Bunker’s Smokehouse & Grille is a place for wood smoked meats, grilled favorites, cold Michigan brewed beers, and one of a kind hand crafted cocktails. Located in the historic downtown Hastings, MI. Providing a fun, welcoming, and delicious environment.
Address and Contact Information
Address: 128 S Jefferson St, Hastings, MI 49058
Phone: (269) 309-1010
Menu Photos
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Reviews
There is a variety of beer on tap and specialty cocktails. The Pain Killer brings back memories of Soggy Dollar bar in Jost VanDyke! There’s plenty of tv’s to watch sports and an outside patio as well with a gas fireplace. Bunkers made me want to explore downtown Hastings as I’m not that familiar with it. Looking forward to trying more of the menu.
Every travel venture becomes an excuse to eat something local, and so to was this stop on memory lane. But what to eat? We’ve been on a bit of a BBQ tear lately, so Bunker’s Smokehouse & Grill seemed like the logical choice.
The interior is bright and cheery, with a long bar as its centerpiece. Flat screens litter the perimeter; today’s sports-ball featured football: Michigan vs Rutgers. (My hometown, not unlike Hastings, is in New Jersey, from which Rutgers hails. It was a satisfying pair-up for our meal.) Set at a lower level is a large dining area with space enough for a good number of large parties; booths line one [brick] wall. It’s a welcoming, comfortable space, if a bit loud during the games.
It’s a big menu, but we knew what we were hoping for. We chose two items that weren’t supposed to be available for another half-hour (but that the owner said was ready and could be had).
The Pork Belly Burnt Ends wasn’t rendered enough for my tastes, but that wasn’t an issue of cook time, rather one of technique (having made my own many, many times). Tasty but inconsistent in execution, some pieces were crunchy and brought out the goodness of the pork, others were quite under-rendered and overly fatty, bordering on inedible. That’s something that could be fixed over a weekend by a bit of experimentation in the kitchen.
The Baby Back Ribs, done with a dry rub, were fall-off-the-bone crazy good. As I’m used to wet ribs, I reached for the sauces: House, House “Spicy”, Carolina Gold, and ‘bama.
* House is what I expect of a BBQ sauce; something Kansas City-style (sweet and tangy, a tomato or ketchup base with brown sugar or molasses as the sweetener).
* House “Spicy” was pretty much the same thing; I’ve noticed that Michigan spicy is California mild, and this from a guy who could barely participate in the fiery crazy that I found in Austin, TX.
* Carolina Gold, usually made with brown sugar, cider vinegar, and mustard seed), was by far my favorite, bringing out the flavors of the ribs and the dry rub. Pedantically speaking, this is South Carolina sauce, as opposed to the West Carolina (which features ketchup to mellow the vinegar tang of bare-bones East North Carolina’s cider vinegar, red pepper flakes, and salt).
* ‘bama, a local recreation of the vinegar and mayonnaise sauce made at Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q in the early 1920s, escaped any note by my taste buds. Your mileage may vary.
The sides we tasted were uniformly wonderfully done, from the tangy coleslaw to the mashed potatoes with homemade brown gravy; the sweetheart swooned over the potato skin bits. I loved the taste of the smokey baked beans; sweetheart not so much. The cornbread needed its own side of butter, which didn’t appear. Sob, sob.
Despite these minor quibbles, things I believe can be fixed with a bit of tweaking, we felt well taken care of by the enthusiastic wait staff and well fed by the kitchen. We’ll be back next season and Bunkers is on the must-visit list.
Highly recommend!!
Great food and the staff are all so friendly!!
Todd the owner is very friendly and cares about his customers. And Jonathan (in photo) is fun and a damn good bartender !