Best Baby Backs 2005 | Big Papa's BBQ | Best of Denver® | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Denver | Westword
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Big Papa's BBQ

Come to Papa. This may look like just another strip-mall barbecue joint, but Big Papa's makes a sublime rack of baby-back ribs, all charred and crusty 'round the edges, smooth and fatty and tender inside. Making them even better are Papa's homemade sauces, four varieties from different regional traditions: Memphis, Kansas City, a mustard-spiked Carolina and a Deep South. Papa's also does good link sausage and chicken, brisket sandwiches on po'boy rolls rather than plain white Wonder Bread, and authentic hush puppies, but the baby backs are what will bring you back.

Best BBQ in a Garage

Brooks Smokehouse Bar-B-Que

The space that holds Brooks Smokehouse Bar-B-Que -- down a driveway and next to a nondescript house on Fairfax Street -- isn't really a garage, but it comes close enough. The Brookses have turned what was once a catering business into one of the best BBQ joints in the city, offering ribs, brisket, chicken, excellent country-style sides and Louella's own fruit punch, all available for eating in or taking out. Spend any amount of time at one of the rickety tables in the back and Ronald will show you the heart of his operation: a line of grills, all kinked for slow wood smoking -- a rarity in today's slap-dash barbecue world. Every meat on the menu comes from these jury-rigged smokers, and every smoker is personally babysat by Ronald, starting very early in the morning and sometimes going very late into the night. That's the kind of dedication it takes to be the best.

Best BBQ in a Garage

Brooks Smokehouse Bar-B-Que

The space that holds Brooks Smokehouse Bar-B-Que -- down a driveway and next to a nondescript house on Fairfax Street -- isn't really a garage, but it comes close enough. The Brookses have turned what was once a catering business into one of the best BBQ joints in the city, offering ribs, brisket, chicken, excellent country-style sides and Louella's own fruit punch, all available for eating in or taking out. Spend any amount of time at one of the rickety tables in the back and Ronald will show you the heart of his operation: a line of grills, all kinked for slow wood smoking -- a rarity in today's slap-dash barbecue world. Every meat on the menu comes from these jury-rigged smokers, and every smoker is personally babysat by Ronald, starting very early in the morning and sometimes going very late into the night. That's the kind of dedication it takes to be the best.

Best BBQ in a Gas Station

Dr. Daddio's Kitchen on Wheels

Jim Walker -- best known as "Dr. Daddio" -- may be a smooth hand when it comes to dishing out the tunes on KUVO, but the man also knows his way around good barbecue. While this little restaurant counter on the left-hand side of a gas station out on Airport Boulevard may not be the prettiest or the best-stocked joint in town (it has a tendency to run out of nearly everything on a good day), it's definitely the best place to get some 'cue and peach cobbler as you're gassing up the Hummer. Dr. Daddio's sauce is an addictive, thin, sweet mop that his kitchen applies liberally to everything from ribs and chicken to brisket and hot links. And at just $11 for a full rib dinner with baked beans, bread, potato salad and a slice of lemon pound cake, you can fill your belly for a lot less green than it'll take to fill your tank.

Best BBQ in a Gas Station

Dr. Daddio's Kitchen on Wheels

Jim Walker -- best known as "Dr. Daddio" -- may be a smooth hand when it comes to dishing out the tunes on KUVO, but the man also knows his way around good barbecue. While this little restaurant counter on the left-hand side of a gas station out on Airport Boulevard may not be the prettiest or the best-stocked joint in town (it has a tendency to run out of nearly everything on a good day), it's definitely the best place to get some 'cue and peach cobbler as you're gassing up the Hummer. Dr. Daddio's sauce is an addictive, thin, sweet mop that his kitchen applies liberally to everything from ribs and chicken to brisket and hot links. And at just $11 for a full rib dinner with baked beans, bread, potato salad and a slice of lemon pound cake, you can fill your belly for a lot less green than it'll take to fill your tank.

Best BBQ Sauce in a Bottle

Brick-Hot Bar-B-Que Sauce

If you think Denver barbecue takes a walk on the mild side, run to your computer and order up some Brick-Hot Bar-B-Que Sauce. Produced and packaged in Lakewood, this sauce has a smoky, dark and ever-present heat that runs right along that ragged edge between really friggin' hot and just too hot, without becoming so forward that it kills any sense of flavor. Brick-Hot goes wonderfully with everything from ribs to brisket to those whole roasted chickens sold in most grocery stores. It worries us a little that one of the main ingredients is Liquid Smoke, but when the final product tastes this good, we're willing to let it go.

Best BBQ Sauce in a Bottle

Brick-Hot Bar-B-Que Sauce

If you think Denver barbecue takes a walk on the mild side, run to your computer and order up some Brick-Hot Bar-B-Que Sauce. Produced and packaged in Lakewood, this sauce has a smoky, dark and ever-present heat that runs right along that ragged edge between really friggin' hot and just too hot, without becoming so forward that it kills any sense of flavor. Brick-Hot goes wonderfully with everything from ribs to brisket to those whole roasted chickens sold in most grocery stores. It worries us a little that one of the main ingredients is Liquid Smoke, but when the final product tastes this good, we're willing to let it go.

Best Pizza -- Thin Crust

Proto's Pizzeria Napoletana

The pizza at Proto's Pizzeria Napoletana straddles that dangerous line between honest, wood-fired thin-crust excellence and faddish, overdone, cracker-crust nonsense. So far, though, Proto's has stayed on the right side of that line, turning out wonderful, hand-tossed pies that are first-rate examples of the thin-crust form, even if they're irregularly shaped, sometimes unevenly covered, and never consistent from one 'za to the next. How does it manage this trick? By taking great care with every pie that goes through the ovens and never using anything but the best ingredients available, from the simplest cheese and pepperoni to fresh tomato and veggies. A pizzaman is only as good as his next pie -- and you can count on that next pie here being very, very good.

Best Pizza -- Thin Crust

Proto's Pizzeria Napoletana

Cassandra Kotnik
The pizza at Proto's Pizzeria Napoletana straddles that dangerous line between honest, wood-fired thin-crust excellence and faddish, overdone, cracker-crust nonsense. So far, though, Proto's has stayed on the right side of that line, turning out wonderful, hand-tossed pies that are first-rate examples of the thin-crust form, even if they're irregularly shaped, sometimes unevenly covered, and never consistent from one 'za to the next. How does it manage this trick? By taking great care with every pie that goes through the ovens and never using anything but the best ingredients available, from the simplest cheese and pepperoni to fresh tomato and veggies. A pizzaman is only as good as his next pie -- and you can count on that next pie here being very, very good.

Best Pizza -- Thick Crust

Beniamino's

Ben Guest had been talking about opening a pizza joint for fourteen years, ever since he moved to Denver from Chicago's South Side. His friends were getting kinda sick of hearing about it. But he finally took the plunge, and his pizzas were worth waiting for. The Mile High City was badly in need of a decent stuffed pie, and Beniamino's are beautiful: high-walled and golden-brown, filled with quality ingredients, sealed with a layer of soft dough, then topped with an herb-heavy sauce and cooked (for upwards of twenty minutes, so be prepared to wait) in authentic Chicago-style steel pans. Every one of these pies is a candidate for a Food Arts centerfold, and they taste just as good as they look.

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