Rocking Horse Smokehouse

"Overview: Rocking Horse misses in every category. From it's desperate attempt at a 'country' theme that looks like it came out of a Macy's magazine, to it's slop of food and horrible acoustics; I can't name a good thing this place had. Food: The food here, well... don't get it. - I got the half chicken with green beans and carrots. The chicken was initially amazing. The skin was well flavored and smoked; but after that initial layer, nothing. No flavor, definitely overcooked such that the chicken was somehow drier than turkey. How do you mess up chicken, at a SMOKEHOUSE? - The mac and cheese I split with my gf was quite, tasteless. Soupy as if they never drained the water from the pasta. The sauce and cheese they serve it with was very saddening - honestly a 99 cent mac n' cheese box for kids comes out better than this. - The green beans were undercooked and left the after taste of soap in my mouth, at least the carrots were ok. - The waitress personally told our table to not order the brisket - it looks like a can of wet dog food served on a plate. She also said there are often complaints about the taste as well. She was not kidding either, as a table next to us ordered it and I don't think I've ever seen brisket so poorly made. Do they grind the food in a nutri-bullet before putting it on the plate? - Girlfriend's dish was served fridge cold. Drinks: - I believe I had a specialty drink, but nothing fancy or innovative here. Drinks are drinks :) Service: - Clearly understaffed/poorly managed. We had waited well over an hour for our food from the initial order to when we got our plates. They didn't even come out at the same time, one of the dishes came out 10 minutes after everyone else and we were almost done. - The waitress we had was clearly doing her best and was very nice to us. No complaints specifically as she was clearly managing far too many tables. - If we didn't have the waitress we did, the service would get 2 stars. Misc: - Loud acoustics, be ready to yell at your friends 2 feet away from you. - Disingenuous environment, at least for my experience (take some queues from the Ditch in Litchfield). If you're a 60+ salt and pepper hair, fake cowboy hat, basis flannel white guy wanting to relive their hey-day and pretend to be cool, man you'll fit right in! - Sketchy rumors about this place, but who knows what is true and what isn't. Gordon Ramsay needs an intervention with this place, or new management is needed. Something needs to change before I ever come back."

"We went to check out the Rocking Horse Smokehouse recently and I must say we will go back. I had the brisket platter while my husband had the pork platter. I have to say the brisket was so tender it melted in my mouth. I loved it. The pulled pork was equally tender. There is nothing worse than having meat that is tough, but that was not the case here. I loved their meats. The sides were equally well done. I really liked their slaw. I am not a big fan of slaw usually, but I will eat theirs. Only thing that I missed was sweet potatoes. In the South they usually serve smoked sweet potatoes with BBQ'ed meats but Rocking horse did not have those on their menu. I might have to mention it to them next time and maybe they will add them later. We had enough to take home and I had some cooked sweet potatoes just waiting to pair with the leftovers the next day. :)"

"Finally got to check this place out. Went in with moderate expectations given the reviews since they opened. We were pleasantly surprised. Walking in, you're greated with an open concept, warm country feel, almost like being in a barn ready for the best party ever. Everything is very clean and they are set up for entertainment (stage and plenty of room for line dancing with some tables moved). The clean utensils are wrapped in a linen napkin and all the dishes used were clean and in great shape. The service was very good. Olivia was great about making sure we had everything we needed in a pleasant manner. They have a decent drink offering and the draft beer is very well priced ($4 for a pint of the Rocking Horse Lager which was tasty and cold). The portions are HUGE for the price, and the ingredients are very fresh. The side salad I chose as part of my entree easily could outside a full dinner salad anywhere else (in a twelve inch bowl) The flavors are uniquely different from any other places in New England that serves smoked dishes. And that's a good thing. The chicken wings are dredged in a fantastic dry rub and then put on the smoker. Served with blue cheese dressing and their special hot sauce (which has a fantastic peppery flavor with a faint note of vinegar), the wings were perfectly tender and loaded with flavor. You don't need any sauce as they are. My friend had one of the burgers which was perfectly cooked and HUGE! She opted for the Cajun fries which were great, but super spicy. So be prepared if you do opt for them. The only complaint I had, and it's not a big one, was that my brisket had a very thin smoke ring and parts of it tasted and had a muscle density more like a packed pot roast than smokey, stringy fibers of what I've come to know brisket for. Brisket I've had at other places have at least a half inch thick smoke ring and have the right smoky taste in each bite. These maybe had a sixteenth of an inch thick smoke ring and I only got a smoky taste in about half the bites. But it was super moist and fell apart very easily. Their sauces are packed with flavor and pair well with the various dishes they go with. Thankfully they made the brisket better tasting. We went home with a bunch of food, our stomachs very full in a light way. Overall, it was a great experience and we will definitely be back again!"

"Tried this new BBQ place for the first time, which opened about three months ago. It is a nice contrast to the "other" excellent local joint. The menu has more variety; the sauces and prep are different which makes it a nice option if you want BBQ, but something different. The meats were great, the appetizers are insane and the salad even had cornbread croutons. Something for everyone!"

"I'm giving the benefit of the doubt here because they're brand new. Our sever Kara was very attentive and polite. The chips and salsa were very good. I had a Back East ice cream man and Stacy had some kind of BlackBerry Margarita, I'm not sure if it was supposed to have salt or anything on the rim, but it didn't. Our entries came out really quick, I had the chicken and pork combo, and Stacy had the pulled pork wrap. The chicken and ribs were really good, and the sauces are exceptional. Unfortunately, the colored greens had absolutely no flavor, They seemed to just be boiled greens. Nothing like what i've had down south. The coleslaw was pretty bland too. Stacy's wrap had a lot of rice, which was unexpected. Overall, the atmosphere and service were nice, The food was good and I'm sure things will improve with time. We will go back and again, the sauces were incredible."