Leave it to Danny Meyer to have the confidence to open a restaurant where you can order a smoked bologna sandwich. For many, that would be culinary suicide, for Meyer, it is yet another triumph.

Blue Smoke is Meyer's effort to reproduce the barbecue he grew up on in St. Louis; he even had a high-tech smoker custom built for slow cooking. The ribs, which come in three varieties (Memphis baby backs, salt-and-pepper dry rubbed, and St. Louis style) were all tender to the bone, but the St. Louis variety, glazed in a mild barbecue sauce, was the clear winner. Though the meats are the attraction here, the side dishes are as good as I've tasted anywhere, especially the collard greens, speckled with bits of pork, and the slow-cooked green beans, oozing with flavor. The house Blue Smoke ale is the perfect hearty complement to the rich food. You may not find the urbane elegance so typical of Meyer's other establishments, but this heartland barbecue joint, in typical Meyer fashion, is still run to perfection.