Head south on Hampton, look for the smoke and you'll find one of the best barbecue spots in St. Louis.
"I love everything and I stand behind everything that we make but I think that we're definitely best known for the brisket," Tom Schmidt says.
He opened the original Salt and Smoke in the Loop in 2014.
"What I think we do that's really nice is you have a server you come and you get seated at a table and people bring you your order and take care of you."
Of course, the things they bring you the fall of the bone ribs, delicious pulled pork and chicken also help.
"I had the brisket sandwich. And? Amazing! Amazing brisket sandwich," one customer says.
"I had the pulled pork it was amazing," a woman adds.
Amazing seems to be a theme here as do things that start with the letter b.
"Beers we have about 60. So we have a nice bottle list about 50 or so and then 8 local craft beers on draft all the time," Schmidt points out.
There are also about 200 bourbons on the menu.
"There's so many cool bourbons out there so every week people are coming by and we're sipping this or trying this and so we're just finding new ones that we fall in love with all the time."
But it's a place where one of the b's will always come first in Tom's book.
"I mean beer and bourbon are great, but we don't actually make that. What we stand by, live and die by the barbecue for sure."
It's a place where everything is made from scratch.
"Fries to pies. So you know all of our sauces, all of our barbecue obviously, but even hand cutting our own fries, all of it," Schmidt says.
There's an old school favorite that is often overlooked.
"It's like the biggest sleeper on the menu because people are like oh fried bologna," Schmidt adds.
It's some of the best in his opion and the deviled eggs are a must in mine.
"If you want it to be right you can't cut any corners and that's what we try to do."
They do more than try, they succeed. So stop by Salt and Smoke and sink your teeth into some delicious St. Louis style barbecue.
"We always say barbecue is for besties and that's just kind of how we live and operate we just try to be friendly and open you know as if you were coming into our house."
Salt and Smoke opens every day at 11am. The kitchen is open until 10. The new place is at 5625 Hampton Avenue, the original spot is in the Loop. You can look over the menu at http://saltandsmokestl.com/
Tom and his crew can also cater for 5 to 5,000 people. If you're interested in having them cater an event call 314-727-0200.
