MENU GUIDES • 5 min read
The Smokehouse, Two Ways
The only name on two menus — a cheesesteak and a burger that share three ingredients and diverge on everything else.
Bacon, BBQ sauce and onion rings on top, in two forms. The Smokehouse Philly is ribeye with green peppers and cheese on an Amoroso roll; the Smokehouse Burger adds honey mustard and grilled onions on a potato bun, as a single, a chicken version or a double.
The Smokehouse is the only name that appears on two different menus here, and the two versions are not the same sandwich with a different base. One is a cheesesteak; one is a burger; they share three ingredients and diverge on everything else.
Both are also the busiest thing on their respective menus, which makes them the ones most often over-ordered alongside.
The two builds
| Smokehouse Philly | Smokehouse Burger | |
|---|---|---|
| Base | Freshly sliced ribeye | Beef patty |
| Sizes | 7-inch and 12-inch | Single, chicken or double |
| Bread | Amoroso roll | Potato bun |
| Sauce | BBQ sauce | BBQ sauce and honey mustard |
| Also on it | Bacon, green peppers, cheese | Bacon, grilled onions, American cheese, lettuce |
| On top | Onion rings | Onion rings |
Three things are common to both: bacon, BBQ sauce and onion rings on top. That is what makes it a Smokehouse. Everything else follows from whether it is a sandwich or a burger.
Why the onion rings are on the inside
Putting fried onion rings inside a sandwich sounds like excess and is actually structural. They do something no other topping does: they add crunch that survives contact with sauce, at least for a while.
Every other element in a Smokehouse is soft — melted cheese, BBQ sauce, bacon that has gone pliable in the heat, grilled onions on the burger. Without the rings the whole thing is one texture. With them, there is something to bite through.
The trade-off is time. Rings inside a sauced sandwich soften faster than rings in a basket, which is why a Smokehouse is a poor candidate for a long drive home.
- Eating in — the rings are still crisp, and that is the point
- Ten minutes away — fine, and slightly softer
- Half an hour away — order something else, honestly
- Never order a side of onion rings with it — they are already in it
BBQ sauce, and what it is doing
BBQ sauce on both, honey mustard as well on the burger. That combination is doing something specific: sweetness and acidity against fat and salt.
The technique it borrows from is much older than either sandwich. Barbecue in its original sense is slow cooking over low heat, and the sauces built for it were designed to cut through long-cooked, fatty meat. Nothing here is slow-cooked, but the sauce still does the same job on bacon and melted cheese.
Which is why adding more richness to a Smokehouse is the classic mistake. It already has the sweet-and-sharp element balanced against the fat. Extra cheese on top of that tips it.
The bacon is doing more than you think
Bacon on a sandwich is usually there for salt and crunch. In a Smokehouse it has a third job: it is the only element that keeps its shape.
Melted cheese spreads, BBQ sauce soaks, grilled onions collapse, and the onion rings on top soften from the moment they meet the sauce. Bacon stays a distinct strip of something firm right through, which is why a Smokehouse without it would not just taste different — it would eat like a single soft mass.
That is also why it is on both versions despite the two sandwiches otherwise having little in common. It is structural on a burger for exactly the same reason it is structural in a roll.
Which one to order
They eat differently enough that appetite is the wrong way to choose:
| You want | Order | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Every bite the same | Smokehouse Philly | Chopped ribeye means the filling is uniform end to end |
| Distinct layers | Smokehouse Burger | A patty with things stacked on it, in the usual way |
| Chicken instead of beef | Smokehouse Burger | It comes as a chicken option; the Philly takes chicken too |
| The larger version | Either — 12-inch, or the double | Both are a lot; neither needs a side |
| To share | Smokehouse Philly, 12-inch, cut | Burgers do not divide |
The Philly is the better shared order, because a 12-inch cut in half feeds two and a burger does not divide. The burger is the better solo order, because a potato bun holds a heavy build together in a way a long roll does not.
Ordering a Smokehouse as a double burger? Do not add anything. It already has bacon, cheese, two sauces, grilled onions and onion rings on it, and the first thing to give way under one more addition is the bun.
What to order with it
Very little, and nothing fried. This is the most complete single item on either menu, and the usual instinct to add a side works against it.
- Plain fries, if anything — and share one portion
- A plain salad, for the sharpness against all that sweetness
- Never onion rings — the third time this article has said it
- A drink with some acidity does more than another fried plate
On a weekday the burgers appear on the special menus with a side and a drink included, which is covered in our guide to the three special menus.
The short version
Bacon, BBQ sauce and onion rings on top, in two forms: a cheesesteak on an Amoroso roll and a burger on a potato bun with honey mustard added. Uniform filling versus stacked layers. Do not add to it and do not order rings alongside it. The Philly is on the Philly menu and the burger on the burger menu.
Two menus, one idea
Bacon, BBQ and onion rings — on a cheesesteak and on a burger.
Frequently asked questions
What is on the Smokehouse Philly?
Freshly sliced ribeye with bacon, green peppers and BBQ sauce, topped with onion rings and served with cheese on an Amoroso roll.
What is on the Smokehouse Burger?
Lettuce, honey mustard, BBQ sauce, bacon, grilled onions and American cheese, topped with onion rings, on a potato bun.
What is the difference between the two?
The Philly is chopped ribeye, so every bite is the same; the burger is a patty with layers stacked on it. The burger also has honey mustard.
Should I order onion rings with a Smokehouse?
No — onion rings are already on both versions. A side of them is the most common over-order here.
Does the Smokehouse come with chicken?
The burger comes as a single, a chicken version or a double. The Philly takes chicken instead of steak like every other build.
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