Woody's Smoke Shack
2511 Cottage Grove Ave
Des Moines, IA 50311

At the former location of Sammie Jack's, a new BBQ place has grown in it's place. Driving up to it you get a wonderful woody smoke smell. Being that it is in the corner of a bunch of homes, I don't know how their neighbors can live there without constantly thinking about BBQ. The building is tiny, the walls are covered in wood and the staff is happy and helpful. Ordering is easy, prices are reasonable (around 16$ for both Shannon and I, with no drinks).

I've tried the pulled pork before, so I went after the smoked ham. Shannon tried for the pulled chicken, but they were just out (they were in the process of smoking some more) and went for the brisket instead. We got sides of cheesy potatoes, mac & cheese and I had before gotten their potato salad. I wrapped up some of their free cornbread (sweet) to take home.

The cornbread is sweet and covered with a light sugar dusting. It's good, but I've had better (Uncle Wendell's is better). The mac & cheese was generally dry and not very cheesy. The cheesy potatoes were actually really quite good. They obviously use a lot of butter and cheese in it to create this wonderful side dish. The potato salad is nothing special...a little too runny and bland for my taste.

The meats are generally good. The pork is pretty good. Generally smokey yet still retains moisture. The brisket and ham are well...not that special. I'm still looking forward to trying the chicken and ribs.

Sometimes I wonder if the process is the same for cooking for the restaurant as it is for cooking at a competition.

I would go again, but it doesn't really stand itself out from the other good BBQ places in Des Moines.