Hoke's 'cue worth lining up for

John Lehndorff, Rocky Mountain News

Friday, March 30, 2007

Hoke's BBQ is the kind of place you miss the first hundred times you drive by its set-back, strip-mall location - that is unless you happen to get a whiff of the meaty smoke drifting across West 88th Avenue.

That's all it takes for any true blue 'cue fan to make a U-turn.

Once inside, Westminster fades into a little slice of the Lone Star State. Besides the longhorn skulls, worn boots, twangy music, Willie Nelson photos and other cowboy ephemera, you know this is the place because there's a roll of paper towels on every table.

We needed them immediately as we dug into a plate of Hoke's fine ribs. Although this is billed as a Texas-inspired establishment, the pork ribs ($10.99 half-slab; $19.99 slab) are straight out of St. Louis: dry-rubbed with spices, smoke-infused and always served with the sauce on the side.

We loved the flavor-pumped dark, chewy surface meat that gave way to a moist, fatty near-bone experience with smoke tickling our noses. We forgot about the two tomato-based barbecue sauces.

The mild sauce is a little sweeter, and the spicy is a little hotter and more tart, but neither blew us away until we had them soaking the meat in the chopped beef brisket sandwich ($5.95; $10.99 half-pound).

For the fullest first-time experience, we recommend The Big Ol' Dinner Platter ($14.99), a meat lover's buffet platter crowned with a quarter-rack of ribs and a choice of two smoked meats: chopped chicken, pork, beef brisket and hot links. The fatty, crispy pork especially lingers in the recesses of our taste memory.

Opened in 1996 as a barbecue catering company, Hoke's eventually bloomed into a full-bore restaurant and neighborhood bar. We're talking extremely casual here, with families and couples crowded around tables eating messy victuals out of paper-lined red plastic baskets. There are no poofy ingredients, vertical garnishes, sauce squiggles or random vegetables - and, for sure, it's not health food.

Our delightfully attentive and direct waitresses admitted that all the fried appetizers were bought by the bag. The stuffed chicken poppers ($7.99) and mini corn dogs ($4.99) were tasty in a commercial, fried way except for the sadly flavor-free battered jalapeño and onion slivers in the Texas toothpicks ($4.50; $2.75).

That said, the bean-free Texas chili ($4 cup; $6.99 bowl) was decent. We especially enjoyed the crisp sweet potato fries ($3.99; $2.25 half) dunked in chipotle mayo and the hot, non-chewy Rocky Mountain oysters ($8.99) that had light, liver-y nuances. No, they don't taste like chicken. We know this because we happily tore into a half-chicken ($7.99) that was as juicy and smoky as fowl ever gets.

All this fare goes down happily when matched with a mug from the better-than-average beer list, which ranges from the down-to- earth (and cheap) PBR to Newcastle Ale.

Our new favorite 'cue brew: the fragrant, hoppy Belgian Hoegaarden Wheat Beer, which was as palate-cleansing-good with the German hot links ($5.95 sandwich) as with the first-class cornmeal fried catfish ($10.99), served only on Thursdays.

Hoke's piece de resistance - that's French for yummiest thing to eat - is the Friday-only smoked prime rib ($14.50 8-ounce; $21.99 16-ounce), served on a metal pie plate with a knife.

You understand why there's a line out the door when you slice into the tender prime meat with its smoke-concentrated beefy taste. We were impressed that it came with real beef au jus for dipping and pureed horseradish - not the tamed creamy type - for adding another level of zip.

The prime rib, like many of the entrees, comes with a choice of standard sides. Our favorite is the refreshingly mayo-free coleslaw, a fantastic addition to the chopped pork sandwich ($5.95; $10.95 half-pound), which may be our favorite menu item besides the ribs and the prime rib.

We liked the creamy skin-on red potato salad but thought the smoked beans were ho-hum and missing the advertised bacon, onions, celery and bell pepper.

Despite our many research trips, we'll have to go back for the fried shrimp po' boy ($10.99) and the Saturday-only special of Southern- fried Angus steak fritter ($9.99) with mashed potatoes, homemade gravy and corn on the cob.

So while we wish Hoke's would get rid of the frozen, bagged starters and add a real homemade dessert like fruit cobbler and a hotter sauce for manly rib-rippers, all that matters to us at a barbecue joint is the smoked meat and chilled brews. On those two counts, there's no question that Hoke's is a winner.

Hoke's BBQ

• Hours: 11 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Tues.-Sat.; 'til 6:30 p.m. Sunday

• How much: $2.25-$10.99 starters; $5.95-$21.99 entrees

• Reservations: No

• Noise: Moderate to extremely noisy

• Information:hokesbbq.com

Barbecue final four: Texas vs. South Carolina vs. Memphis vs. Kansas City

Barbecue is meat cooked with smoke, not fire, and a competitive sport. However, there are serious differences (not to mention debates) in various parts of the United States about which types of wood and meats are used and what type of sauce is favored. Here's a brief, incomplete - i.e., don't call and yell at us! - regional barbecue primer:

• Texas: Pork ribs, beef brisket, hot red sausage and chicken are the meats typically cooked over smoke from mesquite or pecan wood. The sauce, always applied afterwards by the diner, is traditionally tomato-based with a vinegra tang and can range from spicy hot to sweet.

• South Carolina: Pulled pork and sometimes pork ribs are the major meats that are smoked. South Carolina's distinctive barbecue sauces include a thin vinegar and pepper variation as well as a spicy mustard sauce.

• Memphis: Pork ribs here are often basted with sauce while they are smoking although there is also a dry-rub variation. The distinctive Memphis barbecue dish is chopped pork and cole slaw on a white hamburger bun. Sauces can range from light, spicy and tomato-based to others with a strong molasses flavor.

• Kansas City: This urban style of barbecue is distinguished by slow, hickory-smoked, spice-rubbed ribs and other meats served with a very thick, slightly sweet tomato-based sauce that has some tang and heat. Ribs are sometimes mopped with glaze before serving.