Smoke Chic

If there's one thing Chicago isn't lacking, it's barbecue joints. But West Belmont's new Pork Shoppe makes a mighty fine argument for its existence.

Exhibit A: Local beef, pork and chicken, smoked over hickory, apple and oak.

Exhibit B: A rustic-chic look, with antique mirrors and farm tools.

Exhibit C: Unusual twists, like pastrami made with pork belly instead of brisket, and ribs in a Southwestern-style dry rub laced with a secret ingredient (think: North Africa).

The menu is short and meaty: ribs ($11 for a half-rack), pulled chicken ($4.50; prices per quarter-pound), pulled pork ($6), 24-hour smoked brisket ($6.50), and steak ($5), quick-smoked to a rosy medium.

Order meat alone or on a sandwich bun; house-made sauces--tangy, sweet and spicy--come on the side.

The pork belly pastrami ($5)--which tastes like a richer, silkier incarnation of the deli classic--is an occasional special that's not to be missed.

Pair it with sweet jalepeño cornbread ($3.50) or burnt-end baked beans ($4). To drink, there's a rotating list of bourbons and canned beers.

"We're just keeping it simple, and takin' our time," says chef Jason Heiman--which is the motto of all great barbecue, no doubt.

Pork Shoppe, 2755 W. Belmont Ave.; 773-961-7654 or porkshoppechicago.com