Uh-Oh! Bob's Quoting The Bible!

Do not call to mind the former things, Or ponder things of the past. 
-  Isaiah 43:18

I've been spending the past several posts writing about when I used to cover The Hill for the Bugle Newspaper.  So this week, we did not "ponder on things of the past..."  Instead, Mel and I went to what has to be the newest restaurant on The Hill.

Up until very recently our increasingly shorter list of places to eat had Leonardo's Kitchen and Wine Bar.  Well that establishment closed some time ago and, in it's place, popped up J. Smugs GastroPit.

  So Mel and I went this past week to try the place out.

The "pit" in GastroPit referrs to a barbeque pit.  To view the menu click here.

The restuarant is located in a former gas station on the corner of  Bischoff and Mackland.

There are quite a few reminders of the building's past history.

As well as some new additions to give the pleasant outside dining area some flair. They have covered dining under the old pumping station....and even several indoor seats - in the air conditioning- in a counter style seating arangement.

We were told by Kerri Smugala that J. Smugs GastroPit opened only three weekends ago.  It was a new adventure for the Smugala family with brothers Joe and John along with their wives Kerri and Linda.

She mentioned that they were still working out some kinks, but we couldn't tell.  Service was prompt and very freindly.  In fact the entire place had a real family, neighborhood feel to it.  Folks were driving by and honking and waving.  And everyone seemed to know each other.  This is one of the things about The Hill that impresses me.  It is a stable neighborhood that supports its businesses, and because of this, everyone knows one another.


Mel and I each had the pulled pork.  I got a pretzel bun for mine (very pleased with this choice)...Mel got hers sans bread.  It was a lot of meat.  I got slaw with mine...and Mel got a side of vegtable medley something or other.

They had a very interesting sauce selection.  It was a choose your own sauce selection, so I tried a few. 

For the most part, I had the Dr. Pepper sauce, but also tried the Memphis and the Bianca -white barbeque sauce.  This was interesting and worth trying again on other dishes.

What really impressed me, though, was the beer menu.  Very extensive.

This is only side one of their extensive beer menu.

They seem to already have a thriving carryout business going.  And much to our delight, they did not have pastics, styrofoam or throwaway cups for dining in.  They had real glasses for our beers, and the take out boxes were heavy paper.  They get our eco-stamp of approval.