Dining for $25 or less: Kloby's Backyard Barbecue

By Karen Nitkin | Special To The Sun

March 13, 2008

There's nothing quite like barbecue to get the mouth watering, especially when it's dry-rubbed and then slow-cooked in a smoker. Kloby's Backyard Barbecue began dishing out smoky chicken and giant, sauce-slathered beef ribs from a small shop in Woodlawn four years ago.

The restaurant, in the Dogwood Shopping Center, is emphatically casual, with wood picnic tables arranged on the concrete floor, and photographed close-ups of barbecued chicken and ribs for decoration.

While we appreciate the Kloby's concept - the smoked meats, the made-in-house sauces and sides, the home-brewed sweet tea and even the picnic tables, with their red-and-white tablecloths - the service and the food were not all they could have been.

When we order at the counter, we don't expect the same service we would receive at a fine French restaurant, but we do want to see a smile and some effort expended. Our complaints were not huge, but they added up. We asked for white-meat chicken, and received a thigh and leg. We were not asked if we were eating in or taking our food out, and our meal was presented in foam boxes and unappetizing plastic bags.

As we were clearing our tables after we ate, we mentioned that the sole garbage can was overflowing. The bag was not changed.

The Kloby's menu includes just about every variation of smoked meat imaginable, from pit beef sandwiches ($5.99) to wings ($5.89 for six) to whole smoked chickens ($8.99). Whole smoked turkeys ($35.99) and ducks ($24.99) are also available, with 48 hours' notice.

Even the hamburgers and cheese steaks are made with smoked meat. Unfortunately, smoked does not automatically equal delicious.

While those burgers ($5.99) benefited from a rich infusion of smoke flavor, our half-pounders were charred on the outside and so overcooked they were tough to chew. And no, we were not asked how we wanted them prepared. We preferred the chicken, with flesh that was both smoky and moist, topped with a piquant barbecue sauce.

But our favorite dish, the catfish ($7.99 for a two-piece dinner), didn't come from a smoker at all. These slabs of flaky sweet seafood were sheathed in a crisp, peppery and completely grease-free coat that provided a flavorful counterpoint to the mild white flesh. We wound up gobbling it down, ignoring the fatty beef ribs and dry slices of brisket that came in our two-meat combo platter ($12.99).

For that combo platter, customers choose their sides from a roster that includes the usual suspects - baked beans, potato salad, collard greens, corn bread, and macaroni and cheese. As with the meats, some of these sides were better than others. The mac and cheese and baked beans were both unusually hearty, with very thick sauces. The greens and potato salad were lighter and better. The corn bread, though, was dry and chewy.

Desserts, sold by the packaged slice at the counter, were a meal highlight. The sweet potato pie ($1.59) was truly light and luscious, with a fine, almost powdery crust. A chocolate cheesecake ($1.59) was denser but intensely flavored.

Unfortunately, these desserts set a higher standard than some of the food, and left us yearning for a barbecue restaurant with better service and uniformly excellent food.

Owner Stephen Klobosits says he's opening a second location in Laurel that will have a larger dining room and a menu that includes more salads. Here's hoping that the new restaurant will meet those expectations.