Cabin Creek Smokehouse BBQ - Conifer, CO [pics]

Mrs. Greasy Spoon and I decided to take a quick drive up HWY 285 just west of Denver Metro to a well known joint called "Coney Island" up in Conifer. However when we got to the address the Big Hotdog building was gone! All that was siting on the site were two large bulldozers and heaps of dirt. We stopped at a near gas station and were told that the Coney Island was relocated to Bailey, CO about 16 miles SW of Conifer.
(click on link to read more about Coney Island's move to Bailey==>. http://coloradorick.smugmug.com/gallery/1286501/)

Short on time and with grumbling stomachs we decided to hit a BBQ joint just a stones throw from the gas station we stopped at called:

Cabin Creek Smokehouse BBQ
25977 Conifer Road
Conifer, CO 80433

303.838.0375
Hours: Monday - Saturday 11:00 am - 7:30 pm (ish)

Mrs. Greasy Spoon got the Beef Brisket on a Hoagie Roll ($5.50)
w / Colorado Blackjack Sauce (<= a sweet, spicy sauce made w/ Whiskey and a touch of Coffee.)


While I got the Pulled Pork on a bun ($5.50)
w / Soo-eee! Sauce (<= Vinegar, mustard with red pepper flakes.)


We shared a side of "Smoked Mac & Cheese". Not sure how they managed that. May have just placed the baked Mac & Cheese pan in the smoker or just added liquid smoke...? Either way, it was great. Both sandwiches were very good. Tender and juicy. You could tell they didn't take any shortcuts.

The Sauces were homemade as well. All five were sold for $4.50/pint:

Old-Tyme Sauce - "Memphis style. Smokey, dark, mild. A surprise ingredient - Coca Cola!"
Butt-Kickin' Sauce - "Tomatoes, garlic, onions, chilies, habaneros, herbs & spices, HOT!"
Soo-eee! Sauce - "A Carolina favorite! Vinegar, mustard with a touch of red pepper flakes.
Colorado Blackjack Sauce - "Sweet, spicy a little whiskey and a touch of coffee."
Colonel Mustard - A spicy mustard slathering sauce. Great on Steaks!

Other items on their menu include:
Texas Beef Brisket
Southern-Style Pulled Pork
Smoked Hot Polish Sausage
Herb Rubbed Smoked Half Chicken
Chili-Cheese Hot Links (Hot Polish w / Cowboy Beans, Onions & Cheddar Cheese.)
Barbecue Burrito
Philly Cheese Po'Boy
Sloppy Johnny <= I Promise I'm going back to try this one!
(Pulled Pork or Beef Brisket on a bun w / topped with Cowboy Beans, Cheddar Cheese & Onions!)

~GS

Well at least they kept the giant hotdog intact. What's next, moving the trains out of Tinytown.

I've occasionally found decent (not outstanding, decent) barbecue in Colorado, usually outside of Denver area. But I'm always annoyed by the nomenclature attached to it.

except it might be 1/40 scale! my friends told me about that place but they couldn't find it when the went up there and for some reason thought it was moved out of state! i'll have to add it to my list! the bbq too!

theres a place west of sedalia called the bugling elk that has a very small bbq operation. by small i mean a glorified shack of a country type store w a couple of plastic tables. the bbq i have had there was pretty good. the guy had a variety of smokers set up outside. in sedalia proper theres also buds bar which is well known locally for its burgers! some say they are the best around but i havent been able to verify that because the one day we went they were closed to go fishing! thats how we ended up at the bugling elk.

we took santa fe south to sedalia, made a right on the main road in sedalia(theres only one). i think its highway 67. buds bar is on your right and if you continue down that same road about 15 min +/- the bugling elk is on your left. probably not much of a destination with the winter coming in but in spring/summer you can add a ride down rampart range road to devils head for a nice hike w a great view! devils head is the last fire lookout in the rockies, i think. its manned all summer by a very nice older gentleman bill ellis who is a wealth of info. heres a link
http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/psicc/spl/devils_head.shtml

i saw you enjoyed mannie and bo's! i'll have to tell my boss his local joint went national on lthforum!

Thumbs up on Cabin Creek Smokehouse from me too. We had ribs, pulled pork and brisket-- the brisket being the standout, I thought: smoky with a little bit of char. The smoked mac-and-cheese didn't taste especially smoky, but it did taste good. I took a picture-- it doesn't really add much to the discussion, but since it exists, here you go:



They appear to be open Sundays now. Or, at least, they were open last Sunday, when I stopped in. It's located on the westbound side of the street, between a Conoco and a real estate place. They were named best BBQ in Denver by the local weekly: here's the link. They also have their own website.

Do you know if this is a recent (past 7-10 years) addition to the dining options on 285? I used to take that road to a guest ranch - Lost Valley Ranch - where I worked in the kitchen for two summers in college. I would be REALLY bummed to know there was a BBQ option that I had missed!

Thanks,
Davooda

Don't be bummed-- they've been at this location for a year and a half, they told me. I think they were up the street before that, but I got the sense it was mostly a backyard catering business back then, which grew into a takeout place, which grew into a restaurant. (It's still mostly takeout-- there's some picnic tables on the wrap-around porch, and a few diner stools inside, but that's it.)

There was an article on the wall which said something about their old name-- Whiskey Mountain River Downhome Smokehaus or something-- that had been apparently trademarked by Red Robin, Inc. They got a cease-and-desist order, so they held a Name Your Local BBQ Place contest, and Cabin Creek Smokehouse Barbecue, apparently, won.