Where barbecue meets bistro

SO help me, the guys at the table next to us look like a sitcom waiting to happen: an exuberant bunch of four chowing down on a full rack of St. Louis-style spare ribs, talking sports and life between bites. A normal enough scene, except that every few minutes one of the guys leans over to coo at the baby in the carriage parked next to him. It’s boys’ night out -- and baby too. I guess it was the only way the dad could get away, but at Boneyard Bistro, no worries: Baby fits right in.

At three months going on four, this Sherman Oaks restaurant is reveling in runaway success. The bare-bones bistro is filled every night with a crowd of all ages and ethnicities, with just enough people hanging by the door hoping for a spot to make it feel like a scene. Boneyard Bistro benefits from a smart concept -- “barbecue and beyond” -- and a shrewd location on Ventura Boulevard that could really use an interesting restaurant. Local chowhounds ferreted out the spot and spread the word, from the moment it opened its doors. And smitten fans -- particularly barbecue fanatics -- tend to come back again and again with friends and family in tow. Boneyard Bistro is a bona fide hit. And it’s not all about the food.

With exposed brick walls, closely packed tables and a handful of booths, the space feels unpretentious and inviting. A built-in wine rack neatly divides the dining room from the workaday kitchen. The enticing scent of hickory-grilled meats hangs over it all, exaggerating your hunger the moment you step in the door.

Maybe that explains the group at a front table, digging into what looks like a mountain of ribs and ... stuff. They’ve got a little of everything from the barbecue side of the menu -- baby back ribs, spare ribs, brisket, pulled pork, chicken, etc. -- and a whole mess of sides. Enough to feed a posse. Turns out it’s the “mega-platter” designed to serve eight to 10, just the thing to fuel a night with friends in front of the football game. In the end, they cry uncle and set off for home with well-stuffed doggie bags.

The restaurant’s traditional barbecue menu covers a wide swath of territory for just one place. St. Louis spare ribs are hand rubbed with spices and a smoky, dark red sauce is served on the side. True fanatics may be disappointed in the sauce, which seems a little wimpy in terms of firepower. The texture of the ribs is firm and chewy, which makes for a satisfying bite. But those same ribs, on another occasion, are dried out, whether from hanging around too long or from cooking too long.

Baby back ribs are falling-off-the-bone tender, if you like that sort of thing. But if you can get some of the humongous beef ribs hot off the grill, which, for these, is fired with red oak, Santa Maria style, that is definitely the ticket. Tri tip is grilled over red oak too, which gives it an ineffably subtle smoky edge that’s delicious.

The menu is incredibly eager to please. No need to fight over what to order because everybody can choose a two- or three-combo to suit their cravings. And everybody gets to pick two sides. Fried mac ‘n’ cheese may sound dreadful, but it’s actually terrific, a thick triangle of the stuff that’s deep-fried and carries a nice blast of cayenne. Soft, luscious baked beans are cooked with the smoky rib ends, but they’re a little too sweet. So are the khaki-colored collard greens. The coleslaw, though, has a fresh vinegary kick.

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The alter ego

BUT if you’re going to make this place your local hang, how many times in a week or a month can you eat barbecue? Or what if your significant other is not of the red meat persuasion? Boneyard Bistro wants you back, and often, which is why there’s another side to the menu, the bistro side.

And this part of the menu holds some nice surprises. Like the Thai-style crispy calamari salad, a heap of julienned Asian vegetables and roasted peanuts with crispy calamari rings and tentacles buried in there somewhere. It’s kind of irresistible, gingery and hot at the same time. Pulled pork dumplings tantalize with a smoky pulled pork filling and a svelte beurre blanc flavored with a little barbecue sauce. Good, but the wrapper could be more supple. I have to confess, I couldn’t bring myself to order warm pistachio-crusted brie. Warm brie is simply a bad idea, a relic of the ‘80s when bed-and-breakfast places proudly presented baked brie for breakfast. Thank you, but no.

