Oh yes it's Ladies Night Friday night at Stack Smmmoked Restaurant Toronto

So Friday night myself and some of the ladies from work decided to go out for dinner.  And seen as I am the "foodie" expert at work it was me who got to pick the location.  I have walked past this restaurant at least a dozen times, and have always wanted to try it, so finally Friday night was the night. The restaurant is called Stack, it is a BBQ joint with a smoker, and it has a bit of fine dining feel without being too uppity (cloth napkins, but no table cloths, which is probably a good thing).


*Disclaimer* This is going to be a long one, so if you don't have the time to read, just enjoy the pictures and go eat here!

(Exterior of restaurant with patio to the left of the photo)

(Another shot of the exterior)

(This greets you as you walk in....yum ribs!)

(The bar where you can wait for you table)

(Hard working bartender)

(Chandelier leading up the stairs to the second floor (apparently it's really cozy up there) 

(Back of the restaurant with the kitchen and smoker)

So like the picture says above, when you walk in you are greeted by an award from dine.TO for having the best Ribs (which I gotta say got me really excited because I love love love Ribs, you will however be shocked a little later in this post and you will see why). It's a nice bright and airy restaurant and as you stand waiting to be seated your nose is constantly being assaulted by all the amazing smells (in a good way), if you aren't hungry when you walk in, you will be very quickly. There is a nice sized bar where you can sit and wait for your table, and a couple of booths off to the side. There is also more seating in the back (that's where we were) and a whole upstairs too.

(The menu, it may not look big, but man is it hard to choose)

When we finally got our table (Friday night and they had Fifa on so it was a bit busy, but tables opened up pretty fast) we dove into the menu. The first hard decision of the night was the drinks. Now me being a wine lover, and knowing that red pairs very well with meat, I went with wine. I chose a 9oz Malbec from Argentina called Colores Del Sol (sadly the LCBO does not seem to carry it). I am very into Malbec's right now, and usually if it's on the menu I will order it.  They have a bit of spice to them, but trust me it's good.  This one was nice and smooth, fruity and a hint of spice to it, and it had nice fruity aromas to it. I must say I was a bit shocked when our waiter brought over my 9oz, it's a lot of wine, but it didn't go to waste.

(Awesome Malbec from Argentina) 

(Group shot of the drinks;from left to right: Orange Crush, Blueberry Fizz, Pomegranate Martini and Malbec)

The rest of the group decided to go for some fun fruity drinks aka "Adult Pops". The Orange Crush tasted like a creamsicle, the Blueberry Fizz was very refreshing and only a bit tart, and the Pomegranate Martini was again refreshing with a hint of tartness. All were very good, and I would definitely order any of them again.

The hardest decision of the night was the food. Just about everything on the menu sounded incredible, and anytime someone said what they were thinking of ordering we would second guess our choice. But we finally all had made a decision and were ready to get this eating party started. Below are the fabulous photos of our food!

(Applewood Smmmoked Bacon Cheddar Burger)

One of us decided on the burger.  They have a pretty big selection of burgers, so one of us had to try one. There were no complaints from the burger eater, she enjoyed it and it looked pretty yummy.

(Pulled Pork)

For my other friend it was a toss up between the ribs or the pulled pork. But she ended up with the pulled pork with the medium sauce and again no complaints, it was nice and tender and juicy, just like a good pulled pork should be.

(Pit Smoked Quarter Chicken with Sweet Potato Fries)

One of us went with the healthier option and order the pit smoked chicken with veggies and sweet potato fries. She gave a taste of the chicken and the fries and all I can say is Ah-mazing. The chicken was so tender and moist, think of the swiss chalet chicken, only better, and the fries, they were coated in a batter so they were extra crispy, and they came with a chipotle dipping sauce which was just a bit spicy but oh so good.

(Chipotle Philly)

The chipotle philly is shaved brisket with bbq sauce and topped with cheese, onions and peppers (like a philly cheese-steak ;) ). It was very much enjoyed by my other friend, and I'm guessing it wasn't too spicy because I didn't hear any comments on spice.

