Backdraft BBQ

These folks catered our office party and we were very happy with the results. We didn’t have to ask for a thing — they seemed to have everything thing covered. Well organized and great staff.

We have eaten here quite a few times, and have never been served less than delicious BBQ. We even used them for a large party order…
The owner is great, I was so happy to find a good, local business up here!

So, I didn’t read the Groupon (or whatever it was) very well when I bought it. I just saw Grant Street and assumed it was downtown. Whoops! The Denver address is a misnomer. This place is really in Westminster. But, it worked out well because they let me use my certificate for takeout.
We got the bacon mac’n’cheese (different, but good), balsamic coleslaw (not bad, and I’m not a coleslaw fan), baked beans with bacon (very nice), ribs (really good) and brisket (bit dry but fantastic with the vinegar-​based bbq sauce). The rolls were sara lee and they gave them to me in the sara lee bag (hilar).
I’m not sure that I will make the trek all the way back up to Westminster for the Backdraft BBQ, but I have to say it was quite good. Maybe if I am driving through the area I’ll pick up another family meal. The service was great (both on the phone and in person). They’re very flexible (the family meal comes with 2lbs of meat, but you can have 1lb of 2 different meats, etc.). I just had a great experience here and would recommend it if you are in the area.

It took us 30 minutes to get our food and it came out cold and the service was horrible. I will never come back again. I did recieve an email from the owner but since I live 35 minutes away from here and I was only out there for a meeting I am not willing to make the drive.

I was in Denver for a couple of days and had occasion to travel on the North side of town for some business. While there, I thought I would stop someplace random for lunch. As often happens, I chanced upon this great little place!
Parking was easy and the inside was close and personal. The owners cook and serve and it was great to spend a little time talking with them and getting a feel of how the business was started. The service was infinitely more attentive, prompt and pleasant than that I have experienced in many a more expensive or exclusive restaurant. It was a real plus to the whole experience.
Pleasantness, however, will not overshadow either a disappointing menu or poorly cooked food. Fortunately, this place had neither!
I was offered several generous samples to help guide me in my dining choice. I ultimately settled in on the sampler plate with the 5-​Alarm Pork Green Chile and the Coleslaw (however, the other Chile, BBQ Beans and Mac and Cheese were certainly calling my name!). The Green Chile was delicious!
As is my wont, I tasted everything before beginning to apply the various sauces and found the meats cooked to perfection, delicious and distinctly unique from each other in terms of their seasoning. While I could have devoured the whole platter sans sauce, I felt compelled to try each one. The sauces fell into the normal categories expected in a BBQ joint, but I think they are some of the best I have ever tasted! Each added a different dimension to the meat that seemed to enhance the experience for me.
I especially liked the fact that each sauce was custom created by Ryan, the owner. The meat was so tender, no knife was necessary.
From a price standpoint, I thought it was exceptionally reasonable for the quantity of food delivered. I was thoroughly stuffed at the conclusion of the meal and did not order any dessert (which I am still regretting to this day).
I have read the other reviews and can only say my experience at this fantastic little place was outstanding. I would give it a 5-​Star, but I live in perpetual hopes that I will someday find true perfection in a restaurant.
My only real regret is that I do not live in or near Denver. If I did, I can guarantee I would frequent this establishment several times a week. If you are in the area, you really should give it a try, I am positive you will be pleased. In fact, on my next trip to (or even through) Denver, I will ensure I have enough time to stop and dine there again!

