Smoking Joe's - Strange Foreign Delicacy

Upon entering Smoking Joe's you'll be greeted with woody architecture and furniture, creating an ambiance resembling a warm rustic feeling. The hint of reds and greens in between added a striking freshness to the scene. Not to mention the very inviting lines of booze on the alcohol's wall of fame. I bet this joint looks a lot livelier starting from 9 pm and above. ; ) I hope I'll come back some time soon to see that with my own eyes.

Anyway, this time I went there for lunch. Here, you got to see Smoking Joe's on the brighter side of the day.

These chairs, aren't they lovely? I liked the design although they look a little bit stiff and uncomfortable to rest your back. Its part of the reason why I decided to sit on the more private sections, next to the huge window with a lovely view and of course with a puffy SOFA!

So, well seated I was, I took out my two Disdus (Groupon Indonesia) vouchers, and scramble through the menu to find what to order. These vouchers allow me to choose among the entrees. There were pulled chicken, pulled pork, beef brisket and quarter chicken. Which one did I choose first?

Damn right, its none other than the Pulled Pork! (95k) Haha! With the Lemon Buttered Broccoli and Fried Sweet Potato on the sides.

And second, I chose the Quarter Chicken (55k) with French Fries and Potato Salad on the sides. 

On the first bite, these two were foreign to my palate. Indeed, Smoking Joe's recipe is one of a kind. As the chef / owner, Joel Rozelle explained, they use a particular seasoning called the St.Louis rub. A dry rub with a blend of secret herbs and spices. Not stopping at that, they take it one notch further by slow-smoking most dishes using only Jack Fruit wood to enhance the flavor. They even bring the one ton smokers all the way from St. Louis to maintain consistency. So much effort but nothing goes to waste. Just by seeing the amount of expats coming to this place is already a good indicator of how Smoking Joe simulate home to them.

As for me, after the fourth bites and so on, I began to enjoy them. Oh, let me tell you a secret, this is for you Biters who read through line after line. I'm telling you, whatever you order you have got to get yourself these sweet potato fries. They are simply lovely for our Indonesian tongue. Meatwise they were tender, good texture and easy to chew. Sizewise, they were very very generous. I never expected this when I ordered at the beginning. As a result I ordered an extra Pork Ribs (139k) as well. That was a fatal mistake. I ended up not finishing them. It was just too much. *fiuh*

My take on the ribs is similar to the previous two because they use the same dry rub, I don't expect any surprises. My only comment was that it doesn't live up to its description in the menu: "slowly smoked until the rib is falling off the bone". Probably due to the thickness of the meat, or it wasn't smoked long enough that they were more on the chewy side, not tender. Also, it gets stiff and hard quite fast, in less than twenty minutes I reckon. That was not satisfactory for me. Its also different from my idea of pork ribs, with the racks and everything.

Overall, I'm maybe not yet to the point of loving them, that gotta take time. But as a foodie whose considerably open and adaptive to new stuff, I challenge you to put me in St. Louis, Missouri. Within a month I guarantee, my tongue would've gone American and loving Smoking Joe's menus.

I see a promising future for this food place somehow. They stay original and not planning in any way to tweak the ingredients just to fit in Asian tongue. They stood out with what they have best and let people exercise a little variety from their routine. That's what I want. A taste of America without the cost of going there myself. I hope to see them around. I'd surely come back while not that often.

Well, at least for their refreshing Lemon Grass Ice Tea (17.5k). Again, it has a foreign taste that I can't simply explain word by word, just gotta trust my tongue, go ahead and try it. Foreign yet beautiful delicacy.

I'll see you when I see you. Cheers.

Fellexandro Ruby
A Daring Foodie, Aspiring Photographer, & Heavy Equipment Specialist =)
Munch on my tweets at @Wanderbites

The Legendary Naughty Nuri's a.k.a Warung Nuri

Here's a little market research, go start a convo with any of your Blackberry Messenger friends, I bet they've heard of Naughty Nuri's or Warung Nuri in one or another way. That's how legendary they are. They've always been the talk of the town for tourist who are visiting Bali. If that's not enough, then this is the real deal, they are featured in New York Times. Also Anthony Bourdain once visited Naughty Nuri's and wrote in the guest book "The best martini in the world" (ehm, you mean the best after yours mister? =p)

As for the name, you could've guessed it right on first try. Yep, it was the owner's nickname. Isnuri Suryatmi, an ambitious amateur chef from Java, started this in 1995 with her expat husband Brian Aldinger, and been having a lot of fun until now. 

While NYTimes claimed Sushi as their specialty dish and Bourdain gave full thumbs up for their martini, many knows Warung Nuri for their pork ribs. I, myself, fell in love with their ribs when I tried it for the first time back in May 2008. For the sake of relieving that particular moment, last month I went all the way back to Ubud where it's located and ordered myself one plateful of this. 

This rack of ribs said to be original Balinese pig, and were claimed to be one of the best local produce. This is true, as Balinese people eat a good portion of pork, just as Jakartans eats a good portion of chicken. I believe that when one is popular, people will put more amount of effort to breed, grow, and maintain the quality to continually supply the surmountable demand. Anyway, let's not go into economics.

Halfcooked from the kitchen, I reckon the ribs must have been boiled with spices to remove any smell left and tenderize the meat. It was then dipped on a special barbeque sauce and char-grilled on medium fire.

Drooling?

I bet you do. I am now. How could you not. From every angle in the photo, this ribs could not go wrong.

However, on this trip I failed to relieve the remarkable taste I had three years ago. Took a little note while eating, I wrote: "Good, tender meat. Spicy. Sweet. But feels like any other barbeque sauce for grabs in the supermarket."

Some said my tongue has advanced in a way that my threshold for good food has leveled up over the years. In other words, what used to be good for me is now below my par. (Dalam bahasa Indonesia, ini maksudnya, dulu lidah miskin, apa aja yg pake micin enak, sekarang udah tau nikmatnya dunia, Hahahaha.)

I'd like to believe that it;s true, but then again, there are lots of other foods that I still in love with after years. Soto Bang Mamat, Nasi Kari Babi Aladdin, Kwetiau Bagan Bandengan, to name a few. So that must not be it. To support my hypothesis, I did a little research on Trip Advisor, and the comments on their article in NY Times. There are a lot of praises and there's an amount of negativity about it too. My conclusion, consistency is the issue here. Similar case happen to their newly establish branch in Kelapa Gading, Jakarta. Visited it twice and had different outcomes on both visit. Mixed comments as well among friends who have tried it.

It's sad to know I might not be able to relieve the first-time experience. I still keep my hopes up though. Maybe next time I'll get lucky and the universe will conspire for my tastebuds satisfaction. Until then, let me know what you think.

Oh, and this might be the end of my Bali Culinary series, you can catch the rest of them on these links:
- Vigorous Fish Soup at Mak Beng (Sanur) 
- Flapjaks Pancakes & Crepes (Kuta)
- Kafe Moka (Seminyak)
- Sate Penyu / Sate Celeng (Kuta) 

See you when I see you. Oh, tomorrow is Friday. Have a splendid blissful weekend Biters.


Fellexandro Ruby
Food Conversationalist & Photographer
Snack on my Tweets at @Wanderbites