Cluck, Grunt, Low

cluck grunt low is a smokehouse on Bloor st W, one or two blocks west of Spadina.

We went for lunch on Saturday the 25th of October. We got there at 1pm. We thought we would try it out for a quick lunch as we only had a limitied amount of time. We ordered the hushpuppies to share that came with jalapeno marmalade. The huspuppies were okay, much like all huspuppies end up being, slightly dry on the inside and hard on the outside. The marmalade was a necessary accompanyment and was the best part of the dish.

I ordered a Beef Brisket sandwich with cajun fries and my lunch companion ordered the Pulled Pork Sandwich with the mashed sweet potatoes. These two sandwiches are should be on every BBQ smokehouse menu and are a good gauge of the pit masters skill.

We were thoroughly underwhelmed. It is not that the food was bad, certainly it was not. It was simply that there was no soul to the food. Nor was there smoke. There was a hint of smoke in the air but it did not make its way into the meat. The pork tasted bland. The beef was slightly tough and colourless. The only spicing was the CGL made bbq sauce that was mixed in after.

As for the sides, these were perhaps the best part of the dishes. My companion had the sweet potato and said that it was superb, "The best I have ever had". My Cajun fries were very well done and spiced appropriately.

I would rate the food 6 or 7 out of ten. High marks obtained through nice sides and accompanyments, not mains. I would rate the service at 4 out of ten. It took 40 minutes to get our food. About 30 minutes too long for this kind of food. This is, essentially, a sandwich shop. And it was not full. As well, there was no debit machine. They accent credit card but not debit. I hate that.

Would I go here again? Perhaps, if someone else was paying and to try another item.

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