OiNKs BBQ

Well it was good while it lasted.

Since this is (literally) a mom and pop operation, I really wanted to like this local barbecue joint. However, after having been twice without a memorable experience either time, I doubt I’ll be back again.
First, here’s an unqualified compliment: their homemade barbecue sauces are excellent. The owners should shut the restaurant down and just sell this stuff by the bottle. Great variety and bursting with flavor.
Why they can’t seem to impart that flavor on their food is beyond me. I ate here after they first opened and was completely underwhelmed but gave them the benefit of the doubt, vowing to give them time to get their sea legs and to revisit. Sadly, nothing’s really changed.
The half-​rack of St. Louis style ribs – one of the priciest items on the menu at $ 11.50 – was an utter failure. The ribs themselves seemed like a cheap cut, very gristly and unappetizing; I actually wondered if they were scrimping pennies here instead of going with a more beautiful cut.
There was almost no bark to the ribs, none of the gorgeous carmelization or smoke ring you get with good slow cooking. The meat was dry and pretty much devoid of flavor.
Ditto with the chopped pork, which was even drier and lacked any hint of seasoning. I purchased the pork as part of a two-​side combo and had it prepared as a sandwich. Of course, it wasn’t really a sandwich, just pork between two buns. The size and breadiness of the buns highlighted the small portion of pork and made the whole thing seem even drier.
In terms of portion, the nutty coleslaw (allegedly, as there wasn’t a nut piece in sight) was almost insulting – basically a glorified sample. It was a miss, but the sweet potato fries were good apart from their undersized serving.
The décor is unfortunately as bland as the food; even the chalkboard menu feels utilitarian when it should be an opportunity to liven things up and have fun. I did appreciate the daily trivia question near the register, though – that was one of the few whimsical touches, along with the mason jars for drinks. The nice baby-​changing spread in the unisex bathroom was thoughtful, too.
All told, I would guess that the owners feel as though they’re doing everything right and that they don’t need to change anything about OiNKs; I would also wager that this is unfortunately why they aren’t likely to be around much longer.

With a name like OiNKs I wanted to loved it, but the reality is not so much. First, the menu is way too complicated for a BBQ joint. Just let me order my sandwich or whatever. Two, your pulled pork is 100% not pulled pork. Chopping dry pork is not pulled pork. Three, being that the pork is dry, have some self serve to go cups for the sauces. And finally, you’re advertising strawberry lemonade (which was easily the best thing we tasted), yet want to up charge an extra 40 cents to my already expensive combo.
My advice, if you’re in the neighborhood on Saturdays, go to the church at the corner of 26^th and Colorado. Great ribs, awesome BBQ sauce, and the best $ 1.50 pulled pork sandwich in Denver.

Yes I do really try to like this place (question posed by another Unilocaler), but I just can’t really get into it.
Stopped by the other day for lunch — it was just ok, and there are many other places I’d rather go. I came in this time as I am trying to get bonus points on United Mileage Plus Dining.
The brisket for example just does not really have any flavor. When I get brisket I like to get the outer layer where the smoke and usually rub is as it has the most flavor. The stuff I got was flavorless and did not have any smoke to it.
I did like their fried Okra – yummy. I think their hot links are the best thing going here (besides the Okra)
Sorry, but they just don’t have the best BBQ around. I do applaud them on their «green-​ness’ and they are all very nice folks.

Man do I love me some meat.
I got a jonesin for some BBQ and remembered that I had picked up a
certificate for this place so we cruised on by to check it out.
As we walked in we were enveloped in the absolutely amazing aroma of smokey meat, so far so good!
I try to stay away from starchy and over sugary foods so I got the combo plate with brisket, pork, collards and spicy green bean salad. The fiancé picked the combo with a hot link, pork, sweet potato salad and house beans.
Everything was tasty but the CLEAR winners of the day were the hot link and the green bean salad. The brisket was a little dry for my tastes but my pork was moist and delicious, especially after being doused with their NC Style Vinegar sauce.
The sides were all tasty but CoraFayes has better collards and Brothers has MUCH better beans.
Definitely worth a try if you like BBQ, especially with their 5 or so sauce varieties to choose from!
OH and as a side note, the floor is bizarrely slippery, so wear shoes with good traction, even in my sneakers my feet were sliding out from under me as I stood.

