New Restaurant: Smittys Chop House ~ IS CLOSED!!

Sorry to report this  restaurant appears to be closed ~ Never got back to try their dinner fare. It's always sad to see a local business go out after such a short tenure in the hood.

Smittys opened it's doors the end of June this year at 140 N. Parsons Ave., Brandon, 33510. They took over the old La Septima location on Parsons Ave. just north of SR. 60 in one of the busiest (ie. most congested) traffic sections of town. Unfortunately their location it is only readily visible to the southbound lanes of drivers on Parsons waiting in frustration for the brief green light that allows access to Brandon Blvd. on the way home. Being a little "out-of-the-way" probably keeps the rent down, but creates a challenge for a new restaurant looking to build a body of business.

Small light box sign needs some banner help I see.

One thing that helps draw some attention is the mammouth outdoor smoker kicking out wonderful smells from the south side of the building. When the wind is right and the car windows are open it may turn a few heads and plant the seed for a future visit when one can plan to get into the correct lane and pull into the parking lot. I was able to find them on Facebook and in a few web based Restaurant Guide Sites, but they do not yet have their own web page. Just in tonight, a link to their on-line menu, Smittys menu

(Brandon casual attire) Which means flip-flops and shorts. Tucked in shirts are discouraged.

Days and Hours: Serving Lunch and Dinner daily
Sun. - Thur. 11:00am to 12:00pm
Fri. and Sat. 11:00am to 1:00am
Features: Karaoke, special events, televised sports, beer and wine, daily meal specials, take-out, delivery and catering. A word of caution, the Friday fish fry special is catfish, just in case you were looking for a more northern Pollock, Haddock or Cod.

The Family Style Barbecue menu has a generous selection of traditional battered and fried appetizers like Jalapeno Poppers, pickles, green tomatoes (in season). Lunch and dinner selections also offered a good variety of sandwiches, wraps, soups, salads and dinners (almost every day has a dish on special at both lunch and dinner). They also serve beer and wine. Unfortunately I didn't take pics of the menu and our pleasant waitress said the to-go menu is not quite ready, so I'm working from memory and the F-book page.

We were the only ones eating, but it was an odd hour.

The interior walls still feature the expansive mirrors from the La Septima days, so we had some fun watching the special effects while we waited. See the "fun-with-cars" video below. Maybe you can hear Vicki's running commentary if you turn up your speakers:-)

Now wasn't that fun??

Club Wrap, Philly Cheese Steak and BBQ Cuban. All with rough cut fries.

Clockwise from the top left, Club Wrap sans "T" (Erin doesn't do tomatoes), Philly Cheese Steak on a hoagie (Friday's lunch special) and I had the BBQ Cuban (pulled pork w/BBQ sauce on cuban bread and pressed). We all thought the rough cut fries were very tasty and done to our liking (hot 'n fresh).

Club Wrap, Turkey, ham, bacon, lettuce, shredded cheddar (upon request) in a wrap and pressed. Also a side of Ranch for dipping. Opinion was ~ nothing special, I could make it at home.

Philly Cheese Steak, chopped steak grilled with green peppers, onions and mushrooms, topped with a slice of Provolone cheese then oven baked to melt the cheese and slightly toast the hoagie roll, with a side of mayo. The vote here was also a mixed OK with a side of nothing special.

BBQ Cuban, pulled pork with BBQ sauce on cuban bread and pressed. I felt the portion of pulled pork was good, had a nice smokey flavor and I only got a little bit of fat in one bite. The sauce was their regular house BBQ and the bread was a little tougher than I like. This is presented as a signature sandwich creation so I expected a little more, well, creativity with the ingredients (maybe a slice of cheese and a long slice of dill pickle). It was really nothing more than a pulled pork sandwich on cuban bread instead of a hoagie roll.
I had to ask for a side of sauce to help with the slide down the throat. As our waitress brought out a plastic bottle of sauce and it struck me as odd that they did not have the bottle already at the table and maybe even a few bottles with a selection of flavors. The sauce itself was definitely on the "liquid smoke" side of the flavor grid, but it was OK for me.

On our scale of Yuck to Super I would have to give Smittys a Fair rating and withhold my final opinion until we give them a shot at wow-ing us with their tasty sounding dinner goodies, like Smoked Prime Rib or the BBQ Ribs and Chicken.

Lunch for three was $24.04 before tip.