Barbecue fans are going "Wow" but for the uninformed, Kirk is one of the most revered BBQ masters in the country, winner of literally hundreds of awards including the champion of the American Royal Open and seven World Barbecue championships. He has even been named to the Barbecue Hall of Fame.

In other words, he knows what he is doing.

The Las Vegas pitmaster is Skip Steele, another veteran of the BBQ world and winner of a cabinet full of awards in his own right.

The concept of RUB is to bring "real" BBQ to an urban environment, something that is rare at best. When you think of the pinnacles of this kind of cooking you think Kansas City, St. Louis, Memphis, and the south but certainly not New York or Las Vegas. Now you can.

The 9,000 square-foot RUB at The Rio takes up space on the second level overlooking the Masquerade Village shopping and casino area (where they have the free show). It is a simple, no-frills design with plenty of booths, tables, a big bar, and viewing windows to watch the smokers if you enjoy that sort of thing.

The menu is huge in scope and I can pretty much guarantee you that there isn't anything on there that your cholesterol conscious doctor isn't going to give you grief about, but that's what BBQ is all about.

Take a look at the appetizers. Chicken wings, empanadas, chili made with slow-smoked brisket and burnt ends - even fried green tomatoes with a Cajun remoulade. But all you really need to see is the BBQ bacon chunks to understand that health conscious is really not a consideration here.

By the way, they were a salty, delicious, crispy delight. I won't tell my doctor if you won't.

If you're there with a group and want to experiment a good way to go might be the meat platters. You can have your choice of pulled pork or chicken, smoked ham or turkey, BBQ chicken or beef brisket, burnt ends, pastrami, and/or sausage of the hot link, spicy, or Italian varieties. It comes with two sides and you can add ribs if you just don't feel like you're getting enough meat in there.

We sampled the brisket and the Italian sausage, and while the former was a bit dry the latter was spot on perfect - tender, juicy, cooked to perfection with no real need for any of the signature BBQ sauces to spice it up.

You can get any of the above by the pound plus BBQ chicken in whole, half, quarter, and light or dark meat styles and St. Louis, baby back, loin back, and other rib varieties. You can also get sandwich versions of any of the meat styles and then, if you choose, add a "sloppy top" of coleslaw for an authentic BBQ experience.

More original sandwiches include things like a BLFGT (bacon, lettuce, and fried green tomatoes), "pulled" Portobello (mushrooms with smoked onions and sauce), or even bacon with peanut butter and bananas. Yes, it's called the Elvis Crusher.

They also have a "specialties" section of the menu that includes a burnt end dinner, Szechwan smoked duck, a couple of sampler meals, and even a whole pig butt, bone-n-all. "We serve, you pull" is the motto on that one.

Desserts? Fresh homemade cobblers and deep fried Oreos. Come on!

I am a BBQ aficionado but I'm not a zealot about the whole thing so I enjoyed RUB. One of my dining companions IS a zealot about the whole thing and was a little underwhelmed, but even she admitted that having a restaurant option like this in Vegas is important and should be on your short list of places to visit for more originality than another buffet or a food court.

Prices are Las Vegas hotel restaurant typical, which is to say higher than what you'd pay normally for this type of food but not out of line for Vegas in general. Appetizers are all around $7.50, sandwiches $7-12, meat platters start at around $14 for one meat and add about $4 for each additional, a whole chicken is around $14 and a whole rack of ribs is $23. Keep in mind that everything is generously proportioned and comes with a laundry list of sides including slaws, potato salad, beans, mac and cheese, fries, cornbread, and more.

The service was terrific - down home friendly as it should be in a BBQ place but efficient.

Good barbecue is hard to find on this side of the Rocky Mountains and nearly impossible out here in the urban desert. Or at least it was until RUB.