Are you a fan of authentic smoked BBQ like brisket and tri-tip? You need to look beyond the neon lights of the Las Vegas Strip and you can discover John Mull’s Meats & Road Kill Grill!
One of my fav habits when traveling is to find the off-the-beaten-path diners and cafe’s. But, to be honest I am so habitual in my 89147 area code with a repertoire of at least 30 preferred restaurants, I don’t venture out to explore that often. With friends in town recently and experiencing the pinnacle of a fine steak house, we were dining at the Town Square location for Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse. Our primary waiter was hyper-attentive to our needs and wants and maybe a tad too chatty. He assumed we were all from out of town and was surprised to hear I was a local and had never experienced the top-shelf BBQ at the Road Kill Grill. I now had a mission!
I am not as familiar with the North Las Vegas area and I had assumed this outdoor restaurant was probably in some sort of an industrial sector but it was actually smack dab in the middle of a residential area just west of Rancho Blvd. Very unassuming and blends right in with the ‘hood. If Google maps does you wrong, the additional cars parked on the street provide a clue you are close.
The process is about waiting in an outdoor line that eventually gets you inside to the four-person occupancy line (so, the door does not stay open). Today my order was taken ahead of time and I gave the gal my slip and she started to prepare my two-meat lunch combo with tri-tip, brisket, yams, baked beans and cornbread. Each component held it’s own for flavor! Spicy or mild BBQ sauce is the final option and I opted for mild. The experts always tell you to not go shopping when hungry but after a short 15-minute wait in line with the tantalizing wafts of smoked BBQ teasing your carnivore instincts, I added an extra serving of the sliced and diced hot links for later.
I reflect back to my days traveling around Italy with a backpack. I had spent weeks in the Venice area, weeks around Florence, and a few days in the loud Rome before heading south to Lecce and ultimately Palermo in Sicily. Until I had arrived in Palermo, to be honest I was not thrilled by the various food offerings in the North. But, I found a cafe in Palermo where the blue-collar workers came for lunch and I was able to sit elbow to elbow and devour Mama’s bowl of exquisite pasta. For cheap.
The vibe is the same here for fans of BBQ and the Road Kill Grill. Don’t bother with that 3-piece suit or fancy sunglasses. This is about perfecting your moans of digestive glee as you devour any medium of meat you have a hankering for. Thirteen years later, I am still mining the silver and gold that Nevada has to offer and I got a big nugget of that today.
