Blue Smoke – JFK Terminal 4
“Honestly, if you have time to kill before your flight and you want somewhere to sit and have a meal, there's no reason to overlook this spot.”
“Blue Smoke offers several types of barbecue which I didn't get a chance to try.”
“He cared that I might have to face the real world sober, so he told me I could upgrade my Buffalo Trace on the rocks to a double for just $3 more.”
Blue Smoke – JFK Terminal 4
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Is this the future of our New York mini chains? Or perhaps this is a dark mirror back at what we now call bland, national or international fast food?
Whatever this is, it's the Blue Smoke many people fell in love with in Manhattan. Instead this is near-par airport food. I start by standing for nearly five minutes in the middle of the restaurant, confused as to where to sit. I am not acknowledge despite the many people wandering around. (And of course you just know this is kind of place where they would frown if you sat yourself in the wrong 'area.')
My waitresses didn't know the draft list (which isn't updated on the menu) and was impossible to find when I wanted a second round. The wings came, small and shriveled, with a bit of char and little other flavoring, more than 15 minutes later. They were expensive and not worthy of this restaurant.
"On the Road" shouldn't mean bad food.
Unfortunately our server (receipt shows first two letters of name as "Ye") was absent minded. And the restaurant supervisor knew this fact. Following our overly delayed meal and service I heard the supervisor lamenting that he shouldn't be responsible for unqualified people such as our server. I take it that the supervisor wasn't involved in hiring decisions.
My wife and I entered Blue Smoke at JFK with hopeful expectations as there's really not many good alternatives in Terminal 4. Our server cheerfully escorted us to a table and then the fun began. As we were handed menus I requested two glasses of water. She cheerfully said she would be right back with the water. Ten minutes passed and our server returned to ask if we were ready to order. I asked about the water and she apologized for forgetting, requested to take our orders and then said she would be right back with the water. Perhaps 20 minutes later I wave our server to the table to ask about our meals and water. She replies that the kitchen was backlogged but our meals should be ready soon. I repeated again my request for water. Oh yes she replied, she had forgotten the water and would now go to get water. Overall Blue Smoke could command 3-stars as an airport restaurant but not with current staff.
Slow service. Overpriced, even for airport food. Grilled cheese sandwich with fries, a beer, hot tea, and chips with hummus was $38. The grilled cheese was made with wonder bread and velveeta slices. There's a bottle of water on the table, which I'm sure is $8 or so… This place is just ridiculous.
What a terrible terrible server experience. Had a meal there while waiting for our flight Saturday afternoon.
Our server…
– took our orders then as our food came out, she turned to my friend and asked "do you want to order something else because we ran out of brisket." Due to the server's terrible timing, we finished our meal before my friend's meal came out.
– didn't write down our order and then proceeded to forget that we ordered wings. So after our entrees came out, we reminded her that we had actually ordered an appetizer.
– charged us for a burger and additional beer that we never ordered or ate. Then after we told her, she was able to remove the burger from our check but had to wait for a manager to remove the beer. At this point we were boarding and couldn't wait.
– apparently instead of splitting the check on the two credit cards we handed her she charged my friend's credit card for the entire check and then charged me for half the check. Ugh!
Aside from the terrible service experience, the food is actually really good. The fries are fried perfectly and the Cobb salad was great quality and taste. The wings appetizer was really flavorful.
Maybe I'm a soft touch for good, reasonably-priced food (by airport and New York standards). The decor was pleasant and sufficient to feel like you were a little ways out of the airport. The service was thoughtful and concerned. The price, 22 for a pulled pork platter, was fair. The pulled pork was succulent and gently smoky and fatty. The sauces were delicious. The slaw and beans were 4-star. The platter was adequate for lunch or dinner, and neither large nor small. My colleague ate a plate that included ribs, and he was happy, too.
TIP – ordering with a server, not an iPad, which is way better; iPad ordering at LaGuardia is terrible
SHOUT OUT – to Jose, for sincere interest and concern about our dining experience
Had some tasty, meaty wings on our way to Europe. For an airport eatery I thought they did a good job.
Overpriced, airport-restaurant quality food (no, that's not a good thing). I ordered the brisket sandwich with fries. Not horrible, but rather disappointing given the price tag. It was "modestly-sized", over-cooked and served up with a thick, tangy sauce.
Their saving grace: The smoked porter was absolutely divine. Deep, rich, creamy goodness. It almost made me forget about the boring, uninspired food.
TIP: Come to Blue Smoke for the beer. Think of anything else you happen to order as just "something to munch on" while you enjoy the beer.
Happy Travels!
Even setting aside my admitted preference (prejudice?) for Texas style BBQ, I can't recommend Blue Smoke. In short, my food overwhelmingly tasted of vinegar. I've had Carolina-style BBQ and expect it to be more vinegary and mustardy than Texas BBQ. But this was REALLY vinegary.
I ordered the pulled pork sandwich, which comes on a brioche bun with a side of mustard slaw. I couldn't detect any mustard in the slaw. It was so strong and tart with vinegar that I couldn't eat it. I asked the waiter for a different side that was more mild. I rarely ask for anything more mild! He brought me some beans that had a light tomatoey sauce. They weren't great but were definitely better than the vinegar slaw. The pulled pork was reasonably tender, with a decent flavor, but was also pretty tart. I asked for some BBQ sauce which, of course, was very vinegary. Luckily, I tasted it before putting too much on my sandwich. I mostly ended up eating the pork and bottom of the bun as an open-faced sandwich.
The redeeming part of my meal was the service. The hostess and two waiters were prompt and friendly. They were happy to swap my sides. All in all, very accommodating, which I appreciated. The price was normal (expensive) for an airport restaurant but I was sorry I didn't go for a burger or the pizza down the concourse.