(Parmesan Fries)

Now I am sure you noticed that most of the above meals didn't come with a side, that's because only certain entrees do, but you do have the option to order some, and I suggested doing what we did and split them, cause there is a lot of meat on those buns, and you are going to want to save room for dessert! The Parmesan fries were tasty. They were topped with a garlic aioli, rosemary and of course Parmesan cheese. The rosemary wasn't over powering and all the ingredients really worked well together.

(Stack Brisket) 

I know what you are saying, isn't this restaurant known for their ribs, but yet I don't see a picture of the ribs. Well that's because none of us ordered them (shocking yes!). This last entree here was mine. I love a good brisket, and you don't always see it in on a menu, so when I saw this, I had to forgo the ribs and order the brisket (it's ok it just means I have to go back for the ribs), not to mention I was dressed rather nice and didn't want to slurp on my top (I ended up doing that anyways, but it was only a little slurp, and it kinda blended in with the flowers on said top).

(Interior of the Stack Brisket)

I got the brisket with the medium BBQ sauce, but I think I could probably go to the chipotle the next time. The medium was just a hint of spice, which is nice, cause I find when it's too spicy I can't actually taste the food and I am in a race to eat it before my head blows off. But like I said I could probably kick it up a notch next time (I still really really enjoyed it). The brisket was tender and juicy and not chewy at all. The BBQ sauce was tangy, a bit sweet with just a little kick. It also had a buttermilk dill sauce on the bottom, which went really well with the BBQ sauce.  And just for good measure it was topped with crispy onions, I like having a little crunch in my sandwich. My wine paired nicely with this meal, the spice of the wine complimented the spice in the sauce, and nothing was over powering. Ah-mazing!!

(Lovely cup of coffee to end the night)

After we ate our way through our entrees it was onto dessert. I had gone onto the website earlier, just to peruse the menu, and discovered that they had donuts. Yes DONUTS! Fresh made in house with a variety of toppings. That is part of the reason I held back on ordering too much for my main, cause I knew I needed room for donuts! Just a warning though, the order comes with 16 yes 1-6 donuts, so it's not a bad idea to share (you can have them packed up to take home too, which we all did)

(S'mores donuts..heavenly!)

I already knew which one I was ordering, S'mores all the way. Something about marshmallow and chocolate and graham crackers all together just makes a winning combination. (Fun fact, I am not a fan of marshmallows unless they are coated in chocolate) The rest of the group ordered Oreo, Old Fashioned and Candy Sprinkles (minus the sprinkles, trying to be "healthier") all of which are shown below, with the exception of the candy sprinkles (They forgot the chocolate sauce so it was in the back being choco-fied).

(Trio of donuts: Oreo,S'mores and Old Fashioned)

The Oreo has a vanilla glaze on the donuts and it topped with whipped cream and Oreo cumbles. S'mores, you guessed it, is topped with marshmallows, graham cracker crumbs, whipped cream and chocolate sauce. Candy Sprinkles, looks like the Oreo, but has chocolate sauce and sprinkles instead of the Oreo crumble. And Old Fashioned, you have the option of either icing or cinnamon sugar, or both. So my very clever friend went with both, cause you can, so why not! Think of the Tiny Tim's donuts, all fresh and warm, topped with heavenly sweets.  They were so good, and like my friend said, diabetics would definitely need a double shot of insulin to eat these bad boys. And I can say from experience that they taste just as good the next day.

(Close up of the Oreo)

(Close up of the S'mores)

(Fancy cloth napkin)

So after a marathon of eating and drinking and having a great night we rolled out of there with happy tummy's and wallets (really great price). Good food, drinks, company and great restaurant all around. The waiter (whom I have forgotten to mention) Ricardo, was lovely. Friendly, informative, funny and he held his own with a table full of ladies. I will for sure be going back to this place, and I am shocked it to me so long to go there in the first place. It gets the Kate stamp of approval 5/5!

Bon Appetit!