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| - I started looking for barbecue in Las Vegas and had already bookmarked a few, but nothing looked like what I had in mind. Then I stumbled on Rollin Smoke on Yelp and thought, this could be it. Now the name Rollin Smoke has a completely different connotation if you're not thinking about smoked meat, but let's not go there.
Let's go to the 'cue. What to get? I read about smoked meatloaf, and the pictures look good, but hey, it's meatloaf. You don't judge a barbecue place by the meatloaf. You want brisket and you want ribs. I was particularly interested in beef ribs, and they have them on the smoker here every day. How about some pork ribs? They have a rib platter with baby backs, spare ribs and a beef rib. Add another beef rib for $6. Sounds good, but too much for today.
The beef rib was just what I was looking for. Thick and meaty, dark with smoke on the outside, and juicy and fork tender inside. Just pull gently and it releases from the bone with a puff of steam and meat juices rolling down to the plate. The meat is seasoned, but not overdone. There's some rub and some smoke flavor, but it's not dominant. You can really taste the meat. Barbecue sauce is offered, but with meat this good, who needs it?
Spareribs were also terrific, again partly because they are nice and thick. They have good texture and are juicy and moist, with good smoke flavor and seasoning. Baby backs were a little disappointing, still tender, but a little drier, and at least on this day, didn't stack up to the flavor of the spareribs and beef.
There are two dining rooms inside and a few tables outside. The store is just a few blocks off the strip, just on the other side of I-15. Parking can be tough, but come between the lunch hour and the dinner hour and there's no trouble. Who doesn't like linner? Staff was friendly and helpful, joking and laughing, and made a point to come around to all the tables to check on everyone to see how they liked their barbecue.
There are plenty of sides, and I had the corn fritters. Folks rave about them. They're good. They're fried nuggets of batter encapsulating some sweet corn kernels, but I was here for the ribs, and was not disappointed. I'll be back again for the brisket and some burnt ends.
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