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• Smokehouse on Shelby

A half-rack of St. Louis style ribs entree with potato salad and baked beans and a side of barbeque sauce at Smokehouse on Shelby. (Heather Charles/ The Star)

The onion ring appetizer at Smokehouse on Shelby in Fountain Square. (Heather Charles/ The Star)

Pulled pork entree with fries, cole slaw and a side of barbeque sauce at Smokehouse on Shelby. (Heather Charles/ The Star)

Take a 1950s-style diner, add barbecue and blues, and you get Smokehouse on Shelby, the newest occupant of the Fountain Square Theatre Building.

It's an odd combo, sure. The setting -- using space once occupied by the Fountain Diner -- screams doo-wop, from the black-and-white checked floors to the towering Pepsi lettering hanging behind the counter. Most amusing are the larger-than-life posters for '50s-era flicks such as "High School Hellcats" or "Diary of a High School Bride" ("Dad says, 'Make up your mind -- books or babies.'.")

But while you'd expect Elvis and the Everly Brothers to waft over the speaker system, here you get a Music Choice channel playing the likes of John Lee Hooker -- an appropriate soundtrack for the barbecue-heavy menu.

Still, fans of diner food will find a few favorites, especially among the appetizers. My husband, Pete, and I went for a classic -- crunchy onion rings ($7), delivered in a hefty one-pound, not-too-greasy serving.

We were eager to move on, however, to the entrees. The menu here was created by the same chef who oversees offerings for the adjacent shelBi street caFé & Bistro. Unlike the bistro's upscale entrees, the Smokehouse focuses on down-home dishes: ribs, pulled pork, beef brisket, meatloaf, chicken.

I ordered a half-slab of the St. Louis-style ribs ($11.95). Like most of the barbecue offerings here, the dry-rubbed ribs are hickory-smoked and served with thick sauce (sweet or chipotle) on the side, not on the meat. I ate these tender ribs with a fork, making for a tidy dining experience.

Pete chose the pulled pork dinner ($9.95), "smoked low and slow," according to the menu. He opted for the sweet barbecue sauce to accompany his tender pile o' pork; I tried the chipotle. We didn't notice much difference between the two.

Entrees come with two sides. I sampled the Southern-style baked beans, a thick mixture with a high ratio of beans to sauce, and the mustard potato salad. The potato salad tasted bland (admittedly, I'm spoiled on my mom's terrific version). Pete paired his pork with crisp crinkle-cut fries and creamy coleslaw with a gently tangy sauce. Two fried biscuits, resembling hush puppies, capped each platter.

There's a full bar, stocked with bottled craft beers and a small sampling of wines, as well as cocktail ingredients. And for fountain diehards yearning for a fix, the Smokehouse still offers hand-dipped shakes and sundaes.

Taste Test

Appetizer:

Onion rings, $7

Entrees:

Half-slab St. Louis-style ribs, $11.95

Pulled pork dinner, $9.95

-By Julie Cope Saetre / Indy.com correspondent