The Rib Shack 4736 East Colfax Avenue 303-322-0212
Pulled pork sandwich (with a side of fries) $7.99
It’s hard to miss the Rib Shack. It's jammed into an old school,red-and-white Aframe that looks like it used to be a drive-through of some sort, and the specials are printed on a giant sign on the side of the building.
To test the Rib Shack, you have to walk up to a window and order from a lady who keeps the sliding glass portal closed and locked when she doesn't have a customer, then sit outside on a bench to wait for your meal or ask for it to be carried out to your car.
The menu boasts of “the best ribs and catfish in town!!!” and includes selections like Little Red Riding Wings (creamy and hot), Grateful Dead Wings (orange-lemon) and John Wayne Wings (secret recipe) -- not to mention catfish, not that common in Colorado.
But I was there for a sandwich.
And since this building has housed at least five other restaurants over the past few years – from pizza to Chinese to wraps – I decided to keep it simple and go for the pulled pork sandwich.
And I’ll say this about my order. The French fries were good. So good I put the fries, which were lightly covered in some sort of spicy stuff, inside the sandwich alongside the barbequed pork, and it made for a pretty great sandwich. In fact, the Rib Shack should make this one of its standard menu items.Even without the fries, the sandwich was fine – not bad, not great. The kind of thing you could get at a backyard cookout or an airport café. Pork, sauce, bun.
Next time I’ll have to try the wings. – Jonathan Shikes