First off, the owners are the nicest people you’d ever meet.
OK, so I’m from Kansas City and barbecue is pretty serious business for me. I went in with skepticism, knowing what I like and well-​aware that Denver is not a barbecue town. I DID NOT leave disappointed.
This barbecue has great flavor on its own, before the sauce even hits the plate. There’s a depth and purpose behind the smokiness of the meat – enough that it can be enjoyed without any sauce. And where sauce is concerned, the patron has a choice of FIVE: Texas, KC, 9 Volt Hot, Carolina Mustard and Vinegar.
They do wonders with their sides. My favorite is their baked beans, which are a nice combination of sweet-​smoky-​tangy flavors, with a little barbecued meat to enhance the flavor. Order anything with sweet potatoes and you can’t go wrong. The fried okra was a treat.
The place is pretty small, but come on, it’s an independent locally owned restaurant where the food is the focus. It’s genuine – they are eager to please not pretending to be something they are not.
Another bonus that you don’t always appreciate until after you learn about it: they are total proponents and practicers of sustainability. They use local ingredients, they compost food waste and they recycle their oil through a company that repurposes it for biofuel.

Charlie Sheen may have tiger’s blood, but I have BBQ blood.
Denver seems to have several BBQ joints popping up (I’ve dreamed of this day)…and OINKS just happened to be one I recently tried.
Service was friendly, and seemed willing to help me order but this Kansas City girl knows just what she wants. Pulled pork on bun with fries. I ordered the hottest sauce they had, it was good but more sweet than hot in my opinion. Sweet potato fries rock, and I’m sure these would’ve too if they were hot. (They were made fresh but I had a 5 minute drive before I could start devouring) Pulled pork was plentiful, but a tad dry on my visit. If they have pickles upon request, I wouldn’t shy away from paying them another visit.

The funny thing is that I’ve now been to this place about 5 times now. I keep coming back, so I decided to bump the star rating to 5. I’m in the area near OiNKs a lot and it’s become my weekend go-​to spot when I’m around. That definitely is a five-​star rating in my opinion.
They have all sorts of options in terms of meat and bbq tofu, as well. BBQ Tofu seems strange to me, but hey, I don’t eat it, so it doesn’t matter.
They do have sweet tea and other sweet fixin’s as well. There are usually brownies and a cupcake of the month flavor. Definitely give them a try, but get there early. Later in the day, they could be out of several things, but they are that popular!

I had dinner with seven other people on a Tuesday night. There were other diners but we made up the majority of the crowd. The conversation was great but I didn’t enjoy much else.
First of all, the floor was so greasy that it was difficult to walk on it. One girl almost fell down and I had a couple close calls. It was also about 60 degrees in there the whole time (and about 35 degrees outside). A few of us kept our coats on during dinner.
We got in line to order and it took a very long time. They apologized, but the wait was painful.
They have different sauces on the table along with a roll of paper towels. You get your silverware from a self-​service area.
I had the ribs, collard greens and potato parsnip mash. It came with a dinner roll and a self-​serve soda. Contributions from others allowed me to try the tofu, sweet potato fries, fried okra, spicy green bean salad and smoked chicken wings. Out of all of it I really only enjoyed the smoked chicken wings and sweet potato fries.
My ribs were room temperature in some places and cold in other places, like they had come from a refrigerator. The meat was tough and difficult to get off of the bone. It was very overcooked and I only ate one. Without BBQ sauce it was pretty boring. The collard greens were room temperature and not very interesting. I don’t know how they made parsnips bland but they pulled it off. They were only warm in the middle of the small plastic cup they came in.
The okra didn’t seem breaded in house (I think they were the frozen variety) but they were okay. The green bean salad was fine but not very interesting. But the sweet potato fries were devine, cooked perfectly with lots of sugar on them.
The smoked chicken wings were definitely a highlight. They smoke them and get them nice and brown and then cover them with a salt mixture that tastes much like Lawry’s Seasoned Salt. They didn’t need any BBQ sauce. I would really recommend them and I wouldn’t mind having some more.
It was nice to get outside where my shoes had some traction. Don’t wear heels! And get wings and sweet potato fries.

