Leslie Brenner's Not a Fan of Kenny's Smoke House

Leslie Brenner reviewed Kenny's Smoke House: The critic seems a bit mystified by the food at Kenny Bowers' new upscale barbecue concept at the Shops at Legacy. While she concedes that the barbecue, particularly the "hammered" hickory-smoked brisket, is "pretty respectable", she's puzzled by the appetizer selection, proclaiming that while jalapeno-cheddar sausage bites are "tasty", "it's so crazy to precede meat with meat." She also has beef with the some of the dishes' aesthetics, noting that she sent back a fish special because "it looked so awful". Overall, she recommends you skip the sides and "focus on the thing it generally gets right": the barbecue. One star. [DMN]

Teresa Gubbins checked out Queenie's Steakhouse: Tim Love's newest Denton venture does big steaks, of course, including his signature $85 tomahawk for two, but there's plenty more to like than just beef. Lobster dishes, including crabless cakes and a salad, are impressive, as are the affordable pasta dishes; a vegetarian option of a sweet potato chile relleno is a "show-stopper", as is a pheasant dish humorously listed under the "Texas vegetarian" section. Altogether, it's an impressive replacement for Love's defunct Denton branch of Love Shack, and one that caters to "grown-ups" in a town where most restaurants target college students. [DFW.com]

THE BLOGS: Eat This Fort Worth visited the new Campisi's; Just Shy of Perfection did the tasting menu at Five-Sixty; SideDish checked out breakfast at Coffee House Cafe.

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[Photo credit: Kenny's Smoke House/Facebook]