Best Barbecue 2008 — North: Smokehouse Bar-B-Que

Anyone remember that gorgeous stained-glass dome that was once the showpiece of the old Harry Starker’s on the Country Club Plaza? The restaurant, now called Starker’s Reserve, is still on the Plaza, but the dome is now in the Northland dining room of this locally owned barbecue chain. (Four Smokehouse restaurants are scattered around the metro.) It’s a classy room for eating some damned good, old-fashioned barbecue. The meats are hickory-smoked, and most of the beef, including the burnt ends, is certified Angus. You get a lot of food for not a lot of cash, and in this economy, that’s a smokin’ good deal.

Thu., Jan. 15, 2009