I was hoping the Unilocal reviews would be wrong, but sadly they were not. I had two groupons so me and Matt trekked across town and we each got to use the $ 10. We both chose the 2 meat and 2 sides combo plates. I got chicken and pork, with sweet potato fries and sweet potato/​bacon salad for my sides.
Seriously, the meat lacked any flavor at all. The chicken was dry and even their BBQ sauce couldn’t save it. The pork tasted… off. I can’t put my finger on it, but it just tasted odd. I took a few bites then gave up. They make their sauces in house, wasn’t too much of a fan since they all seemed to be on the sweet side.
I also opted to get the buckeye candy that was on special, wish they would have told me it would cost $ 6 for 6 tiny pieces of chocolate.
Not impressed, would not go back, and my quest for good BBQ in Denver continues.

I went to oink’s after getting a groupon for it. I love BBQ, but was really disappointed with my meal.
I can say that the service is great. Everyone is really friendly and the place is clean, which is a plus. I really just didn’t care for any of the food. All of the meats were exceptionally dry and lacked flavor from being smoked or from the rub. They were incredibly bland without sauce. (Tried the sampler with chicken, wings, pork, ribs, hot links, and brisket) I wasn’t impressed with any of them.
They have 5 different sauces, which I thought was great, since most places only have a couple or if they have several, they are all pretty much the same with different levels of heat. This is not the case at Oink’s. Each sauce is quite different from the others. This is great in theory, but not in execution. The only sauce I found remotely palatable was the mustard. They had a vinegar sauce that tasted ok, but had no body to it, so it was too runny to actually put on the meat. I really didn’t care for any of the other options, which was surprising, because I love all different types of BBQ sauce. My biggest problem with most of them is that they had one key ingredient that stood out so far above everything else that you couldn’t really taste anything else. While this is bad in itself, the highlighted ingredient just doesn’t complement the meat very well at all.
I also had coleslaw and the beans. The coleslaw was incredibly bland, but after I added some of the vinegar sauce to it, it was edible. I can’t really say anything good about the beans, even after trying to doctor them up with some sauce.
Sad to say, I won’t be back again myself. There are a ton of great BBQ places in the city and I just don’t feel like this is one of them. The only reason I’m giving them 2 stars instead of 1 is because the service was great.

OiNKs was a great stop for dinner driving down Colfax. A new sign of pink letters gave me a double take. I was told they were only one month old today (3 months ago when I first started this review and visited OiNKs) by the lady behind the counter. Since then, OiNKs caught my attention again as I bought «2» GroupOns for a revisit.
I’m a big fan of great BBQ and OiNKs has all of the necessary choices to keep my slow cooked and smoked cravings at bay. Main items includes: Chicken, Brisket, Pork, Ribs, Wings. Sides include: Green Beans, Coleslaw, Potato Salad, BBQ Beans, Fried Okra, Sweet Potato Fries, Sweet Potato Bacon Salad along with desserts of Brownies, Ice Creams and Cupcakes.
I’ve been to a lot of BBQ joints around the United States, many in the South, Kansas City, Texas, the Midwest and many other various locations that BBQ just happened to be at. Each location usually ties back to the history of the owner, the family or the tradition of making BBQ. I like eating off an old counter surrounded by antiques, old framed photos of this and that or awards that the restaurant had received in cross-​country BBQ contests. I’m sorry to say, you will not get that here. OiNKs is fresh, clean and modern. The décor does not disappoint, it is just a little different compared to tradition.
All I have to say is, give me some more Fried Okra!

I’m struggling with the stars. Oinks could be good, but they’re not there yet.
They seem to still be working out kinks at Oinks! The cashier was friendly, but he had to ring up our order three times and still didn’t get a receipt for me to sign or keep, though I was charged. They were out of many meats, side dishes, and sauce choices while we were there, too. So, instead of chicken, I had pork, and while I’m used to the Kansas City style sauce, I made do with Texas style that seemed to have pickle relish in it.
The three employees seemed overwhelmed and unable to wipe tables and empty the dirty dish bin as well, though the lady that brought our food to our table did make sure to bring us forks rather than us having to fetch them from the self-​serve drink area.
I will say that I liked the homemade potato chips and sweet potato fries, but won’t recommend the bland coleslaw and brisket. I wish, overall, that this place had it a bit more together.

