DAKOTA'S BARBECUE COUP.

Byline: Larry Lipson Daily News Restaurant Critic

The suburban barbecue-and-steak frenzy keeps beef-lovin' palates pulsating with a constant supply of new meaty venues.

Dakota's Mesquite BBQ & Steak House took over the Simi Valley hilltop restaurant previously occupied by Tony Roma's and shuttered since the 1994 Northridge Earthquake.

A spacious, handsome place with a panoramic view, it seemingly has room after room of tiered, comfortable-looking, semi-circular dining areas, attractive patio seating and one large circular bar and lounge.

It is so busy that incoming customers are given vibrating pagers to let them know their table is ready.

But the busyness doesn't appear to hamper service. There's a constant suggestion of organization and efficiency, despite the bustling crowd of staffers that you would think would get in each other's way.

All the popularity factors are present. Diners receive huge portions of tasty food served hot, though not always quickly.

Waitresses seem constantly to be asking if anything is needed and are ready to describe menu items in the most glowing terms, sometimes to the point of over-the-top enthusiasm, telling you that there is absolutely no other food on Earth as good as what Dakota's produces.

Now, wait a minute, you think. But then you smile. After all, what's wrong with such unbridled exuberance in these days of rampant apathy?

There's not a whole lot of unexpected stuff here.

Appetizers worth trying include the expected crispy fried onions ($4.45), done quite well, in fact, and stuffed potato skins ($4.95), these with sweet, moist barbecued chicken.

There's a hefty, accommodating spinach and cheese dip ($5.95) for sharing conversationalists and baskets of good, crusty, garlic oil-glazed rolls.

The du jour soup ($2.95) fits the concept, as they say. During a couple of visits it was a tri-tip and mushroom recipe that could be loosely described as a somewhat watery stew, certainly a smart way to appease while kick-starting those hordes of meat-hungry appetites.

Great big racks of well-turned ribs with just enough carbon crunchiness, smoky flavors, juiciness, caramelization and texture, not overly daubed in sauce, lean on the roomy entree platters weighted down with whatever else is ordered.

Garlic mashed potatoes could well be the most popular side option. And both the fries and the baked potato have been well-received.

Tri-tip ($11.95) has more than acceptable flavor and moistness. Chicken can be ordered as a slow roasted-grilled half of gratifying bird ($8.95) or as a stone-pressed, mesquite-grilled, juicy, large breast ($9.50).

If you want variety, the combo plates ($12.95) allow any two of five possibilities - beef ribs, baby backs, roasted half chicken, pressed chicken breast or tri-tip - for a mighty entree that is truly hard to finish, especially if appetizers and bread have preceded it.

The tri-tip comes in a french roll sandwich ($7.95) either with barbecue sauce or french dip-style with a dipping portion of the meaty juices.

And the steaks meet the meaty demands of beef fanciers, especially the porterhouse ($17.95), a full pound and a quarter of Angus satisfaction that arrives the way it's ordered with the softer-textured filet on one side of the bone, the juicier, firmer New York on the other. For a couple of dollars less, the New York is a three-quarter-pound slab, easily big enough to bring happiness to the majority of meat-and-potatoes types.

To say the least, Dakota's is the most bountiful barbecue spot on the landscape to date.

THE FACTS

The restaurant: Dakota's Mesquite BBQ & Steak House.

Where: 2525 Stow St., Simi Valley.

When: Open for dinner and cocktails from 4 to 10 p.m. weekdays, to 11 p.m. Friday, from 3 to 11 p.m. Saturday and from 2 to 10 p.m. Sunday.

Recommended items: Barbecue chicken-stuffed potato skins, fried onions, grilled vegetable salad, spinach and cheese dip, coleslaw with nuts, barbecued ribs (pork loin baby backs, prime rib beef), tri-tip, chicken (barbecued half, stone-pressed breast), French dip tri-tip sandwich, steaks (New York, porterhouse), apple cobbler.

How much: Starters from $2 to $6, sandwiches and salads from $6 to $9, pastas and entrees from $8 to $18, desserts from $4 to $5. Full bar. AE, MC, V, Discover and Novus.

Wine list: Single-page, limited list of 18 bottlings, reasonably priced from $13 to $25 with 11 priced under $20.

Reservations: Not taken. First come, first served. For information or takeout orders, call [phone].

Our rating: Three and One Half Stars for food; Three and One Half Stars for service; Two and One Half Stars for wine.

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Photo

Photo: Dakota's Mesquite BBQ & Steak House provides a treat for the taste buds as well as a sweeping view of Simi Valley.

Hans Gutknecht/Daily News