Rating: 2.5 cows
We chose The Smoke House in Burbank mainly for its historical significance. The place goes back to the 40s, and “The Tonight Show” was hosted there in 1956. That, partnered with a great name promoting meat goodness we though it might be a reasonable priced steakhouse paired with great meat.
For this steakout, we had the largest dining party thus far. The Smoke House handled multiple reservation number changes without a problem over the phone. One request was made to have a separate table for some of our guests which consisted of a newborn and family. When we got there, they didn't have a separate table and everyone was set up on one long table with more seats then requested. It seemed that only the original reservation request was honored. We had no problem making it work for our needs as the place was not crowded. On a busy night, this perhaps could've been a problem. Our hostess was cheery and had a fun attitude joking around with us. However, when we asked her questions about the menu's items she gave us very vague and sometimes incorrect answers. However, that is what waiters are for. We ordered several Ribeyes, Porterhouses, and New York Strips. A special on Thursday nights is a bacon wrapped petite filet for $15. Not a bad deal but it was much too small for any of us to choose as an entree, however some of our guests did.
Our steaks, when they arrived, were simply placed on the plate with the sides. Nothing fancy, no garnishes, etc. Once we cut into the steaks we discovered that several were overcooked. One guest's bacon wrapped filet's bacon was overcooked to being almost completely burnt. Following up to improperly cooked steaks would be the taste, which in a word was “bland”. This was quite a disappointment for all of us as we were hoping for some significant flavor. Our searching for a tasteful juicy bit of steak was ultimately left unfulfilled.
To The Smoke House's credit, their menu has a lot of non-steak options and we were told their lunch business is very good. While we can't solidly recommend The Smoke House for their steaks, it may be worth a lunchtime visit to try another (non-steak) menu item.