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Meat eaters, take a “Q” and give this place a try. Story by Elana Ashanti Jefferson.
Heading to dinner on a Monday is like dining Russian roulette, because so many eateries take that day off. So it seemed smart to call before driving crosstown to Big Hoss one recent Monday. Doing so revealed that this meat-eater’s haven in Berkeley is open every day, like a locals joint should be. Callers are also informed that Big Hoss considers its fare “Denver’s best barbecue,” a statement reiterated on the restaurant’s specials chalkboard.
Laying claim to the best “Q” anywhere seems on par with Cassius Clay, circa 1964, calling then-heavyweight champion Sonny Liston a “big ugly bear,” and essentially launching the practice of verbal intimidation in boxing that’s made the stare-down and mind-play almost as important to the sport as the actual sparring.
This is America’s cuisine we’re talking about, food about which Texas-reared musician Robert Earl Keen sings, “If you’re feelin’ puny and you don’t know what to do … eat some barbecue,” and foodie weatherman Al Roker says, “It’s all different, but it’s all good.” James Beard simply dubbed it “an art.”
Barbecue is a cooking culture rife with secret recipes and time- tested marinades. Any “Q” aficionado will tell you that a tiny church with a smoker, a neighborhood convenience store or beer-guzzling tailgater is as likely to dish up the tangiest slow- cooked meat ever to hit your taste buds as a champion grill-meister who spends weeks testing and retesting recipes.
That’s something Big Hoss surely did before laying claim, as his menu details, to the 2007 KCBS Colorado State Championship award for best sauce. This is a well-rounded menu of Southern favorites like fried green tomatoes and country-fried steak, along with essentials like pulled pork and center-cut ribs. And these are champion-sized portions, which follows since Big Hoss himself, a.k.a. Hoss Orwat, is a super-sized man who jovially slides into a booth next to one of his many regulars to share a super-sized snack.
His dining room is just as approachable, especially when a warm night warrants throwing open the big windows onto Tennyson Street. And the wraparound bar, which on one side is low enough for real chairs instead of stools, is the definition of cozy.
Ain’t a meat in this place that a “Q” expert would frown at, though repeated visits will reveal both its weak-in-the-knees offerings (cheesy corn) and its weaker links (an uninspired salad bar). Even so, bravado seems as key to barbecue as it is to boxing. So if Big Hoss says (again and again) that his is the best “Q” in town, Denver might just have to believe him.
Heaping helpings of “Q,” Southern sides and appetizers, burgers and sandwiches. Open every day from 11 a.m. to midnight. 3961 Tennyson St., Denver, 720-855-3061
