Jabo's Bar-Be-Q — Restaurant in Greenwood Village

Everything you hear about this place is true! Jabo is the real deal, serving Louisiana style BBQ with a side serving of a master class in BBQ sauces, and he will custom craft a sauce to your specifications! You get to choose from 6 different sauces (I liked the Carolina Mustard, and the vinegar sauce, but ultimately settled on the mango which I found to be the perfect combo of sweet and spicy), then he will let you sample a heat level, from 1 - 4, with 3 being jalapeño hot, and 4 being habanero hot. My custom sauce was Mango level 4, and it was delicious! You'd better really like your sauce, because your plate will come smothered in it. As a visiting Texas barbecue aficionado, I prefer to have my sauce on the side. Texas tradition says sauce is an afterthought made for tourists on request and if you need it then the meat can't be that good. Here at Jabo's the sauce is the star of the show. My lunch plate of spare ribs looked like an Italian entree buried under all that red sauce, but it sure was good! My plate came with a side of my choice (potato salad that was a fine representative of the traditional staple) and also something I have never encountered before, a dessert pastry called a Utah Sconut. Though the name suggests it would be dense and floury like a scone, it is closer to a shortbread croissant, and I would not be surprised to learn that the trendy New York pastry known as the Cronut actually owes its origin to this unique regional American pastry that comes with a dollop of butter cream icing like a cinnamon roll. Add it all up and, if you want a heartwarming and belly filling experience slightly off the mainstream of predictable BBQ with a solid 21 year tradition, and most especially to meet the unforgettable and affable Jabo himself, and to have your bespoke BBQ sauce prepared for you, there is only one place to go and...

I went to Jabo's primarily because it was the closest BBQ place to my house and I needed 1.5 lbs of brisket to go with some that I had smoked myself and needed for leftover sandwiches. I was pretty disappointed, esp after later reading all the great reviews.

I was bit shocked by the prices - the first thing that jumped out at me was $18 for a lunch sandwich and 1 side. Yikes! I know it's 1/2 a pound, but I don't want eat that much anyhow. How about a regular sized (1/4 lb) portion for $10.95 and I don't need a wheelchair to get out the door?

Then I found brisket by the pound - $19.95, which also seemed like a lot. To be fair I compared to other BBQ places in the area, and $15 - $18 is not uncommon. But I bought 1 1/2 pounds to go anyhow.

I did get to pick a sauce, and got the full treatment - they bring 6 of them out on a little tray and you can sample each of them. I picked the Mesquite which was amazing and the main reason I gave 2 stars. The depth of flavor in this sauce will have you swirling it around in your mouth like a fine wine.

The brisket itself however, was not worth $30, not even close. When I got it home I gave it a good taste and found both the flavor and texture to be very average. When I go to a BBQ place I expect just a slight chew and flavorful meat without sauce. The spices put on the meat before it goes into the smoker should permeate through the bite. There should be salt, pepper, maybe some garlic, brown sugar, etc. Jabo's was bland. My own brisket had WAY more flavor. The two of them together actually went pretty well together on our rolls.

I am not sure at the prices charged that I will gave Jabo's another chance. The owners appear to be very attentive to reviews and their customers, but there is SO much competition in this space, (Including my own backyard.) that it is hard to...

Man, what an experience. I came here with my friends after Electrify Expo. When we walked in, we were greeted warmly and sat immediately even though we had a party of 6. The woman who sat us was very friendly and I enjoyed talking with her.

As we were walking to be seated at our table, the man, the myth, the legend, Jabo appeared. He welcomed us in and rubbed his hands together to work his BBQ magic.

He brought out a tray with 6 of his 24 hand-mixed and homemade sauces and explained what each of them was, allowing us to taste the sauces and mix them to our specific preferences, including a sliding scale of spice, ranging from 0 to 6. I opted for the 4 and found it to be more than sufficient to pack a punch but not take too much away from the flavor of the sauce(s) and the meat. He grabbed a spoonful of our requested combinations and brought it out to us so we could be sure that heat level and sauce mixture tasted good. When we got our food, each of our dishes were covered in the sauce combos we chose. That being said, everything was ridiculously good. I got a pulled pork sandwich and it was the size of the plate it came on with a half pound of pulled pork. Very generous portions. Everything I ate off of anyone else's plate was equally as good.

The sconuts are one of the best things I've ever eaten. I realized halfway through the drive back to The Springs that I should've probably ordered at least 100 of those things. I'm considering a drive back up for the sole purpose of getting my hands on some of the boxes of sconut mix they sell.

This was an experience like no other in all of the best ways. The BBQ is exceptional, the service is some of the best I've ever experienced, and it all felt very homely and welcoming. There's no doubt I'll be coming back here when I'm in...