My spouse and I visited Sweet Cheeks Q for lunch on a
Saturday afternoon in late May 2017. Sweet Cheeks accepts reservations using
the Reserve app or website; however, we walked in without a reservation and the
host seated us immediately. (Note that is does get crowded, though, so you may
want to reserve so that you do not have to wait.) The restaurant is open daily for
lunch, dinner, snacks, and drinks.
Sweet Cheeks opened in November 2011 on Boylston Street in
the Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood. We entered the space planning to request seats at an
outdoor umbrella-shaded table on the front sidewalk patio, but when we saw the
semi-open kitchen and smelled the delicious meats (smoked in a device named
“Tootsie”, after a famous Texas pit master), we decided to sit indoors instead.
Patrons sit at high-top communal tables (made from recycled bowling alley lanes),
at regular height tables, or at the long bar. In addition to the dedicated
front sidewalk area, you can also dine al fresco on the side patio. Décor
includes wood paneling, twinkling lights, and loud music; a half-wall leading
to the restrooms displays a collection of antique can halves. Food is served on
metal trays, in small metal pails, and on (or in) blue enamelware plates and
cups/mugs, and some drinks are served in Mason jars.
Tiffani Faison is the chef/owner of Sweet Cheeks; you might
recognize her as one of the “Top Chef” Season 1 finalists. She also operates the
nearby restaurant Tiger Mama, located at the other end of the block, and
reportedly, a yet-to-open tickets-only chef’s counter restaurant called Fool’s
Errand. Before she opened her own restaurants, she worked at notable Boston restaurants
including O Ya, Rocca, and Straight Wharf.
Sweet Cheeks serves creative barbecue and accompaniments. Meat
is sold by the pound, in sandwiches, or in combination platters served on the
aforementioned metal trays. We shared a platter with three different meats
(brisket, pork belly, and shredded pork, each equally and amazingly delicious),
one hot side (macaroni and cheese topped with breadcrumbs, surprisingly our
least favorite item that we ordered), one cold side (a tasty rough-chopped colorful
coleslaw), and one huge biscuit (served with yummy sweet honey butter). For
dessert, we shared the enormous “nutter butter” cookie dessert, which was the
size of a dinner plate!
We loved our lunch at Sweet Cheeks Q – the food was awesome,
the service was good, and the atmosphere was comfortable.
