JKQ BBQ Now Serving in Central City's Teller House

There's gold in them thar hills. Also barbecue.

October 5, 2018

JKQ BBQ Facebook

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Visitors to Central City last weekend were greeted by a welcome sight, and it wasn't just the art created for the first Central City Plein Air Festival or the aspen glowing gold on the hillside. As art lovers headed up Eureka Street toward the Opera House garden on September 29 for the Quickest Draw display, more than a few were distracted by the tantalizing smell of smoked meat coming from inside the Teller House.

There, in a spot usually just open during opera season, JKQ BBQ had set up shop the day before. And now on weekends through the fall, it will be serving up barbecue both in the restaurant space and the legendary Face Bar.

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Inside the Teller House bar, where the face on the floor could be yours!

Westword

That means the bar will be open, too, with almost-as-legendary Jeff Aiken pouring drinks; last weekend marked the 35th anniversary of his first bartending gig at the Teller House.

click to enlarge

Loaded tater tots with pulled pork.

JKQ BBQ Facebook

The fare, already tested at JKQ's catering operations, includes pig wings (big, fat pork shanks on the bone), kielbasa (brined and then smoked for hours) and pulled pork, both in sandwiches and smothering a load of tater tots. And then there's the mac and cheese with green chile, an unbeatable side.

Kevin Taylor had been operating the restaurant as Rouge at the Teller House for the past several opera seasons, but that deal is reportedly up. Meanwhile, JKQ is offering a smokin' deal to Central City visitors who'd rather not eat their meal to the accompaniment of the kaching of slot machines.

Find out more on the JKQ Facebook page, or call 775-450-4847 to check on hours, which will vary throughout the fall.

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Patricia Calhoun is editor-in-chief of Westword, the alt-weekly she co-founded in September 1977. She’s been inducted into the Colorado Press Association Hall of Fame, the Association of Alternative Newsmedia Hall of Fame and the Colorado Restaurant Association Hall of Fame. She’s also received dozens of local, state and national awards for writing, including first place for feature writing and first place for column writing with the Society of Professional Journalists. Patricia is a weekly commentator on Colorado Inside Out, PBS 12's public affairs roundtable, which has won two Emmys.

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