Restaurant Review: Nick’s Smokehouse BBQ

Good BBQ can come from anywhere, but I find the small and out of the way places tend to make the most of it. Because they don’t have prime real estate or big marketing budgets, they rely on their food quality, attention to detail and service to make them stand out. One such small establishment with a big commitment to taste is Nick’s Smokehouse BBQ (3101 N. Himes Ave, Tampa FL 33607, 813-875-2800), an off-to-the-side building on Himes near Columbus.

The building itself is very small, and made mostly for takeout. Of the few tables available to customers, I took the one against the wall next to another patron who was enjoying the baked beans. I was greeted by the head cook, who recommended the chopped pork, collared greens, beans and brisket. I took his recommendation, and I’m glad I did.

The chopped pork was excellent. A lot of times with picnics or butts, you end up with a hard outer edge and either undone or not-quite-right middle pork. This was soft throughout, easily coming apart when you forked it up. The taste was sweet with a bit of zip, courtesy of the included sauce.

The collared greens were some of the best I have had since I moved here. It amazes me how many BBQ places mess up something as simple as collared greens, but these were as good if not better than greens I’ve had at competitions. They had a buttery overtone and a nice foliage mouth feel, all while being easy to eat and without all the extra salt you often see put in collared greens to compensate.

The baked beans were thick and tangy. They were actually way more starchy than I am used to, and I think this helped keep them a nice smooth consistency. A hint of maple sugar gave a sweet flavor without being overpowering. The beans were definitely a nice compliment.

The brisket was satisfactory. There were a few minor issues with it, but none of these took away from the taste. The meat itself was far more oily and fatty than I’m used to with brisket. I ended up pulling it all apart by hand before eating it to be sure I had the large sections of fat away from the lean portions. Additionally, it was pulled into strips instead of being chopped or cut into the against-the-grain strips I’m used to. This wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but unexpected.

Lastly, the included toast was a bit dryer than I like. Even after making a sandwich of the succulent pork and brisket portions, the toast wasn’t quite right. Since it makes up such a small part of the meal as a whole, I didn’t rate down because of it.

If you’re looking for smokey flavor in your BBQ, Nick’s Smokehouse does it. Their smoker is proudly on display outside the building. The smoke ring is evident in all of their meat selections. Everything tastes like it was prepared slowly and with intent. If you’re over by Raymond James Stadium, this is an out of the way restaurant that shouldn’t be marginalized.

Pricing is competitive with many other smokehouses, putting my lunch at about $15 including both the standard pork meal and the 1/2 pound of beef brisket.

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