Opening night

Shoot! I've been calling the place daily and found out this morning it was opening Thursday, I was hoping you wouldn't know-and-tell, so I'd have the ribs all to myself!

I guess when they say "the more the merrier," they're talking about ribs! Can't wait!!!!

GG,

Please talk us off the ledge! Your not moving are you?

No Bri,
GG is firmly planted in the DTL for some time.
Who would dish up all the food news fit to blog?

GG

My wife and I will be attending the event tonight...I'll be sure to report back tomorrow morning!

GG,
Comfort food always seems to do better in a downturn economy. Let's hope these ribs are the real deal. Can't wait to hit the VSH soon enough.

Fabulous news!!! I think we've all been waiting for this for a very long time...what feels like an eternity really. I am looking forward to some ribs before the Celtics game on Friday. Oh yes....it's that time again. Celtics & Food! Life is grand.

The 16th? I'll believe it when I see it.

Village Smokehouse Review

So my wife and I were invited to last night's soft opening for Friends and Family. The restaurant opened at 6, so we arrived shortly after around 6:30. It was a good thing, because the restaurant was absolutely packed! We found two seats at the bar fairly easily. First off, the space looks completely amazing. I was a frequent patron of Evo's/Capos and always thought that the building was a gem in downtown. What they've done to the place is nothing short of amazing. I'd also like to give them a pass on a few of the things that happened simply because it was their first night, and again, completely swamped with people.

At first, our bartender was prompt and polite, and provided our drinks immediately. Their draught selection is great, Wachuset Blueberry, Green Monsta, PBR, Guiness, Bass, etc. We ordered their "Homemade Tater Skins" as an appetizer. They were terrific. WHile waiting we were offered complimentary cornbread. There was no butter in our basket, but upon tasting, none was needed. This cornbread was top notch!

My wife ordered the brisket and I ordered the baby back ribs. Each entree comes with beans, cornbread and one side. My wife ordered vegetables and I ordered the Texas Fries.

At this point the restaurant (bar side) is really starting to fill up. Our bartender started serving the order side of the bar, and we had a new server, who wasn't as attentive. She was however trying to keep up with probably 30 people though.

Here is one downside to my experience. I saw a server make his way to the bar with a large tray that had 4 dinners on it. He told the bartender that it was for seats 118 and 120. He set the tray down on the leaning bar area behind us, and attempted to locate seat 120. My wife looked at our tab receipt, and it said 118. She mentioned this to the server, but somehow he decided to locate 120 first. We figured that this shouldn't take long, but I think the patron at 120 gave his seat to someone else and was mixed in with the crowd behind the bar. Our food sat behind us, unattended on the other bar, for what seemed like 10-15 minutes. When he returned and served us, I noticed that my order was incorrect. It had beef ribs and not baby back ribs.

Since the event provided a free entree, I didn't mention this, because I like beef ribs also.

The ribs were terrific! My wife's brisket was also delicious. Both were tender and marinated perfectly. The beans were absolutely mouth watering, and my texas fries were ok.

I was hoping to catch a bartender and ask for ketchup and a refill, but we were not attended to for quite sometime. I would say it was another 30-40 minutes after we were done before we were able to cash out and leave.

So my final thoughts are this. The Village Smokehouse is definitely a great place to check out. An amazing decor, great drink selection, and teriffic food. My suggestion would be to be patient during their first few weeks while they're ironing out the kinks with large crowds coming for the first time. Once it settles down a bit, I think it'll be a great addition to Downtown Lowell.

Thanks for the info JK. Great to hear it was so good. Yeah, I agree, you can't mark down for service at a brand new place, I can't imagine how hard it must be to have a hundred or so hungry people coming in and watching me at work my first day at the job. I shall head there a.s.a.p.!!!

Being a former patron at Smithwicks, as well as an employee at Evos/Capo's, this building holds a very special place in my heart and always will.
I was BLOWN AWAY at the AMAZING transformation that space has gone through! The bathrooms are huge, and the lighting throughout the entire place looks awesome! It's no wonder it took so long to open up - they replaced EVERYTHING!

Considering that last night was their opening party for Friends and Family, they ran that place incredibly well - I honestly believe this place will give all the surrounding restaurants a run for their money, and it's about time!!!! The food was amazing!

Congrats to the Owners and Staff - all of you did a tremendous job, and we cannot wait to dine with you again!

woo hoo!

My husband and I checked it out on Saturday night. Sat at the bar for a little while and requested a table to dine. The experience at the bar was good. Good service, pleasant bartenders. Once we got to the table it was like we had changed venues. It was total chaos. Our waiter was awful. We waited for a drink, then for the appetizer order to be taken..then he hovered until we finally placed our food order. The item I ordered was not available but we weren't notified for a good 15 minutes after order placement..and then he never came back for my re-order until a good 20 minutes later. Waiters, waitresses, busboys, etc were all falling over each other in total chaos. We decided to cut our losses, pay for the appetizer and leave. We won't be back. The appetizer was not good either..certainly not enough to make up for the poor floor management. I agree, they did a nice job with the place but without any organization and better food, it won't last either.

So technically you didn't even have dinner there (btw the food is fantastic) and you couldn't see fit to cut the kids some slack when they've only been open a week or so. Give me a break lady. You're barely there and go on-line and tear into them. I'm glad YOU'RE not the official welcome wagon for our city.

SM,

Perhaps this place needs a few weeks to work out the kinks. They have been open for not even 2 weeks. Lets give everyone a chance. I'm sure if the service experience is always terrible and "chaotic", management will have to make some cuts and get themselves some staff fit for the job. But I'll leave that up to them.

All i know is the food is great and I've always had a pleasant experience there. I've been 3x. You should give it another chance and try some food next time. Or else you're not a credible critic in my mind. Just one Lowell resident to the next...
Let's be patient and let this place get rolling.

Re: Peter's post regarding my review...I'm sorry for being honest. We all work really hard to get the chance to go out and have dinner (and we personally spend a lot of time and money in downtown Lowell). I don't think I slammed the place, just tried to be honest. I hope they do succeed. I have no reason to wish otherwise. BTW, not sure I signed up to be a welcome wagon but if you don't agree with what I have to say, that's your right and I hope you continue to patronize the restaurant if you like it. It is a competitive business and people have a right to expect quality food and service .

Good grief!

Hey, I'm just trying to make sure people consider whether or not they actually have 2 cents to put in before they go ahead and do.

We can all walk into and eat in a place, well, maybe not in your case. It takes a special kind of person to actually open a place, especially in this economy, and I just think it's far classier to let them get off the ground before tearing into them in a public forum.