Smoke and Donuts Orlando: Come for the Donuts, Stay Cautious on the Brisket

The brisket is considered the ultimate test of a good BBQ joint and I found Smoke and Donuts to be just okay. Even within the point cut the top part was nice and fatty but the bottom leaner portion tasted like typical dry brisket. I can’t hold that against the restaurant though, BBQ doesn’t sit well and you can’t beat the anatomy of a cow.

My main problem was that the flavor wasn’t anything special. I found it bland and one dimensional without much smoky flavor. A lot of Texans prescribe to the idea that good brisket only needs salt, pepper, and smoke but I disagree. There are a lot more herbs and spices out there to boost flavor overall and this cut desperately needed it. Most of the flavor came from the sauces, which included a standard sweet sauce, a vinegary sauce, and a white sauce that is probably using a base of mayo.

The pork belly had the same issue as the brisket. The middle fatty part was rich and meaty but the two lean sides sandwiching it had been sitting for a while and also lacked flavor. This cut is better complemented with the vinegary sauce to cut through the richness.

This was the best protein from my visit. It had more smoky flavor and remained tender and juicy throughout. A lot of the heavy lifting may have come from the sauce already coating the top rather than the meat itself, but pulled pork pretty much requires sauce anyways.

This left me very conflicted. The noodles were well cooked, not too mushy or waterlogged, but the cheese sauce was too liquidy and had this odd flavor I couldn’t pinpoint. It reminded me of alcohol, like a beer cheese of some sort. Didn’t help that I forgot to grab a fork and had to scoop it with my hands like a crazy person in my car.

As expected these were the best thing I got. I got the lavender coconut at $4 and a regular vanilla glaze at $2 and these are some hefty donuts especially given the price. Much more filling and decadent than the Asian bakeries I frequent which usually cost upwards of $4 or more for a single bun.

I will say that I prefer yeast donuts over cake donuts but from an operations standpoint it makes sense that this place serves the cake kind since they can sit much longer without going stale. The donuts had a nice crunchy exterior and the inside was moist and soft. They were surprisingly easy to eat and didn’t feel too rich despite being paired with a bunch of heavy meats.