2 Product
4 Service
4 Facility
N/​A Clientele
1 Value
I always like to support a new business. I would like to see this one succeed. But they need to make some changes.
The food is OK, if not inspiring. It is pretty much the run of the mill BBQ one would expect from a fast food business. The portion size is OK for a yuppie watching her weight, but not much for anyone else. I found the side dishes in particular to be skimpy. This would be OK if the prices were lower, but frankly there is a disconnect there. I was expecting better value.
This is a serviceable lunch stop if you can wait for the service, but if you are hungry or you are in the mood for some serious «Q» you might not be satisfied with what you will get here.
But all that said, I am certainly going back. There are not enough good BBQ places in Denver and I am willing to help a new business with young owners go through growing pains until they get into a groove. The first time I ate there could have been better, but that is not uncommon in new businesses that go on to become great places to eat.
Keep working on it, Oinks.
Pinky’s rating guide:
Product (Food, Merchandise, Selection)
Service (Timely, helpful, appropriate level of friendliness)
Facility (Location/​hours/​access/​parking/​atmosphere)
Clientele management (crowd control, customers, wait for seating)
Value overall (Very subjective — double weighted)

I try really hard to support businesses in my neighborhood so I take giving Oinks 2 stars pretty hard. My 1^st experience here was not good.
After a exhausting day at work I decide not to cook and give them a try. I call my order in and get a really bad feeling when the lady on the other end of the phone kept say «What». I place my first order and she immediately says «Is That it». I take this chance to specifically say I am going to be ordering 4 combination plates (stay with me as this is very important later). I place the rest of my order and ask her to repeat it. She reads it back and its fine.
You know where I’m going with this I’m sure. I get there and the food is not ready. Remember I called ahead. I notice that the sides are in a little container that you would put catchup in and I immediately know this is not going to work for my ex-​athlete husband or my 14 year old son. 2 bites is about all it holds. At this point I have to order more sides so that my head is not chopped off when I get home with dinner.
I get my food and I notice there is a side missing so I go back to the front and point out there is a side missing. The lady at the front says «don’t ask me its my 1^st day»… huh. Ok, get my side. I do a quick check in the car and AGAIN, no bread. Back Inside. Good to go, right. Nope! Get home and Ill be dare there are 3 meats, remember I said earlier 4 combinations. Oh no… After all that its still not right. At this point I am exhausted and just eat my Sweet Potato Fries. So frustrating.
Overall I wish I could score them higher but there were too many issues to start and I’m a vegetarian tonight.
Good luck to everyone else as it was not a good experience for me.

I give my neighborhood chains an extra star if I like them; Oinks deserves an extra star for being A-​OK in Park Hill. Mason the owner is also the reason for an extra star. The husband and I dropped in for lunch and Mason said that the brisket was looking mighty good. We took him up on his suggestion and were both pleased. It was fun to try all the sauces and I really liked the vinegar sauce.
Oinks stands above some of the other neighborhood BBQ places in the sides department. I had fried okra and sweet potato salad with bacon and the husband had spicy green beans and fries; all were delicious.
I will be going back to try more sides like nutty Cole slaw and the ribs. The only addition I would like to see would be Texas sweet tea. Welcome to the neighborhood Oinks.

I’ve tried the BBQ chains around Park Hill (KT’s, Jim n Nick’s, Famous Dave’s…) and this one is just as good, if not better than all off them. While they serve combos like most of the others (and offer carry out by the pound), I give Oinks extra credit from some pretty creative menu items. For what will likely be my first of many visits, I ordered a beef brisket sandwich with blue cheese and bacon — the Bleu Brisket — with a side of sweet potato fries. It was all delicious and fast — think Chipotle style «fresh food» more than fast food.
My only complaint is that the menu boasted fresh bleu cheese and when I got home and opened my sandwich, I realized the sandwich came with a side of bleu cheese dressing — not even chunky, but thin bleu cheese dressing — ie, kind of difficult to keep in a sandwich.

