SMOKEY JOSE'S

This is not an allergy friendly restaurant. I definitely do not recommend. We have other severe allergies - egg. They told us the bun was vegan and then they said they put butter on it. Come to find out it had eggs in it. Now I'm concerned about gluten and wondering if the manager was untruthful about this as well.

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Not at all

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— No gluten-free information on the menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Not Much

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Poor

I was told by her waitress and manager, only gluten free items are coleslaw and beans.

NOT THE BEST GLUTEN FREE OPTION ON THE ISLAND...they have limited GF offerings, although all their smoker meats are GF. Stay away from the nachos as their chips are fried in the same oil as all their other fried foods. Our server was great—kind and helpful with what I could and couldn’t eat. HOWEVER, the owner basically hovered over our table near the end of our meal (we had a party of 10), and impatiently and abruptly told us he needed our table. We really didn’t take THAT long, as it was chilly outside, but he became rather impatient at the end. I’d say the food was “meh,” the service was fine, but the customer service near the end STUNK! We weren’t unruly, and weren’t hanging around forever doing nothing. There was no reason to be treated this way.

I talked with the manager and he was very understandable about gluten free options. He pointed me towards what I could order on the menu (which includes most of the meat, the brisket chili, and beans). Not many options but the brisket chili was really good and I had no issues after. Just always let them know of your gluten allergy and he said that they will clean the grill and the area around it to accommodate. I asked about the corn chips and he knew that they were cross contaminated because of the fryer- so no to the chips but happy he was aware of the cross contamination!

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Somewhat

Safety Feature Ratings

• Staff is knowledgeable and can answer questions
• Staff will clean kitchen space or change gloves if asked

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— No gluten-free information on the menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Not Much

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Excellent

Other Characteristics

• Good for lunch
• Good for takeout
• Offers outdoor seating

Celiac friendly?

Yes

Sad I can’t give it zero stars. Asked for nachos and were told they were flour chips. The people at the next table had corn chips. So we ordered tacos, they came fried in the same oil as the flour ones. Server not knowledgeable!!!! Only ate the fried corn shell tacos because by the time we got our food we were so hungry and blood sugar was low. Barely make it back to the hotel before getting sick.

Smokey Jose's staff are so friendly and understanding when I ask questions on Celiac safe foods. This is our second year we have eaten at Smokey Jose's on our annual Mackinaw Island vacation. Their kitchen is not a dedicated gluten free kitchen but they are knowledgeable about Celiacs. Our waitress kindly made numerous trips to the kitchen to make sure my questions were answered. The fryer is a shared fryer so I had the amazing baked beans with the tender and so very good brisket. We will definitely be back eating at Smokey Jose's next year. Top notch service and food!

They don't have a gf menu, but the server was knowledgeable and helpful. He said the rice is not gf and they don't have a separate fryer. I had tacos and brussel sprouts. Good experience, no reaction.