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Piggin' out

Contributed by: David Harvey on 1/9/2008

Editor's note: Visit our Faces of Lakewood and Edgewater page, where YourHub.com staff and readers can introduce you to more people -- and a dog -- who make this part of the metro area what it is.

Want really good barbeque? There is this funny little pink building on the corner of Morrison Road and Old Kipling in Lakewood, and this is the best down home-cooked barbeque you will find in the metro area. To prove that claim, they were voted in the top five for all of the Denver area by Rocky Mountain News..

Mike and Donna Rusinko along with two full-time and one part-time employees, do all the cooking. They started out in a little black trailer on the corner of the property owned by Donna's dad Chuck Haywood, who ran Haywood Brothers Glass in Lakewood. At that time Mike was working three part-time jobs, a post office employee, and a glazer for soon to be father-in-law Chuck and the Trailer. Donna was a hairdresser at the time, something she had been doing for almost36 years. Now suffering from the physical ramifications of that job, Mike knew they had do something to get her out of that profession. Donna's dad gave them the encouragement to go into the barbeque business full time. So Mike and Chuck became partners and they moved into the little pink house.

Chuck Haywood passed away, so Mike and Donna bought out Donna's stepmother and purchased the lot from her. They have a standing joke that "We have to stay together because she has the recipes for the side dishes and he has the recipes for the meats and rubs."

For the last three years, they have been in a battle of sorts with Lakewood. They have wanted to build a new building in order to have an indoor sit down restaurant, with a liquor license. They have found it to be very difficult if you are an entrepreneur instead of a chain business wanting to get something accomplished in the Lakewood area. Mike says he would have gone elsewhere to build if he hadn't already owned the property. Their legal advisor told them that three out of five individuals drop out of the process before their goal is accomplished, just because of the difficulties they incur with the Lakewood planners. When presenting designs for the restaurant, they would hear such things as "We don't like to see things like that" and "We never have done something like that before."

Mike and Donna think they will be breaking ground on their new building in early February. Mike worked in the restaurant business in his young adult years, working at Bennigan's, Chili's and helped open the Chop House. This is something Donna wasn't aware of when they started down this path, but her Dad did; that's why he encouraged them to do it full time. Mike states, "You got to buy into the whole thing; it isn't fast food. If you take short cuts, the flavor is compromised." Mike and his staff put the meat in the smoker every night (except Sunday, as they are closed on Mondays). It takes all night to cook the next day's meats, brisket, pulled pork, ribs and chicken.

In the summer time, they cook 24-36 slabs of ribs, 60 to 70 chickens, 200 lbs of brisket and pork each a day. The smoker is gas-fired and they add hickory to give it the flavor they want. Mike uses a secret rub on all his meats and says, "If the meat is covered in sauce at a place then they are trying to hide something." So bring an appetite when you come. The portions are big and the flavor is to die for.

Piggin' Out Bar-B-Que
9987 Morrison Rd.
Lakewood, CO 80227
303-988-2749


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Showing 1 of 1 comments
Submitted By: David Harvey
posted on 1/21/2008 @ 1:29:53 PM
(Not Rated)
The food was as good as the story!
[Report as objectionable]
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CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

David Harvey

Littleton , CO

David Harvey has posted 55 stories and 1 comment since joining on 5/28/2007. David Harvey 's average story rating is 4.89.
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