Well, whaddya know, a BBQ joint in Thornton.
Not Mexican, not Italian, not another goddamn chain. And I REEEEEALY wanted this place to be good… but it ain’t.
First, the pros: Nice, clean, colorful place. Easy to get to. Plenty of parking. The owner lady was just GOSH-​darned nice and friendly.
Now, the cons: Goofy hours. They close at 2:30 and open back up at 5 pm, or some such nonsense. The first time we came here, it was about 3 pm, and they were closed. So we went to the Vietnamese place next door. Hey, don’t expect me to figure out when you’re open, just BE OPEN, 11 – 9 would work just fine.
We went here after purchasing an online coupon, so that made me feel a little better, ’cause the prices are right up there.
I got a large combo plate, and their meat choices were a little weird, like chicken, and sliced BRATWURST? That’s not even a standard item in any self-​respecting Texas Q-​joint. Portions were small amounts of everything, I’d rather have a little larger sampling of ribs, brisket, and hot links, or better yet, let me CHOOSE what 2 – 3 items I want.
Presentation sucked, just everything thrown on a large platter that really pointed up the small portion sizes. Ribs were dry and really lacking in smoke. The rest of it didn’t blow up my skirt one way or the other. Sides all cost extra, and came in to-​go containers. No standard garnishes, like pickles or onions, or even a slice of wonder bread.
Sauces were all variations on tomatoe-​y, Kraft-​style sauce. I guess the «Hot Lil Honey» was the best.
I gave these guys 3 stars, but honestly, it’s really closer to a 2. Maybe if they took an exploratory mission to The Railhead in Ft. Worth, TX, they’d get an idea of what Q is REALLY supposed to be like.

I’ve taken 1 star away since my last review based on my last experience there. The ribs were somewhat dry and underseasoned… although they did perk up quite a bit with some salt and carolina sauce.
This place is now a full service restaurant… unless you sit outside. Didn’t know that! The guy working the counter was pretty rude about informing me of their seating/​service rules.

Hmmm… looking at the previous scattering of reviews, it seems like this place has a «Jekyll and Hyde» rep… you either get them on a good day, or not…3 4-​star reviews and 4 1-​star? *Hmmmmmm…* (ponders)
I got the opportunity to get down here today and sample a good variety of their dishes with a lady friend thanks to a $ 25 WeeklyPlus coupon I bought some months ago. Parking is easy and no hassle. Once here we ordered $ 26.59 worth of food and had to pay…$ 1.59. Can’t beat that for a deal. :D We ordered a half-​rack of ribs, the meat sampler #1 (brisket, hot link, brat and chicken) — and each of these comes with 2 small sides (half a dixie-cup’s worth in size?), so we got the 3 alarm beef-​n-​bean chili, the 5-​alarm pork green chile, and the mac & cheese with smoked pork.
These came with a variety of sauces, including 2 interesting ones you don’t normally see on menus, Carolina and Alabama White. Carolina is made with mustard and vinegar and is tangy; Alabama White is interesting… made with mayo! Don’t order these blind, definitely try them out before you make off with them. There was also original, «sweet lil honey», and our favorite by a nose, «hot lil honey». More runny than thick but it still pours thicker than all liquid and that’s great, lends a nice flavor.
From top to bottom:
We both loved the mac & cheese with pork. It’s been a while, but I think you could possibly put this up as a contender next to Jonesy’s, it was that good.
The meat platter was extremely good; I loved the hot links and brats, all sliced up and ready for eatin or dippin. You get a goodly amount of meat for $ 11.99. The grilled chicken was also amazingly good, moist and flavorful and you could tell it’d been grilled nicely.
The chili’s were really *tasty*…but as far as the heat ratings? Maybe I’m just not conversant on what an «alarm» consists of, because I expected to be sweatin, or something, with the 5-​alarm chili. Not so much. I’d call that maybe 3-​alarm. Their 3-​alarm was more like 2… pretty mild. I was a little surprised — now you all know the truth as well. Expect tasty, but not necessarily heat.
Finally, the ribs… The ribs had a decent amount of meat on them, and they were tender, but I was looking forward to seeing how tasty they were without sauce; great ribs should be amazing enough to turn you into a savage carnivore without sauce. I don’t know whether it was the dry rub they used, or what… but after eating 1 rib plain, I wanted the sauces to «balance things out». They weren’t *bad*, they just weren’t *great*. I am not a ribs connoisseur (outside of the rare times I have my mom’s), but… they just didn’t pop out and make me go «wow!». That being said, they’re perfectly fine for lunch or dinner. The remainder of the ribs got wrapped in plastic and foil, so kudos for the extra layer of wrapping, I guess.
There only seemed to be 2 staff there but the gentleman who took our order was amiable enough, explained some things and let us sample the sauces. Please note: some of the more unique items they have listed on their website (sweet potato w/​brown sugar, Colorado «brunswick stew», pork shanks) were not available any longer, or had been replaced by other items. That’s a pity, because I was really looking forward to the sweet potato in particular — it just sounded heavenly.
They serve sandwiches, pork chops, tri-​tip steaks and a number of other items here too, so check em out if you’re in the area… once again, I’d like to give 3 ½ stars to a place but the missing items off their website, the «I don’t know» response to if they were going to update their web menu, and the «I’m not quite sure what to make of the ribs» feeling, I’m holding back that 4^th star. But would I go back? Probably sometime during the summer…

