Danny Dines: J’s Var-B-Q

For those of you who don’t know, I just turned 27. How did I celebrate? I threw out my back while throwing a Nerf ball.

After my back injury, I went two weeks without running. Running is my absolute favorite! I put on my leg warmers and my neon green headband, then I run down Cherry while blasting Diana Ross through my Walkman … oh, maybe I am old.

What I am trying to say is that it has been a rough couple of weeks, and I have been a grumpy goose.

However, all of that changed when I paid a visit to J’s Var-B-Q.

J’s Var-B-Q is a family-owned eatery specializing in Oklahoma-style barbecue. For those who don’t know, Oklahoma barbecue focuses on oak-smoked meats. Obviously, there is more to it, but I am on a word count here so we gotta move on.

J’s Var-B-Q serves up various meats including pulled pork, brisket, turkey, hot links, spare ribs, chicken tenders and chicken. Besides meat, they also serve sandwiches, coleslaw, potato salad, baked beans, mac and cheese, baked potatoes, corn on cobs, fries, fried okra and desserts.

I got some great submissions from many who work at a hospital nearby praising the food, atmosphere and the family.

“That’s exciting! We get a lot of people from the Westside who love us, and they always come back and it really means a lot,” owner Mercedes Roybal said.

Mercedes Roybal, and her dad, Julian Vargas, launched J’s Var-B-Q in 2023 and have fed many mouths during their time. If you haven't pieced it together, the “J” and “Var” in the restaurant name come from Julian Vargas. As you can tell, I am a regular Sherlock Holmes.

“God put it in my heart about a year and a half ago to do this, and here we are,” Vargas said.

One cool thing you see when you enter the restaurant is a mural of Valencia in prayer hands in front of some smoked meat. Is Vargas going to drop an album soon? I hope so, because this mural is awesome, and he should definitely use it as the album cover.

Another cool thing to look at is the names of the specialty items on the menu. Each specialty item is named after a member of the family, and that is the sweetest thing.

“He is super family-oriented and wanted the grandkids to be a part of the tradition here,” Roybal said.

Some of their most popular items include “The JuJu,” which is a loaded mac and cheese with a choice of meat and sauce, or “The Ella,” which is a loaded baked potato with a choice of meat.

Based on their recommendation, I decided to order “The Elijah,” which is loaded fries covered with beans, choice of meat (I got brisket), cheese, and it is topped with onions and green onions. I also ordered my meal with a side of green chile mac and cheese.

After a few minutes, Mr. Vargas brought me my dish, and oh baby, did it look good! It passed the eye test, and I could not wait to dig in.

I started off trying one of the fries with nothing on it, and it was crispy and seasoned to perfection. Next, I went for a bite with everything on it. Despite being topped with meat, beans and cheese, the fries stayed crunchy, which is the most impressive thing when dealing with loaded fries. The beans were sweet and soft. The brisket was smokey, tender and savory.

They had house barbecue sauce on each table: one regular and one hot. The hot one was made with red chile. I grabbed another scoopful of my loaded fries and threw on some house barbecue sauce: It was tangy and rich. I grabbed another scoopful of loaded friends and tried the hot sauce. I made sure to drench it in the house hot barbecue sauce, and it had a nice kick, a pungent heat and a sweet finish.

I finished the loaded fries in five minutes, and started attacking the green chile mac and cheese. It was gooey, creamy, thick and, most importantly, cheesy. The green chile added a nice spice and next time, I’m going to top my mac and cheese with some pulled pork. After a couple of minutes, I finished the mac and cheese.

But I did not stop there; I gingerly rose to my feet, croaked in pain because of my back, and slowly walked to the counter to order dessert. I decided to order one of their brownies with a scoop of ice cream. This was the victory lap — every spoonful of fudge brownie and cold ice cream made my cold heart melt. Even though that is clearly an oxymoron, it is true. J’s Var-B-Q treated me like family and turned my frown upside down.

“The Elijah,” costs $12, and adding a side (green chile mac and cheese) and a drink will cost an extra $5.50. The brownie with a scoop of ice cream cost $3.50.

J’s Var-B-Q is located at 7200 Montgomery Blvd. NE Suite F1 in Albuquerque.

If you would like to reach out to J’s Var-B-Q, call 505-508-0379