Tacos and grilled cheese aside, Spokane isn't exactly a haven for truck food. On Trent and Freya is one notable exception, Smokie's, a barbecue cart that might not be exceptionally awesome, but certainly is good enough as far as drivethrough food goes.
I suppose you could walk or bicycle up to it too, but make no mistake about it: This is a converted coffee shack designed for cars and take-out, although there are a couple of tables spread across a near-by patch of grass. Of course, sitting down and taking in the view of Trent might be less than a stellar idea, but at least it is an option.
The food itself is OK, but nothing spectacular. Hit the Bulldog if you want higher quality barbecue. Not that the ribs are awful, but they are a bit dry and you really do need to dunk them in the accompanying sauce. I get the point of the self-assembly of meat and sauce, but here I don't think it works too well. These ribs need to soak in the sauce for a while to not feel dry. Like I said, not awful, but could have been better.
Worse were the sides. The slaw, again, felt a bit dry, like the cabbage hadn't been soaked enough in the dressing. I mean, fine, I get it, you don't want it to be drenched in the stuff, but there's a middle ground. The beans and potato salad both held up better, but were also a bit dull. With barbecue I expect somewhat of a flavor-kick, something I found decidedly lacking here.
It's not that Smokie's is that bad, it's just that it's not that awesome. It's kind of like Charlie Sheen's Twitter account: we had hoped for more.
Smokie's is good as far as a quick drivethrough meal goes, and we support anyone that does something a bit out of the ordinary.