Ozark Mountain Smoke House
by February 8, 1999 12:00 am 87 views
Other places come and go, but the Ozark Mountain Smoke House is the Old Faithful of Dickson Street. It’s always there, dependably serving up sandwiches, salads and soups to a hungry clientele.
The food’s not fancy, but then, neither are our tastes.We like the plain fare that the Smoke House offers — and, if it’s plain, it’s because that’s what we choose. Diners build their own sandwiches, so if there’s too much lettuce or a missing condiment, they have only themselves to blame.
We’ve wandered in on a cold day to try the chicken noodle soup and other days we’ve found the Smoke House offering chili or minestrone. The soup’s good but not enough to fill us up, so we supplement with sandwiches.
At 49 cents an ounce — that’s $7.84 a pound — the sandwich, we figure, is a good deal. There’s usually at least turkey and ham to choose from — the Smoke House specialty, of course, is its smoked meats. Add cheese — cheddar, pepper or other varieties — and select from an assortment of breads.
Now, the Smoke House has enhanced the deal by charging separately for salad items, such as lettuce, sprouts, tomatoes, pickles and olives. Those salad items go for 18 cents an ounce.
And of course, there are the potato chips, plain or barbecue — not your usual packaged variety but freshly fried chips. For dessert, try the fresh-baked cookies or, even better, the fudge. And if you’re in the mood to enjoy preserves, the Smoke House sells a good variety to go.
Enhancing the meal is the atmosphere. It’s always quiet inside, sometimes so much so that we wonder how the place stays in business. But then again, we see how people get in and out quickly, so perhaps it’s a steady flow into the place throughout the day rather than a short lunch-hour rush.
During warm weather, of course, there’s the Smoke House courtyard, a pleasant outdoor place accented with grapevines and other greenery.
We enjoy the Smoke House cuisine and the atmosphere — and it’s not every restaurant that can feed three people for $16. We’ll be back, and we know the Smoke House will be there.