Reuben’s Smokehouse

Reuben’s Smokehouse: 11506 S Cleveland Ave, Fort Myers, FL 33907

So I tried this place with two co-workers.  All of the reviews and even my co-workers said this was supposed to be one of the best BBQ joints in the country.  Located in a nondescript building on Cleveland Ave in Ft. Myers.   When you walk in there is little waiting room.  When we went there was a nice size lunch crowd and we had to wait a few minutes for a table.  The seating setup is kind of family style with these large picnic tables and a few booths along the back wall.  We had to wait a few a little bit to get a seat, but I am told that they have recently changed owners and not as many people go there anymore.

After the long wait, we were seated at one of the large picnic tables.  One of my coworkers had Arvey’s Garbage Garden Salad which was $10.  It’s a garden fresh salad & graze the trough adding whatever suits our fancy including our own Slaw, Killer Black Beans, Molasses Baked Beans, a scoop of Cheesy Mac & topped without the Blu Cheese & Buttery Croutons​. She added in the roll.  She said that is was pretty good, which is amazing because it really did look like garbage.  I had pulled pork with coleslaw, mashed potatoes with gravy, and a roll.  You can always tell good pork if it has lots of flavor before you add any kind of sauce to it, and this one had absolutely no flavor at all.  I really had to add a lot of BBQ sauce just to finish it.  The mashed potatoes were just okay and the gravy was very runny.  I love coleslaw, but theirs has no flavor and a bland taste to it.  My other coworker had the pulled pork also with green beans, and macaroni and cheese.  She said it was not too bad, but not up to the usual flavor and taste of the place.  I personally think it is always that bad. But it was not my choice to go to Reuben’s.

Pricing: $$-$$$ for lunch or dinner