Published: December 02, 2005 05:30 pm            

Backyard Bar-B-Q

Southern fare sports spicy flare

Slow cooked, homemade and delightfully seasoned capture the essence of Backyard Bar-B-Q dishes.

In addition to its simple menu where each item is cooked to perfection, the restaurant capitalizes on its name creating a down-home kind of feel for its customers.

An indoor winding path twists and turns beneath a towering tree, complete with a wide-eyed squirrel before ending at an ordering counter. The dining area is separated by a wood and lattice fence, and tables sport reclining style chairs that would look at home in a patio setting.

But at Backyard Bar-B-Q, (MAP) it's the food that keeps the customers coming back in droves.

Some of the specialty fare offered at the restaurant, in addition to its hand-rubbed meat, include roasted potato wedges and cole slaw. Baked beans and corn-on-the-cob are also available.

Each glass topped table also features a conveniently placed roll of paper towels to keep the sauce dripping from the southern hickory-smoked meats from staining fingers or clothes.

The serving sizes for sandwiches aren't weighed before they are cooked, they are weighed after, which makes the quarter- and half-pound sandwiches a mouthful.

Backyard Bar-B-Q's menu offers quarter-pound and half-pound pulled pork, beef brisket and smoked chicken sandwiches as well as "St. Louis-Style Backyard Ribs."

All the restaurant's meats are hand-rubbed with a mixture of spices and slow smoked and served without sauce, even the ribs.

Customers are welcome to head over to the sauce hut, where special sauces can add another layer of flavor. The couple tested hundreds of sauces before they picked the six they chose for the restaurant. There's Carolina Gold, USA Sweet, vinegar-based Tennessee Hot and Tennessee Mild sauces, and tomato-based Texas Hot and Texas Mild.

The Texas and USA Sweet are traditional barbecue sauces and can go on anything. Carolina Gold is a mustard-base sauce intended for chicken, but one customer put it on beef and loved it.



LOCATION: 2122 E. Markland Ave. (next to Wal-Mart)

HOURS: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays

STYLE OF FARE: Southern barbecue

FOOD SERVED: In addition to sandwiches, the restaurant serves St. Louis-Style Backyard Ribs (four bones are $6.95, half slab $8.95). They also carry several desserts: fudge-nut caramel brownie ($1.45), chocolate layer pie ($2.25), backyard key lime pie ($2) and Mike's favorite cookies (75 cents). There's a special menu for kids including a "hot dawg" (95 cents), "peanut butter 'n' jelly" (80 cents) and "potato smiles" (75 cents). A full slab of ribs is $14.95, while a whole smoked brisket is $35 and a pound of smoked pork, beef or chicken is $10.95.

ESTABLISHED: May 2004

DELIVERIES? No

CARRYOUT? Yes, call ahead (765) 452-2727. For 3 pounds or more, give two days notice.

ADDITIONAL LOCATIONS? None

SPECIALS: There is a Backyard Bar-B-Q card customers can bring in with them every time they dine at the restaurant. After buying five regulars plus one side and one regular drink, you get one regular free.

        

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