Unrolling the Joint

by Lori Hill

"Smoke It. Eat It. Love It." This command, crafted in steel, presides above the open kitchen of The Smoked Joint, a new venture that calls itself not merely a restaurant but "A Barbecue Experience."

In fact, co-owner Michael Berman delights in the idea that the Joint can be authentically sloppy and Center City-dignified at the same time. "We want people to know that this is the kind of place they can come into and get filthy dirty and leave completely clean," he says.

So for every "bone bucket" holding the detritus of your meal, there'll be a plush burgundy terry cloth towel to be used either as a bib or a very absorbent napkin.

The folks behind the Joint say they want to take the best parts of regional American barbecue—Kansas City, Memphis, Texas, the Carolinas --and make it their own. That's why the menu boasts everything from a pulled-pork platter in beer-vinegar sauce to smoked joint ribs to root-beer baked beans—not to mention mac 'n' cheese, specialty pizzas and corn bread. A front takeout area, what they're calling a "come and get it" window, offers lunches and late-night snacks.

The Smoked Joint, just recognized by Esquire for having one of the country's best new restaurant names, occupies what was the longtime home of Marabella's on the 1400 block of Locust, now redesigned by Adam Zangrilli (Jones, Denim).

Berman and the Gertler brothers—co-owner and general manager Keith and head chef Adam—have the goofy, teasing relationship of guys who grew up together on Long Island. Along with "Smokemaster" Michael DiTomasso, they spent years sampling barbecue and teaching themselves, through much trial and error, the art of smoking meats: cleaning, cutting, rubbing and smoking for up to 17 hours. (DiTomasso once smoked a salmon in a cardboard box just to see how it would turn out.)

Soon, they were looking for a home. Then Berman, a Wharton and Penn Law grad, thought, "Oh my God, Philadelphians love to eat!'" And so the "the bastards of barbecue"—can you tell they love slogans?—set up shop. Opening this week, incongruously next to the Academy of Music, the Joint will have plasma televisions in the back bar for sports fans and what Berman calls a "tailgate in a box"—a to-go assemblage of ribs and sides to bring to Eagles games.

At least for now, customers should rely on their olfactory glands to seek out The Smoked Joint; it's set back a bit from the street and some construction scaffolding blocks the view. The sweet smells of hickory and mesquite, though, should lure 'em in just fine.

The Smoked Joint, 1420 Locust St., 215-732-7500.