I feel like I say “boy, that escalated quickly” a lot these days. But look out any window and it seems to be a cacophony of sky colors and smells. Still, SF soldiers on, all while trying to get that perfect orange sky selfie after figuring out how to change the white balance filter on your mobile phone. (Hint: it is better to use a photo app to take the pic. Or better yet, an actual camera. There! Problem solved)

We still gotta eat and support local restaurants and what not though, and me and Miss O and her BF did manage to get across the bay to Oakland before all this sky-ness completely settled in because we wanted to just try something different. Which really means, we wanted some good smoked meats and across the bay had some options we had not tried yet. So let’s make a day of it and grab some to go and picnic out by Jack London Square and enjoy a socially distanced outside, while we are still allowed to go outside.

Oakland has a plethora of bbq/smoked meat places to choose from and, honestly, choosing which place to go took a little more research than I probably needed. I mean, I had to find something with choices for meats, sides and actually open for take out. I am aware I was probably overthinking it but seeing as how we might not get across the bay again anytime soon, I really wanted wherever we ended up to be worth it. Ultimately I landed on Smokin’ Woods BBQ, yet who knew the name would become so prescient?

Since I had already been through their menu extensively, I knew going in exactly what I wanted and was able to order up quickly once we had arrived. That means getting the three meat plate with two sides and then adding in some dessert to just top it all off.

My meat choices were ribs, brisket and beef links. Let’s start with the good. Definitely large portion sizes. There is plenty of meat to go around. The brisket was tender. The ribs has a nice rub and smoky flavor and did pull off the bone relatively easy. The not quite so good, both of them were on the dry side of things. Not necessarily from the cooking but most likely from sitting around after cooking and drying out or at least having their juices seep out of them. While they are not slathered in sauce, it did come with a small side of a tangy, slightly sweet tomato based sauce, of which I could have used a bit more to compensate for the dry. As for the beef link, I don’t know what it was but they tasted off. It was hard to put my finger on exactly what was wrong with the taste, but if I had my eyes closed I would not have been able to say it was a beef link I was eating. Something in the seasoning was just unappealing as was the texture which was more soft and mush than crumbly and link like. While with the help of the sauce I did finish the ribs and brisket, after a couple slices of the link, I gave up as even the sauce could not save them for me.

When the mains fall down, you hope the sides can pick up the slack. My first choice was greens as I’m a big fan them. And if you can cook them with bits of meat like above, the I’m on board. Sadly, one taste of these made jump overboard. These were some of the bitterest greens I have ever had. I mean like sour, harsh, deep down dirt bitter. Sure, greens are bitter to start but that is why you cook them way down and add seasoning, meat bits, fatback, something to enliven them up. These were so off putting they even overwhelmed the meat in it. I’m not sure who was taste testing these in the kitchen but they seemed to have missed a beat in the process leaving these greens quite inedible. Maybe some copious amounts of white vinegar could have saved them? Wouldn’t have know though as there was none with it to find out.

The mac and cheese side, however, was like an oasis in a to-go container full of lowered expectations. Being a seeming staple of Southern food places there are varying shades of mac of cheese. Some or small noodles, some creamy, some cheesy and like this one, more like firmed up casserole with browned top layer of cheddar. They did a real good job on this with layers of cheese and possibly cottage cheese(?) all baked together in a luscious, creamy, buttery like mass of goodness. Just give me a bowl of this next time.

As soon as I saw this on the menu, I knew I needed a slice. This homestyle Southern fave is a traditional buttery pound cake made with 7-Up to add a little zing, help with moisture and give the denseness of pound cake a little more airiness without losing the heft. It is then covered in a powdered sugar icing for that extra bit of sweetness. Much like the mac and cheese, they pretty much nailed this one too. Each bite was like a flashback to church potluck lunches in the fellowship hall after long sermons. And while it didn’t totally erase away some of the not so good from above, it was a great finish to wash away any lingering bad taste my tongue my have encountered.

Hit or miss then is the way I’m gonna describe Smokin’ Woods BBQ. The greens and the beef link were total misses for me (not to mention the store bought house roll they give with this entree which is why I didn’t even bring it up). The brisket and ribs were okay, but I have had better around the Bay Area. And the mac and cheese and 7-Up pound cake were the true winners and standout options I can definitely recommend trying. While I wouldn’t necessarily say you can just make a meal out of the mac and cake, it wouldn’t be totally out of the ordinary for say a cheat day or for stress eating in the strange times we continue to figure out our way through. I can’t say I’d make a trip back over to Oakland just for them, but if you are around this area of Telegraph Ave., a quick grab and go back to your COVID bubble might not be a bad thing. In fact, they could be just the right thing to calm your frayed nerves bite by bite, even if only for a little while.

Footnote: the three meat plate with two sides and a “roll” will run you $26 plus tax/tip which is pretty much in line with what all the bbq places in the Bay Area charge for the same option. The slice of pound cake will tack on an extra $5 but in this instance, the slice is big enough and totally worth it.