After a day of rest following the Detroit Lakes Troll searching trip, we decided to attend the Smokin' in Steele BBQ and Blues Fest in Owatonna. MN, which was scheduled to be held today and tomorrow. As the website said, vendors open at 11:00 AM, we decided to head 50 miles south at 3:30 PM to arrive in time for the first free concert. The concert was with Eden Brent from Greenville, Mississippi. She is a blues pianist and vocalist who combines boogie-woogie blues, jazz, soul, gospel, and pop. In 2006, she won the Blues Foundation International Blues Challenge. In 2009, she won the Blues Music Awards for Acoustic Artist of the Year and Acoustic Album of the Year, as well as the Pinetop Perkins Piano Player in 2025. At the 14th Annual Independent Music Awards in 2015, Eden Brent won the award in the "Holiday Song" category for "Valentine". She has the credentials, and I enjoyed her talent.
What I did not enjoy was that there was no BBQ. None of the contestants had started cooking, and besides the free Eden Brent concert, they had a $15 fee for the beer garden and additional music. There were a few food trucks, and T-Mobile was the only non-food vendor. One of the food trucks was a bad excuse for BBQ, while others had nothing to do with BBQ. Overall, it was a wasted trip, and I am not sure I would recommend wasting anyone's time on the first day, nor am I sure if the second day is any better.
Since we were hungry and longed for good BBQ, we searched for any option on the way home. We found a place called Smoke in Lonsdell, MN. It was about 6 miles out of the way, but it had decent reviews. It was scheduled to open just before the COVID pandemic hit in 2020. That meant they were set for business, but since they were not opened in 2019, they did not qualify for any COVID aid under the Paycheck Protection Program. Therefore, they needed to wait until the fall to start any service. To make things worse, in 2021, the owner's wife had brain cancer. It's a miracle this business has survived.
We ordered the pulled pork sandwich with Mac and Cheese and the brisket sandwich with cornbread. I am thrilled that the business survived COVID and all the hardships, as the meal was the best BBQ experience I have ever had in my entire life. The service was outstanding, like you would expect in a small-town restaurant. I could not recommend this location higher and will look to return when in the area.
So maybe the Smokin' in Steele BBQ and Blues Fest in Owatonna, Minnesota, being such a disappointment and letdown was good; otherwise, I would have never found Smoke Restaurant in Lonsdale, Minnesota.
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