It’s a great time to be a barbecue lover in Gilbert: Arizona BBQ Company opened this week in the former La Calabria strip-mall space on the northwest corner of Val Vista and Ray.
It’s the second new smokehouse to open in the town in the past week. Waldo’s BBQ opened a second location last weekend just a mile south of Arizona BBQ at Val Vista and Williams Fields.
And famed Texas-based chain Rudy’s Country Store & Bar-B-Q is coming soon to Higley and Baseline.
Arizona BBQ owners Mark and Colette Nichols wanted a couple of days for a true ‘‘soft opening’’ before I wrote about their joint. So please continue to be patient while they continue to work out the early kinks.
It’s the longtime Gilbert residents’ first restaurant, although Mark is a Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef who’s worked in the hospitality industry for 27 years.
For the past five years, the couple have run JC’s Catering.
On the menu
Arizona BBQ Company’s menu offers several smoked meats – St. Louis-style ribs, brisket, pulled pork, and chicken – available in platters ($11-$20 with two sides and tortilla), half-pound sandwiches ($9-$11 with a side), and even tacos ($3.25 apiece).
A sauce bar offers six choices: sweet and tangy, chipotle, habanero, mustard, red chile, and green chile.
Sides have a distinctive Southwestern flair, such as chipotle potato salad, green chile mac ’n’ cheese with house-cured bacon, black bean and corn salad, and chile lime roasted corn.
House specialties
House specialties include two kinds of chili – brisket and brisket chile verde – as well as ‘‘Gila monster eggs,’’ jalapenos stuffed with cheese, wrapped in ground pork, and smoked.
There also are salads, churros for dessert, and a kids menu.
A full bar offers beer on tap and in bottles, and locally inspired cocktails like an Arizona Sunset, an Arizona Mule, and a Bloody Basin Bloody Mary.