OK, I don’t eat BBQ a lot, but I do enjoy it every once in a while.
So, the reviews made it sounds like it was da bomb.
Went on a Sunday afternoon. Nobody was in there.
Ordering was easy and then he whipped up my food right then and there. Handed me two small bags. I thought, dam I paid 10 bucks for two little bags.
Got home and put it on a plate and there was a ton of food there. The pork was really good, as were the OiNK beans.
I had sweet potato fries, they dust them with cinnamon or something. Pretty good, but being a big sweet potato fry fan I have never had them dusted before.
Overall, I will go back when I get the hankering for some BBQ!

So I went to Oinks today with average expectations. I have watched as they remodeled their space and was excited to check them out. I had a conference all morning and stopped in for a late lunch.
First impressions were that the place was clean and the guys running the place were friendly. Mason, the owner, was there and immediately gave off a good vibe. He’s the kind of guy that you just want to see succeed.
Anyway, the food. I ordered the beef brisket and a side of their sweet potato/​bacon potato salad. I was a bit reticent, as I do NOT like sweet potatoes. However, once I got my order and sprinkled a little pepper on salad and took a bite, I knew I had found my new comfort food. The potatoes were soft but not mushy, there were big chunks of hard boiled egg and hand-​torn pieces of bacon in it. It was just outstanding. I immediately regretted not getting a larger side.
Let’s get to the main dish. The brisket. Now I must say that I am a bit biased. Some of my good friends from high school own Brother’s BBQ here in Denver. I think that they make some darn fine brisket. However, there’s a new piggy in town. This brisket was amazing. Not dried out, not fatty– just a huge portion of great brisket. All of their sauces are great. I tried each one twice before dousing my brisket in their handmade small-​batch Texas sauce.
I’ll be back. I hear from some office mates that their chicken sandwich and their steak fries are the best.
The only problem I see with Oinks is that they haven’t advertised as far as I can tell. If I were them, I’d run, not walk, to take out some space in Westword. It’s the perfect demographic for them and their awesome food!
Good Luck, Oinks.

I’m still uncertain about how I feel about the flood of medical marijuana businesses swarming E. Colfax Ave., but I can say that there is definitely one positive element: business development. By that, I’m not just referring to the business of the dispensaries, but rather, the trickle down they’ve created by providing legions of red-​eyed, dry-​mouthed, young stoners with disposable incomes with an insatiable hunger caused by the smoking the ganja. Yep, kiddos — them folks got the munchies and restaurateurs have noticed. Food joints have been spreading eastward down Colfax, trying cure this sudden outbreak of pot-​induced hunger.
OiNK’s strikes me as the kind of place trying to capture this market. Located in an unremarkable shopping center that once housed the dreadful fusion of Mario ‘n Wong’s (neither Mario or Wong owned, operated, or worked there), OiNK’s is now having a barbeque and they want you to hang on out (big money if you get that reference). They are marketing themselves as sustainable (who isn’t) with a vast collection of popular bbq styles from around the country. The meat selections include St. Louis Spare Ribs, chicken, wings, pulled pork, hot links, brisket, and tofu. Wait a sec… tofu? Under meats? WTF? Just make sure none of that nasty tofu touches my meat, I guess. I had the pulled pork, which was alrighty. I was hoping for a little more smokiness and juiciness.
The sides are a bit of wonderful. Big selection of interesting picks including nutty coleslaw, sweet potato & bacon salad (two of my best friends), fried okra, potato parsnip mash, etc. I went with their OiNK beans, an unholy combination of pork (bacon and pulled pork to be exact) and beans, and their sweet potato fries, which are serve with a generous sprinkling of sugar salt.
As a side note, tonight was their opening night, so they were still working out the kinks. They have a funky, young staff that believe in their product. As another side, the place was hopping with punk rock kids — how do I know? Despite being into anarchy and stuff they were all essentially rocking uniforms — leather jackets with patches and hipster pants that don’t cover their asses. Overall, I’m glad we’ve got more independent business in the neighborhood, and I’m looking forward to future visits here.