on my brisket, but it was nothing I needed sauce to recover.
The cheese and jalapeno cornbread was awesome. Very moist, a little crumbly and topped with a good amount of cheesy goodness. I also had bitten into a good sized piece of jalapeno. I really liked that.
As for the bad? The beans weren't cooked well. They had a lot of bite to them. They also had a weird sweetness. Not like a Boston baked beans sweetness, but something else going on with them. I'll pass on that in the future.
And the mac and cheese was also forgettable. Not much flavor. I even added a touch of salt to try and salvage whatever flavor might have not been picked up. No go. And I'm not sure about the dominant cheese, but definitely not my favorite.
Overall, pretty good, but not the best Q experience I've had.
I struggle here because north jersey is seriously lacking in legit BBQ and this place has so much potential. I am hoping with some of the reviews, they can make some slight adjustments and take the crown of NJ BBQ because the competition is lacking. First off, the owners are truly some of the nicest and most enthusiastic restauranteurs I have met. Very friendly and accommodating service.
The food was Better than any other Q in the area, but could be so much better. The ribs had a beautiful smokey flavor, but we're a bit dry and tough. I don't like fall off the bone ribs, because that usually is a sign they were pre-boiled and lack flavor. That being said, they should be able to pull or tear off with a little tug and these did not. The brisket was moist and lots of flavor, but the bark was way too peppery. I found myself occasionally biting into large bits of peppercorns, which I was ok with but my wife couldn't stomach. If they are gonna use a salt/pepper traditional brisket rub (which I agree with) they may want to adjust the ratio a tad (more salt and less pepper) or perhaps just break up the peppercorns a little more. The pickles were delicious, the beans had a bunch of flavor too. All in all, I am going to visit again to sample the rest of the menu.
BBQ is a tough one. So many folks differ on what constitutes good Q. Want some good BBQ? Head to this place.
As others have mentioned, the owners are some of the nicest people you will meet. I believe we met Dan and his wife. Dan is a Marine-do you ever stop being a Marine? After serving our country and dreaming about opening a small BBQ restaurant, he did just that. The place located on a quiet tree lined street in Kearny is five months old. Seems to be very popular.
My son and I got right to business munching some right tasty, freshly made pork rinds. They were still cracklin' as we ate them. Really good.
Meats are sold by the pound and we ordered two pounds of pork ribs which came out to thirteen or so ribs. If you want falling off the bone ribs that you can eat with a fork and knife and you shouldn't, go elsewhere. These are big meaty suckers designed for people who like bones and like to eat meat ON bones. Great smoky flavor with a good rub. And there are plenty of sauces from mild to xxx hot to vinegar/mustard based.
We ordered some cornbread and beans topped with brisket. But we were too full of rib to try them so we got a to go bag. Cornbread reheated was very tasty. Beans, unfortunately, were very, very hard. Not my style. But the brisket on top was delicious.
Wishing the good folks here continued success. We will be back soon.