Yuck! I will never return to this BBQ restaurant. It can’t even be called that everything is already pre-​cooked and is just scooped up and slapped on the plate, I would rather eat something from a school cafeteria. We both got that sampler platter thinking we would try a little of everything, it came with hot links, brats, pulled pork, chicken and two sides. The hot links were pretty good but then added to the rest of the food nothing seemed good. The chicken wasn’t even cooked all the way through. The brat tasted like bland, had a gross texture and sight wasn’t so pleasant either. Don’t wast your money, unless you enjoy bland and gross looking food.

I agree with the review below, written on 3÷19÷2010
The food is Sub-​Par, while the prices are not.
The quality is just awful. Flavorless sauces, processed cheese, and gristle-​y, tough, unflavored meats.
Add that into the indifferent service, and I’ll have NO trouble not going back.
Ever.

Save your money…
First off the prices… the prices here are too high for the quality of product they serve. I’ve had several things here from ribs to the brisket. I really tried to give this place a chance (It’s close to my house.) The ribs taste like rubber, obviously they were boiled in water and it tasted like liquid smoke flavor added. The product is not smoked or even oven roasted. This has to be the worst BBQ place I’ve ever experienced. The sauces are mediocre, the meats are subpar, even the potato salad is gross. the cole slaw is bleh too.
Yeah the logo and restaurant is neat and décor is colorfull, but don’t let that fool you, the food is gross.
If you want good BBQ save your money and go to Famous Daves~!
or Smokey BBQ (1961 West 64^th Ave) Now that’s good BBQ at the same price.

Finally someplace close!!! Thornton is so barren compared to downtown Denver and DTC for decent restaurants. I tried Backdraft for lunch today. The pulled pork sandwich was GREAT!!! Heck, you don’t need teeth! The red spicy chili was good too, but when I hear the word «spicy» I expect to snort fire and eyes tear. I know it’s hot enough for everyone else though.
The place is small and sort of has a franchise feel to it. I say that in the good sense that there’s a refinement about the place that’s a step above a hole in the wall restaurant, but the food is still mom & pop quality. Their sauces are good. I tried the mild, spicy (excellent) and carolina (would have liked more if it wasn’t on my shirt).
The Good:
Reasonable prices
Small and Clean
Easy parking
GOOD food
The Bad:
… !!
I can’t think of anything to complain about yet

I tried Backdraft BBQ, a new barbecue restaurant in Thornton, last night. It was excellent.
The ribs were some of the best I’ve had in Denver (and I believe I’ve tried every barbecue restaurant in the Denver area). They were smokey with nice bark. The mild (award-​winning) barbecue sauce was terrific. Even though it was «mild,» it still had plenty of kick. They were lean, meaty and tender, everything great ribs should be.
My husband and our two friends all raved about everything they had. In particular, they liked the pulled pork.