I'm hesitant to add my two cents after all the puke emojis and thumbs down I got in the cheese steak thread, but I learned an awesome recipe out of it so I'll reciprocate here.
Brisket is amazing, of course. But crazy expensive, and it can take a really long time. It's still the king, but the below procedure is a great 2nd place, especially if you don't have a huge crew to feed and don't want to smoke a whole brisket.
A FANTASTIC alternative (and one that we will be making Sunday) is to smoke a good quality thick cut chuck roast. We get our at Wegmans, usually in the 3.5-4 lb range. The biggest one you can find. You don't want small/thin because it could dry out on you before it's really tender.
Season heavily and put into a moderate temperature smoker. The key is to very slowly bring it to 175 (ish) degrees in the smoker, then wrap tightly in foil and put in a 200 degree oven for a couple of hours (or just use the smoker itself as the oven) until juicy and tender. Be sure not to let it go too far to where it becomes like pulled pork (although it will still taste great that way too). We just prefer being able to slice it.
When ready, slice and serve however you enjoy brisket. We love making sandwiches out of it on toasted Costanzo rolls and using homemade BBQ sauce (white or red).
Extremely flavorful, tender, and juicy due to the fat content of chuck roast.
Great for a few people, doesn't take more than 5-6 hours total, and is cheaper than brisket, although not "cheap" per se.