ONE day, after a particularly blissful backyard barbecue dinner, I recall muttering something about cookouts being so pleasant, one could easily build a business based on barbecueing for others. The barbecue to beat,
Barr noneBut my idea was shot down. Someone pointed out the good weather and abundance of backyards in Kailua, and said, "Why would anyone buy it when they can just do it themselves?"
Never underestimate the laziness of the buying public. Two years later, Bob Barr's Smokin' Bob Barr-B-Q is open across the bay in Kaneohe, and they can't feed people fast enough. Of course, it rains a lot in Kaneohe, making the backyard barbecue a risky endeavor.
Now, when one phones Barr, his employees will yell for Smokin' Bob, but Windward residents with car troubles in the past probably know him better as Dirty Bob, the Muffler Man. He's definitely taken with his new name. "Yeah, it has a little more class," he says.
It's largely love for his original business that prompted him to get into the food business.
"I built a reputation for offering a reasonable price for quality merchandise. I've been here 20 years and I didn't want to be like every other guy and raise my prices just to catch up with the cost of living." Meanwhile, he kept thinking about the way he always tried to get his fill of smoked and barbecued foods during his mainland travels.
"In Hawaii, there's no place to go for good, smoked barbecue ribs. They have a lot of Asian-style barbecue. The first two years I was here, every time I saw "BBQ" I thought it would be Texas-style. Then I'd go, 'Oh-oh, another Korean place.' "
SMOKIN' Bob's Barr-B-Q was created with the foods Barr loves, including big burritos, which he recently dropped from his regular menu due to the overwhelming crowds."Everyone seems to come in at one time. Right about 6 to 7:30 p.m. we're jammed. Sometimes we've got the rhythm going, everyone's ordering ribs and the line is moving OK. Then a Mexican plate comes up and the whole line stops."
Now, Mexican plates will be offered as occasional specials, and Smokin' Bob apologizes for any inconvenience. "Everyone's gonna have to grow with us and bear with us."
As for the smoked meats, they're prepared in a customized Texas Pitts & Spitt Smoker with mesquite and kiawe. The sauce is Smokin' Bob's own, not too sweet, not too sour, but just right, and served in such scant amounts that the main taste sensation is the smoky flavor of the chicken ($5.95), sliced beef ($7.50), sliced pork ($6.75), beef ribs ($8.50) and pork ribs ($9.50). Each plate comes with Barr-B-Q beans enhanced by huge slices of green pepper and onion; cole slaw accented with lots of celery seed; and a choice of skinny fries made with fresh-cut potatoes, white rice or Mexican rice, in which one can actually taste the cumin.
Combo plates are $10.95 to $12.95. Or purchase meats for $3.95 to $9.95 per pound. Sandwiches, with onion-and-sesame seed buns, run $6.95 to $7.95.
Barr just opened a small, newly painted dining room across the parking lot from his take-out window. A dry desert scene by Rick McCall is beautifully rendered, but can't hide the Kaneohe rain. In which case, your barbecue will be best enjoyed at home.
Bob Barr’s Smokin’ Bob Barr-B-Q
Where: 46-132 Kahuhipa St., Kaneohe
Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday
Prices: Less than $10 per person; cash only
Call: 247-8811; fax 247-8889
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