Why order that when you can have the King Kobb salad, which was recently added to the menu? This is a top-notch mix of smoked chicken, thick-cut bacon, avocado and Cheddar cheese on greens cloaked in a velvety green goddess dressing. Another new addition is steamed mussels in Negra Modelo beer. The broth is hot and spicy, and it’s a terrific appetizer to share.

Over in the corner, two women tearing apart their absent boyfriends take desultory bites of spinach and arugula salad adorned with everything a girl could want -- roasted beets, caramelized apples, sugary pecans, goat cheese and golden fried onion strings. A lone diner waiting for a friend savors a smoked duck spring roll with hoisin and dried cherry chutney. This appetizer certainly passes muster: The spring roll wrapper is crisp, the filling moist and savory.

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At your service

BONEYARD BISTRO is something of a family affair. The chef is Aaron Robins. His partner and sometime maitre d’ is his father, Preston, who financed the place. Aaron is just 34, but after culinary school he worked at Charlie Trotter’s in Chicago and the wacky but innovative Flying Saucer in San Francisco, so he’s got more than ‘cue on his mind and uses the bistro side of the menu to show what he can do.

Main courses have included a fine double-cut, whiskey-brined pork chop, served with a collard green egg roll and sweet potato mash. Sometimes the chef will offer a hickory-smoked duck breast with shiitake rice cake and hoisin cherry compote. Right now there’s a spicy Cajun stew laced with andouille sausage and tasso (highly seasoned smoked pork) along with rosy shrimp, crawfish and cod. It makes a satisfying supper.

Porcini-dusted salmon comes piled high, in a presentation that pulls out all the stops, including an oversized plate that crowds the table. New York strip steak gets fancy with a wild mushroom demi-glace and “truffled mashers” which means, of course, dosed with truffle oil to the poor potatoes’ detriment.

If the chef isn’t careful, the two sides of the restaurant could end up fighting each other instead of complementing each other. Really, who wants to eat venison with foie gras in a casual, loud setting? Yet, there it is.

Lately, Robins has been getting a little carried away, adding dishes that may be too high falutin’ and certainly too ambitious for the kitchen to pull off consistently.

I also worry when the chef starts working the front of the house in a black T-shirt instead of his whites, and the food just isn’t as good as it was on other visits. Robins has to let the kitchen fly on its own sometimes, but I hope he’s not planning to make it a regular thing.

Boneyard Bistro has the front of the house down cold. It’s been tremendously lucky in the staff, everyone from the manager down to the hostess at the door.

The servers are all comfortable with people and full of personality in the best possible sense. They have a lot to do with giving Boneyard Bistro a lively sense of place. It can get boisterous at times -- and punishingly loud as the laughter and shrieks bounce off the bare brick walls. That’s the down side.

The upside is a friendly, neighborhood place where you can count on good barbecue along with well-conceived bistro dishes and a menu with something to please everyone.

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Boneyard Bistro

Rating: **

Location: 13539 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks; (818) 906-7427.

Ambience: Lively neighborhood ribs joint and bistro with exposed brick walls, dynamic front of the house and a crowd that’s (loudly) enjoying everything.

Service: Personable and attentive.

Price: Appetizers, $8 to $12; salads, $6 to $10; bistro menu, $18 to $39; barbecue sandwiches, $10 to $11; barbecue dinners, $13 to $26; mega platter (serves 8 to 10), $200; desserts, $7.

Best dishes: King Kobb salad, whole leaf Caesar salad, Thai spiced crispy calamari, smoked duck spring roll, tri tip, beef ribs, St. Louis spare ribs, fried mac ‘n’ cheese, porcini-crusted salmon, pork chop, sticky toffee pudding.

Wine list: Modest one-page list with some unexpected finds. Corkage, $12.

Best table: The booth in the far right corner.

Special features: Takeout and catering.

Details: Dinner 6 to 10 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday; 6 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 5 to 9 p.m. Sunday; closed Monday. Beer and wine. Valet parking.

Rating is based on food, service and ambience, with price taken into account in relation to quality. ****: Outstanding on every level. ***: Excellent. **: Very good. *: Good. No star: Poor to satisfactory.