Pok-e-Jo’s Smokehouse Inc. (8)
1603 W. Fifth, 320-1541
Daily, 11am-9pm
Pok-e-Jo’s is a local chain started in the 1980s that now has six locations around the city. The closest one to the center is the big old barn of a place on Fifth, about two miles west of Downtown. It’s spacious and spread out, friendly and funky, with a couple of indoor dining rooms, a screened porch, and outside tables.
The pit menu offers combo plates and sandwiches from sliced brisket, pork and beef ribs, peppery house-made sausage, pork loin, chicken, and turkey breast. This is a great place for barbecue-heads to dine with nonmeat-eating companions; there’s an extensive menu of hearty side dishes (99 cents or $1.79), including the usual suspects of potato salad, coleslaw, and beans, as well as broccoli salad, baked potato (and baked-potato casserole), green-bean casserole, fried okra, macaroni-and-cheese, and french fries. Dessert choices are the traditional peach cobbler, cherry cobbler, and banana pudding. Longnecks are available, as well as soft drinks in bottles.
If you’re really hungry, the best deal is the four-meat combination plate ($10.99), which includes at least a pound of your choice of the smoked meats, two generous servings of sides, and the requisite sauce, pickles, onions, and Texas toast. For the less-famished, the small and large sandwich combos ($5.49 and $6.49) include one side and a drink. The sliced turkey-breast sandwich soused with a bit of the sweetish vinegar and mustard sauce is a winner, and the skin-on potato salad is particularly tasty.
Pok-e-Jo’s is set up to accommodate large groups, with big tables, everything available by the pound, and big-order bulk discounts. A nice option is that you can call ahead for pickup or to have your order delivered.
This article appears in March 2 • 2007.
