Smokin’ Jack’s Rib Shack

Damn fine rib tips. Good portion sizes. Staff was great. Place was very clean. It smelled like a Bbq place. Great Job.

I’ve stopped in a few times over the last two months. The pulled pork sandwich is pretty good. Nice flavor and a good sized portion. The second time I had the brisket sandwich and it was excellent! Great flavor and just the right amount of marveling in the meat. Potato salad was good as was the coleslaw. I’ll go back again next time I’m in town.

Terrific pulled pork, chicken, and turkey. The regular sauce is a little on the bland side (which I actually like), so you might do well to order a hotter variety if you’re looking for a really distinctive taste with your sauces, but the meats themselves stand on their own very well with a great, smokey flavor and melt-​in-​your-​mouth tenderness.

It’s a barbecue joint and the food is pretty good. The sauce is OK ask but you should ask for hot sauce if you want some real Flavor and if you’re over 60 so on Monday night when things are half price.

Visited around 6−7PM on a Friday. Ordered the ½lb brisket sandwich with beans and slaw. Brisket was obviously of good quality, but lacked smoke and seasoning. Beans were from a can. Slaw was very finely shredded and a bit overdressed, but still crisp, which led me to believe it was pretty fresh. Would honestly give them another chance next time I’m in town.

Clean atmosphere, woodsy and laid back. Speedy fast super friendly ! service. Sweet tea n sweet potatoe pie… on point (:. Had Thursday lunch special. Italian sausage and a side. Mac n cheese not bad. Opted for additional potatoe salad. Not frozen tasting. Bonus. Two plain pieces of white bread were added. Seemed way out of place. Cornbread or rolls guys? Would have still been hungry if hadn’t added second side (like 6 months ago) seemed much bigger.
Overall more food would have made me happier. 12 $ total, fair value. I’ll be back, couple months for sure.

YUMM !!! Been there several times. ALWAYS fantastic. Décor could use a little help. EVERYthing is GREAT !!

Second visit: Great idea. Horrible food. Told waitress. Manager never came to the table. My stomach still hurts.

Stopped here for lunch my first time, my companion’s 5^th… thus why I found myself there enjoying a very good pulled pork sandwich… very generous proportion of meat on that bun. Slaw was good, baked beans were average, meal rounded off with chips and pickle.
Would definitely stop here again if in the area.

Very good! Loved their tenderloin, Mac and cheese, and corn bread! They also have legit sweet tea! I’m from south florida and it has been hard to find good sweet tea! It will definitely become a regular spot for us!

Never been disappointed. Sides are delicious. Corn bread is 2 huge pieces and like a fluffy cake. Quite possibly the greatest promotion on Wednesdays with $ 1 ribs. They are unsauced, complete with tips. If you take a slab home it could and should last you 3 – 4 meals if you break them up ribs and tips. I love the hot BBQ. I mix it with the original. Trying the jerk wings for the first time. They look delicious. Basket is 10 wings for 7 $ great value.

It was mediocre at best. French fries were yummy but the brisket and rib tips have too much liquid smoke on them. It doesn’t taste like it’s been slow smoked all day. No thanks.

Low quality everything, pork is definetly not smoked and not the least bit tender, portions are large but in my opinion not worth the price. Good just isn’t the same with jack gone.

Great BBQ. Their beef brisket was fantastic, delicious sauce. Every side is incredible, from the corn bread to the mac n cheese, you can’t go wrong. You get your food practically before you sit down. Great-​sized portions as well, and nice staff.

Dollar rib wednesdays. Nuff said.
Awesome cornbread. Bbq sauce is amazing as well. People that work there are really cool. Bbq shwag all over the place

Huge portions at this restaurant. You definitely get what you pay for here. Food was good, cornbread I got was cold so I wasn’t too happy about that but the green beans they make here are awesome. Pulled pork was good too. Good service, great on getting you what you need. Def might check it out another time I’m down here. Wanna try the ribs…

If you’ve never been to Smokin’ Jack’s before, it’s important to remember seven words — «don’t judge a book by its cover.» From the outside, the restaurant isn’t the most visually appealing establishment. In my opinion though, the character of a restaurant is much more important. Smokin’ Jack’s has a reputation as a hometown favorite. From the perspective of a college student, it isn’t your «typical college town restaurant.» Most of the customers walking in the doors are not college students, but I think this adds to the charm of the place. Smokin’ Jack’s is one of those classic hole-​in-​the-​wall establishments that may be hard to find, but offers some of the best food in town. I would put Smokin’ Jack’s in an elite group of hole-​in-​the-​wall restaurants in Bloomington including the Azteca Market, Lucky Express, and Wee Willie’s (Note: be on the lookout for future blog posts about these places!).
During my visit to Smokin’ Jack’s this weekend, I was accompanied with two of my roommates. The special for the day was a pulled pork sandwich with one side for $ 6. I ordered the special with macaroni and cheese as the side and my roommates ordered a full rack of ribs to share, along with a side of potato salad and green beans. I’ve had the ribs at Smokin’ Jack’s before, and they are amazing, but I was equally impressed with the pulled pork sandwich. It comes with pickles and onion (I think the pickles are a great compliment, however I don’t really care for the onion) and the macaroni was a perfect side for the sandwich. My roommates said they would prefer baby back ribs to the type of ribs Smokin’ Jacks has to offer because baby back ribs are smaller and not as tender, but it’s all a matter of personal preference!
In summary, I think Smokin’ Jacks is a place all residents of Bloomington should try at least once in their life. The food is great, the staff is friendly, and its a nice change of pace from most restaurants near campus. If you find yourself at Smokin’ Jacks, I would recommend the ribs or the pulled pork. But before you walk in, just remember — «don’t judge a book by its cover.»

Huge portions, nice staff. I’m not going to get into the whole BBQ holy wars thing, they have some decent pulled pork, ribs, ½ and ¼ portions of chicken, etc.
Typically you get some giant serving of meat, a bunch of steak fries (my favorite), some cornbread, slaw and other stuff. You will probably have leftovers, unless you are a competitive eater or something.

Being from the South, I’m very picky on my ‘que. Thought the que here was ok, but probably good for the area. I would have liked a bit more smokiness to it and the BBQ sauce was weak. Again, not saying it’s bad by any stretch, just not what we have down south. It is definitely worth stopping by if you want que though. They get good props for having decent sweet tea too.

I went to Smokin’ Jack’s the other night with my boyfriend after the two of us got out of class. It’s the only barbecue option in town, so it has the market cornered.
The prices are great, I ordered a half chicken meal with green beans and mac and cheese and my boyfriend had rib tips with greens, mac and cheese, and cornbread. The chicken was very tender and served very hot, not warm like at some places. The sauce is a bit sweeter than my preference, but it wasn’t a problem to just pull the skin back. The mac and cheese is pretty standard southern style mac and cheese, it isn’t baked, but it’s tasty and the green beans were good. My boyfriend’s meal was great, his rib tips were tasty and the greens were amazing. The corn bread is delicious.
It was about $ 18 for the two of us to eat and we had enough food for leftovers (¼ chicken) for lunch the next day.
We’ll definitely be back.