My brother-in-law Larry lives in Highlands Ranch. He makes regular trips up to Westminster to see his dad. Or so he claims – somehow lunch at Hoke’s BBQ often factors in.
You can’t blame Larry for driving halfway across the state for a pork sandwich. Hoke’s is proper Texas pit barbecue. No fake barnwood décor, no drinks with silly names, no second-rate meat blanketed with cloyingly sweet goop, nothing out of the freezer or microwave. At Hoke’s strip-mall headquarters, the meat is the star.
On a summer night you can sit out on the patio, down a
Pabst on draft for a buck, watch the sun set over the Diamond Shamrock and suck the meat off the best St. Louis-style ribs ($17.99 for a full rack, $8.99 for a half) in metro Denver.
Darin Holcomb started catering parties in 1996 and opened the tiny restaurant in 2002. One of his secrets is slow-smoking the meat under a spice rub. Sauce is served on the side, in mild and hot (more sassy than spicy) varieties.
The menu was originally just sandwiches: stacks of fresh-cut meat on soft white buns, dosed with the sauce of your choice ($5.50 for regular, $8.99 for half-pounders).
Drink options were beer or canned pop; closing time was “when the meat runs out.” Last summer’s big news was Coke in cups.
The secret is out. A recent Thursday night found the place packed despite expanding into the former dog wash next door.
There was jump blues on the satellite radio, football on the tube and two guys in the kitchen cooking as fast as they could. Come early on Thursday if you want catfish ($7.99), a big pile of cornmeal-dusted fresh filets with remoulade for dipping.
The “come-early” rule also applies to Fridays for Pappy’s smoked prime rib. The stuff is magnificent – a big slab of fork-tender beef ($12.99 for 8 ounces) that’s suffused with smoke and served with fragrant jus.
Choose from mayonnaise- free coleslaw with crunchy green pepper and a vinegar dressing, lovely smoky beans and skin-on red potato salad. Or try the outstanding gumbo with chicken and andouille sausage or the workmanlike Texas chili with lots of ground chuck and onions but no beans ($3.50 cup, $6.99 bowl).
Those who can’t decide between smoked chicken, beef brisket, chopped pork or hot (but not lethal) links can spring for the Big Ol’ Dinner Platter and get a quarter-rack of ribs and two other meats, plus two sides, for $11.99.
If you want dessert, however, you’ll just have to wander over to that Diamond Shamrock and get a pint of Häagen- Dazs.
Lisa Everitt is a freelance writer and editor who lives in Arvada.
Hoke’s Genuine Pit BBQ
Barbecue|9134 W. 88th Ave., Westminster, 303-424-7748. MC, Visa. |$3.50-$19.99|11 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; 11 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Sunday
Front burner: Best smoked meat in Denver.
Back burner: Plastic forks, plastic cups, Styrofoam soup bowls. Helpful hint: Buy a dishwasher.
