I was shocked when I found out there was actually a restaurant opening in the original site for Quaker Steak & Lube on the west side of Sioux Falls. At this point, I thought the location (south of 69th Street) was cursed, and that the building would sit vacant for years to come.

“It’s called Cody’s Smokehouse,” said my co-worker, who was reading the latest news of it opening in early August at her desk.

Great. Another BBQ place. Well, we better check it out.

We pulled up into the huge parking lot. I had never gotten this close to the building. Walking in, you see a waiting area with benches, and walk around to see how big the restaurant actually is. While it’s “casual dining,” it can seat up to 300 people and is split up into different rooms. There were private rooms that I assumed you could rent out for a party or gathering that also had a lot of space.

I was happy to see adorable pig décor everywhere, including a sign with a cartoon pig that said, “You can never have enough butt.” It’s true.

The staff was insanely nice, and I hope they always stay that excited and happy long after it’s newly opened. “Best food in town,” a few of them said to me with a smile.

Ordering happens at the counter, and we chose a few items (a few is the wrong term) to get a feel for it.

Our baskets were brought to us, and up first were the Smokehouse Wings and the Rib & Meat Platter. For the wings, you can order them BBQ, Asian Glaze, Buffalo, or Naked. We chose naked, so we could dip them into the different sauces.

As soon as they hit the table, we dug in. I was on the wings, and my co-worker was on the ribs (our platter came with ribs and chopped pork with two sides).

It hit.

“I just got a wing high.”

“I got a rib high.”

They were both delicious. My co-worker noted that the ribs fell off the bone as she went for another. I realized I was two wings in when I hadn’t even used any sauce. They were super crispy, and were delicious on their own.

I dipped one side in the blue cheese. Yummy. Then I went for the Asian Glaze, which had an interesting (almost bourbon) taste. We asked someone, and they said it might be the mix of honey and balsamic we were tasting. The buffalo was classic buffalo, and was the right amount of oomph.

After stopping myself from continuing my wing addiction, I tried the ribs. They checked out and melted off the bone. Next was my BBQ favorite – the pork. I felt adventurous and wanted to try all of the sauces. There are four: Mild, Sassy, Fiery, and X-Fiery. Mild was, of course, yummy. Sassy was good, but not too different from Mild. Fiery was very good, and X-Fiery had a little more kick. Being super lame normally, I was proud to be a Fiery person. I’ve grown so much.

“This pork is not dry in the slightest,” said my co-worker with glee as she started using all of the sauces herself.

Next came out all of the meats. We tried the BBQ Sampler, which has three meats, six ribs, and four slices of garlic bread. Our meats included more ribs, Smoked Sausage, Burnt Ends, and Beef Brisket. We each had our favorite. I went to town on the smoked sausage, and my co-worker was in love with the burnt ends, which were small bites of brisket.

“Wouldn’t that be amazing to have bread and make this into sandwiches?” she said of the beef brisket. She wasn’t wrong.

Now let’s get to the unsung hero of BBQ: The sides. We were told we had to try the Jalapeño Corn. This (beautiful) concoction is made with cheese, jalapeños, and pre-smoked corn. It was just as good as they said, but be warned… the spiciness sneaks up on you. The first couple of bites we made over-dramatic sounds and gulped our fountain drinks.

The macaroni and cheese is a house recipe, but it was nothing to write home about. I’m excited to try the Potato Casserole and Smoky Baked Beans.

Then, the finale. Homemade Apple Dumpling hit the table, and I didn’t even realize how giddy I got. I automatically cupped the warm bowl like I was 8 years old and grinned. The dessert melted in as my fork hit, and the cinnamon, caramel, and apple medley were just as good as I anticipated.

Bottom Line:

It’s a great spot, especially for that growing area of town. The BBQ is very good, and I love that they’re mixing up with daily comfort food (see facts below). It’s a local restaurant named after owner and BBQ lover, Joe Cody. The portions were large, and it looked like we had barely touched anything after we thought we demolished our meals. Not hungry? They have a whole bar side and a casino. I can’t wait to try more “darn good BBQ.”

++++
Ambiance

It’s huge. There is one large, open seating area with tables and booths, a bar side, a casino, and three private rooms to rent. While it’s branded very much Cody’s Smokehouse with modern pig artwork and a small section of wallpaper showcasing their award-winning BBQ by pitmasters Darren and Sherry Warth (they’ve won over 75 state BBQ championships), I liked that they kept one of the garage doors inside from the Quaker Steak & Lube construction. We also raved about their cleaning station where you can wash your hands in the restaurant so you don’t have to interrupt the experience and go to the restroom.

$$
Price

For the portions alone, it’s priced extremely well. It was $9.49 for 10 wings, and it was only $21.99 for the BBQ Sampler. Sides are only $1.99, and happy hour domestic beers are $1.50 (see happy hour sidebar)!

+++
Taste

I thought it was going to just be another BBQ joint, but the ribs melted off the bone, the naked wings were tasty by themselves, and the dessert was something I never expected from an “order-from-the-counter” eatery. Next time, I’m adding a cup of ice cream.

Rating Scale: Ambiance ++++ | Average Price Per Meal: $—$10 & under;  $$—$20 & under; $$$—$30 & under; $$$$—over $30 | Taste ++++