After a successful first takeout experience of Rolling Smoke in Somercotes, The Man and I decided to bite the bullet (well, Wings, Burgers n Fries to be exact!) and go and eat-in. Khalid, who owns Rolling Smoke, was on-site as we walked through the door and greeted us warmly before asking what we’d like to eat.
Previously, I’d had the Mac Daddy Wrap (£7.50) a tantalising combo of fried Chicken Thigh, Spring Onion, American Cheese, Lettuce, Gherkin, and Ranger Sauce that was lip-smackingly fab. His Nibs had had the Holy Sweetness burger (£6.50 single, £8.50 stacked), something a little different in that the beef was in strips rather than a patty and was partnered with American Cheese, Sweet Chilli, Caramelised Onion, and fresh Tomato. This had been a seriously tasty morsel, so he decided to go for a burger again on this second visit: The Original (same pricing as the Holy Sweetness). Eschewing regular fries, we had gone for the scrummy-sounding Peri Loaded Fries (£7.99), crispy fries piled high with Peri-seasoned Chicken Breast pieces, Nacho Cheese, Spring Onion, fresh Parsley, Jalapenos, Caramelised Onions and Perinaise Sauce. After just one mouthful, these became my latest addiction - you have been warned! - so it was a no-brainer that we’d be ordering them again this time around.
Anyhow, back to this visit… Rolling Smoke is a dazzling oasis in a desert of grey tarmac [main] road and terraced housing in the village, making a really nice addition for Somercotes. Inside, the venue has seating for 10 people at tables paired with plushly comfortable, burnt-orange velour chairs, and a co-ord bench that customers waiting for takeout, which is its primary market, can sit on. One wall is red brick, one grey vertical slats, and the third is a trendy [food inspired] street-art style mural done by @momoart.uk. There’s a mix of contemporary lighting: matte-black, quad ceiling lights, rope-hung, gold cage pendants in the window, and metal cage and wavy glass types at the order counter. Not the shabbiest place to dine-in, I’m sure you’ll agree?
Khalid and his team offer a great variety of items on the menu: there’s family-feeding, whole chicken(S) platters (£18.99 or £30.99), Beef Strip- and Chicken Wing- platters, Wraps, Sizzlers, Kebabs, Burgers, and those magnificent Loaded Fries. You can make most ‘normal’ options a meal (fries and canned drink) for £3 extra, too. Having tried some of the stripped Beef in The Man’s Burger last time at home, I decided to go for the Beef Sizzler (£10.99) with Rice rather than fries - we ordered a portion of the Peri Loaded Fries though, don’t you worry! – and His Maj had another Burger, The Original (£6.50) with Fries and a Diet Coke. I went all-in with my drink: the King Rocher shake (£4.99); go hard or go home, I say. *Somehow*, 5 Spicy Buffalo Chicken Wings (£7) also found their way to our table!
It wasn’t long before a veritable feast lay before us, and we heartily got stuck in. Fans of Chicken Wings will go clucking bonkers over these meaty beasts! Each one was a good 4/5 ‘chomper’, and the chicken was moist and juicy, smothered with a tingle-inducing Buffalo Sauce and a smattering of crunchy Sesame Seeds. Those Peri-loaded Fries still hold their place in my heart; crispy, non-greasy Fries are blanketed with pieces of Chicken breast, oozy Nacho Cheese, zingy slices of Green Jalapeno, and crunchy Onions. Yum, yum, flippin’ yum!
The Beef Sizzler was fantastic in terms of taste and portion size – Rolling Smoke are feeders, that’s for sure. Sliced Green Peppers and Red Onion were still nicely crunchy, contrasting sharply with the tender meat, and the Rice was something a little extra, too. The fluffy grains weren’t your common-or-garden boiled type; oh no, these were souped-up, spiced-n- seasoned grains, pairing brilliantly with the Sizzler. Needless to say, I soon made short work of this dish, smiling happily as I did so.
Across the table, The Man was chowing down on his Burger contentedly. The pleasingly dense Angus Beef patty was rich in flavour and juicy in the mouth – nothing worse than an over-cooked, tougher-than-old-boots burger that doubles up as a weapon of mass [gastro] destruction is there?! Thankfully, there’s no chance of one of those making an appearance on the grill-plate of Rolling Smoke. I was the happy recipient of the sliced-lengthways Gherkin that had tried to hide in amongst the crisp Lettuce, fresh Tomato and Caramelised Onions under the Pretzel Bun! That was about all I got passed over though; everything else was demolished by His Nibs.
On this visit, we had also chosen to try the Kinder Bueno Cookie Dough dessert (£6.50) but our tummies were totally stuffed. We took the box home with us and had the sweet treat for supper – 20 secs in the ‘nuke’/ microwave was all it took to make this chocolatey delight gooey and the trio of sauce-drizzled Cookies soon disappeared!
I tell you what, no-one is happier than me that Somercotes has finally got a chuffing ace eaterie to brag about. Rolling Smoke is priced really well and offers great value for money, there’s plenty of choice, you can eat-in or takeout, and the premises are spotless. Support a local independent business rather than those faceless, corporate Golden Arches – the food’s much better! Hot Wings happily given to Rolling Smoke.
To place an order either ring 01773 409406, visit foodhub.co.uk ,or hit up their website www.rollingsmokesomercotes.com
