Smoke & Donuts, the barbecue and oil-boiled dough specialty that started out as a food truck, finally made the move to the brick and mortar store they had been planning for a couple of years. I don’t know what took so long – it certainly wasn’t waiting for the flooring to go in. The space, which was previously occupied by a gourmet popcorn shop, looks sort of like an excavation site.

But the focus is the food, the duality of basic barbecue and gourmet donuts.

My dining companion stopped in one night after spending some time hunting for parking. (I’m guessing there is some sort of dispute among neighboring businesses regarding the sharing of parking lots, even those that are closed in the evenings.

Once inside, we grabbed a couple of places at the bar and looked the menu over.

I chose the Pit Sampler, which got me three meats and a side. I had St. Louis ribs, pulled pork and sausage with a side of spicy mac & cheese (which apparently is regular mac & cheese with hot sauce squeezed on top). It also came with a baked potato topped with barbecue even though I did not order one. (It was delivered by mistake and instead of throwing it out the server said I should keep it.) I would describe the ribs as fall-off-the-bone but I’m not sure they were ever attached. Very tender. The pulled pork was good, too.

My friend had the chopped brisket board with baked beans and corn fritters, the latter a big hit; dense and spicy.

A doughnut was called for, of course. We sampled the Salty Englishman (still talking about a donut here). It had a Maker’s Mark Bourbon and maple glaze and a sprinkling of sea salt. Delicious, but I prefer my donuts in the morning.

Service from the bartender was easy going, and it was fun to watch the donuts being made behind the counter.

Smoke & Donuts is at 601 N. Primrose Drive, Orlando (map). It is open for lunch and dinner Wednesday through Sunday.