by MARK SLUTSKY

Everyone loves a good barbecue, and for most Montrealers that means simply slapping some meat (or a soy-based alternative) on a hot grill. But where to find real barbecue, the kind that hails from parts south - the American South, that is - the kind that's cooked or smoked over indirect heat for hours and hours? Until recently, there was no such place. Since last year, though, lovers of Texas-style cookery, that very different smoked meat, can find a culinary haven in Mesquite, a newish restaurant on Décarie.

Mesquite occupies a large corner space (previously occupied by Passe-Partout), divided into a small bar, a small smoking room and a large non-smoking dining area. The colours are vaguely Southwestern, with yellow-washed walls on which a number of colourful paintings hang. It's a generally sunny, cheerful ambience, in both décor and service.

Barbecue is traditionally slow-cooked, and they make no exception at Mesquite (which takes its name from the wood that gives most of its food that rich flavour). Our waitress informed us that the meats were generally cooked, depending on the dish, in the eight- to 12-hour range, as it should be. You can't fake the funk with barbecue - the meat needs to take its sweet time to soak in all the flavour and for the collagens to slowly break down and give the flesh that incomparable tenderness.

We decided to skip the appetizers on a recent visit and get straight to the good stuff (the starters were mostly of the fried variety - chicken wings, hushpuppies, popcorn shrimp - and we were there for what came out of the smoker). I went for the St. Louis Cut Ribs Platter ($17.95 for half a rack, $24.95 for the full rack). After some hemming and hawing, I ordered the full rack and I'll probably still be digesting it by the time you read this article. It was a massive thing, about as long as my forearm (hand included), comprised of about a dozen of the meatiest beef ribs I've ever encountered. The meat was tender and juicy, with a dark mesquite flavour potent enough that the ribs stood on their own, covered in just a small amount of sauce.

My friend ordered the pulled pork platter ($15.95, and they also offer the more traditional pulled pork sandwiches, $10.95). The meat was as soft as you can imagine - the "pulled" part comes from the fact that it's usual pulled apart by hand after coming out of the smoker - though they perhaps overdid it with the sweet barbecue sauce. Another pal went for the combo platter ($19.95), which offers the choice of any two meats, in this case chicken and brisket. Both were winners. The chicken was unbelievably saturated with that smoky taste, beyond the skin and right into the meat. The beef brisket, also delicate to the touch, was served with the same sauce as the pulled pork, only in this case it was a better fit.

The last main course was my companion's Farm-Raised Catfish ($15.95), which she chose to have blackened (as opposed to cornmeal-fried or grilled). "Velvety" was the way she described it, and indeed it was, as well as spicy and drizzled in lime. This was a delicious dish, not blackened so much as to give it a charred taste, but cooked to perfection. All of our dishes came with two sides, from a choice of seven. The onion rings (shredded, deep-fried onion slices that bear little resemblance to the battered donuts you find at diners) and the baked black beans, which were both very sweet and very spicy, were the best, though a good word has to be put in for the creamy coleslaw and the mashed potatoes.

Finally, if you've still got room for dessert, don't hesitate to get the bread pudding ice cream (5.95), liberally crammed with raisins, or the Mississippi Mud Brownie ($6.95), huge and thick and served à la mode. Both make excellent, massive conclusions to the restaurant's excellent, massive meals.

Got beef? eattothebeat@gmail.com

Mesquite
ADDRESS: 3857 Décarie (near Villa-Maria metro)
PHONE: 487-5066
HOURS: 11 a.m.–3 p.m. and 5–10:30 p.m. every day
BEST FEATURES: The smoke-permeated chicken and the massive ribs
ALCOHOL: Yes
WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: A half-flight of stairs up
VEGETARIAN FRIENDLY: Is fish meat?
CREDIT CARDS: Yes
NO-SMOKING SECTION: Yes
PRICE: $11–$35 per person, before tip
RATING: *** out of ****