Located in the Grand Mesa basin is a small, quaint, and friendly little town called Hotchkiss Colorado. The mood is mellow with no honking horns and speeding cars. The fresh mountain air is rejuvenating and the friendly residents are inspiring. My uncle Paul lives near and I was visiting him when he asked my Dad, "well Warren should we take him to Zack's?" The consensus from talking to anyone who has braved the 4 1/2 hour trip from Denver to visit "Big Paul" is that you have to go to Zack's, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Let me tell you...something about small local hole in the wall restaurants usually turn out great for me.
When you first enter Zack's you know you are not in for a fine dining experience. The place is small and there are plastic table cloths decorating the dining area. Some local pictures line the walls but that is it for decor. The first thing your nose notices is the smell of applewood smoke working it's wonders on something in the back.
The menu is reasonably priced. I found the average for a plate with drink was about 6 bucks. Zack's does not offer a huge selection but there is a good variety of smoked meats. My pick was the BBQ chopped beef special...Two chopped beef sandwiches and a side. I opted for the coleslaw for my side but got served fries. It worked out because the waitress promptly brought out my slaw.
The meat was not over-smoked or over-sauced. There was also not a bunch of condiments to get in the way, just 2 pickles and a leaf of lettuce. The buns were your standard white buns you can get at your local grocery store. Simple not elegant but simplicity works well in this case. The sandwich was wonderful. The slaw was very interesting. The veggies in slaw were pretty standard cabbage and carrots but the dressing was not creamy like I'm used to. It was clear and vinegary. It was sweet and had the usual celery seed added in. All in all I was pleasantly surprised by the new way to eat slaw.
My pops had the french dip meal and when it came out it was not your usual french dip. Nope instead of the shaved roast beef you usually find atop the hogie roll there was instead nice thin cuts of brisket. I got to sample a small taste of the meat and whoa baby was it good. Perfectly smoked and perfectly cooked.
I had seen a man get some ribs delivered to his table so I asked him how they were and he announced (pretty much to the whole restaurant) "Son this is beef country...Best dang ribs on the western slope!"
After our lunch was complete the waitress pressed us to get some pie. I was pretty full and not really in a pie mood so I declined. She continued to press us until my pops finally caved and ordered a slice of the black berry pie. I got to sample that as well and I am regretting not getting a slice of my own. I later found out that almost everyone who goes to Zack's gets a slice of pie. It was the best pie I've ever had!!!!
So if you get a chance to visit Hotchkiss Colorado then try out Zack's you will be happy ya did!
Introducing my rating system. All restaurants will get a pig rating 1-5. The more pigs they get, the better the pig out spot.
Zack's received...
