Smoke & Dough

What is Miami-style barbecue? 

You could say it’s cafecito-rubbed brisket or ribs served with guava barbecue sauce, and you’d be partially right. But those are just ingredients. The Miami-ness of Smoke & Dough’s food has just as much to do with how it’s eaten. And this West Kendall spot represents Miami in both taste and nature.

photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc

photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc

photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc

Smoke & Dough knows we don’t like waiting in long lines just to be told by someone in black gloves that the only thing left are pickles. So here, you can make a reservation. And it’s the only barbecue joint we’ve been to with croquetas and tequeños on the menu. This is a restaurant where tapas coexist with boot-slapping smokehouse barbecue.

But Smoke & Dough remains true to Southern American barbecue rules while still being creative enough to cook things like brisket mole and burnt end empanadas. The brisket is, in fact, massaged with a cafecito rub—but it’s also a perfect brisket by anyone’s standards, smoked for 15 hours and dripping in its own juices. Most dishes feel like they’ve been put through more rehearsals than a high school theater kid. And what you’re left with is food that hits its mark every time.

photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc

photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc

photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc

Saturday is the best day to go. Not only is there less traffic, but that’s when you’ll find specials that really showcase how Smoke & Dough fuses U.S. barbecue to Latin American cuisine. For example, the trifongo with green plantains, sweet plantains, and yuca all mixed with pork belly and garlicky broth. It’s served in a wooden pilon and topped with your favorite smoked meat (we like the duck). Another weekend special worth hunting for is the juicy pork belly al pastor with chili, achiote, and smoked pineapple. But if you’re planning on visiting during the weekend, make reservations. The small dining room has a few wooden booths by the entrance and a handful of tables in the back, so seating is limited.

At this point in the review, our word count for the word “smoke” has reached eight. So if you haven’t caught on yet, just about everything here is smoked (nine), including our favorite dessert: the smoked (10) flan. That’s impressive—but Smoke & Dough does something even more remarkable. It appeals to so many Miamians, from the uncle whose only experience with burnt ends is cigarette butts to your neighbor who makes an annual pilgrimage to Franklin Barbecue. And that’s kind of the point of barbecue, isn’t it? It can bring together a community. Looking down at your table, you’ll see so many of Miami’s cultures represented—all under the delicious smoked (12) banner of a term this restaurant has finally defined: Miami-style barbecue. 

Food Rundown

photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc

Pastrami Tequeños

This is the perfect finger food. One order comes with four little tequeños filled with white cheese and tiny pink chunks of smoked pastrami. If these were ever offered at a wedding reception, the server passing them would be more popular than the bride.

photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc

Brisket Mole

This is our favorite dish here. The bark on the fatty brisket looks like it came off an oak tree, and the smokey meat tastes like the soulmate to the slightly rich, chocolatey mole poblano sauce it rests on.

photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc

Burnt Ends Empanadas

These come out smoking hot. Break them apart and let things cool down for a few seconds—that way you can really taste the smoked brisket ends, mozzarella, and sweet caramelized onions instead of the searing flavor of impatience that’ll get you huffing like a Lamaze class.

photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc

Duck Lunchable

Unlike the one your mom stuck in your dinosaur lunchbox, there’s no such thing as an equal trade for this fancy lunchable. Stack the smoked duck breast, pickled mustard seeds, blue cheese olives, and smoked mozzarella onto an herb oil crostini and feel like lunch table royalty.

photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc

Beast Croqueta Preparada

If you’re not in the mood for a meat feast, order the croqueta preparada. It takes all of Smoke & Dough’s strengths and puts it into a sandwich: smoked ham, smoked gouda, and smoked ham and cheese croquetas pressed between bread and served with a guava-sriracha ketchup. It’s the perfect thing to order when you don’t have time for a full sit-down situation.

photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc

Meat Quattro

Order the Meat Quattro because it’s easier than choosing between the brisket, ribs, sausage, and pulled pork. The brisket is so tender, you’ll want it to tuck you in at night. The ribs are a little sweet and bite clean off the bone. The salty pulled pork is smoked for 12 hours. The sausage has an excellent snap and a cheesy, smoky interior. Each is great—pero porque no los cuatro?

photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc

Smoked Flan

You could pluck your eyebrows with the top of this flan—it’s like a caramel mirror. The flans here are cooked directly on the pits for about five hours, giving it that slightly smokey taste that’s never too overpowering. It’s not your abuela’s flan, but even she’ll tell you it’s good.