Barbeque!

Our neighbors across the street run a BBQ stand at the local farmer's market. Today, we got the ribs, but in the past, we've gotten the tri-tip, as well. Pork ribs, not beef ribs, to be sure.

They've got a trailer that attaches to a little van, that's basically a BBQ/smoker combo. It's huge, and that's good, because their business has been steadily growing.

Their meats are well smoked - no doubt about that. When meat's smoked, the smoke reacts with the meat to turn it a bright pink - not an "underdone" pink, but rather, a distinctively bright pink on the outside, that indicates how far the smoke has penetrated the meat. Their pink layer, whatever the official name of the thing is, is quite deep, and their meat definitely has a strong, smokey flavor.

Their sauce is distinctly tomato-y, but today, had a slight kick, which was pleasant. No flavor was particularly overwhelming, but today's sample was a bit saltier than it's been previously.

The tri-tip was good - not blow-your-socks-off good, but definitely tasty. My recollection was that the meat was a little on the dry side, maybe from having been cooked a touch too hot.

It's a little hit-and-miss - sometimes, like today, the seasoning's a touch off - too salty today, for sure. But other times, the meat is really, really good - on par with way more established places like Everett & Jones, or Doug's.

I'm really glad to see they're getting more business. They're friendly people, working hard, and it's clear that on top of being busy, this is fun, for them.

I'd say go to E&J for the spectacular sweet potatoes, go to Doug's for the best balanced and most consistent meat, but that Your Friendly Backyard Barbeque is a worthy contender. Give 'em another season to iron out some inconsistencies, and they may be the only BBQ place I need to go.