Smoky's Steakhouse in Madison, Dane County, United States | Steakhouse

Smoky's... A story lurks behind each piece of restaurant's " Genuine Junk".  Welcome to Smokys Steakhouse in Madison WI, United States.

For 35 years, Leonard "Smoky" Schmock and his wife Janet (now assisted by sons Larry, Tom and sometimes daughter Barbara have wowed steak lovers with gorgeous, deeply seared fillets as thick as two big fists stacked atop one another. The family's tender, wedgy T-bones ooze with juice flavored by a delicate marbling of fat. And when the meat hits Smoky's Steakhouse metal platters, heated for hours in a 500-degree oven, it unleashes the most furious, aroma-rousing tempest of sizzleI encountered anywhere.

"Smoky's Steakhouse looks a bit like Sanford and Son's, doesn't it?" said Jan Schmock with a laugh. "You can get goofy gazing at the things behind the bar." Indeed you can. The interior of the Schmock's restaurant, Smoky's Steakhouse, 3005 University Avenue is almost as famous as the food. While the viands are known for consistent quality, the ambiance is acclaimed for persistent eccentricity.

But the memorabilia adorning the walls and ceiling of Smoky's Steakhouse in Madison is not the contrived clutter of carefully selected designer junk favored by places like Charley's Café and TGIFriday's. Smoky's has genuine junk, which earns there's a story behind every artifact.

Take a seat at the bar, and you can find yourself face-to-face with a large stuffed muskellunge, caught by proprietor Leonard "Smoky" Schmock. The muskie is wearing a tie adorned with multiple tie tacks, with a squirrel tail disappearing down its toothy gullet. The tie, made of Swiss silk, was donated by a customer. The muskie takes his aerial swim in a vaguely aquarium atmosphere of dried blowfish, at least one of which lights up; a plastic lobster; a couple of crabs; and numerous stuffed alligators of varying sizes.