The 3,500 lb. smoker comes from Kansas City. For that matter, so does the restaurant owner.

    With two key components hailing from the barbecue capital of America, you figure the food at B’s Backyard Barbecue is bound to be pretty good. Maybe even as good as the location, which is simply superb—right on the water of beautiful Big Bear Lake, waves lapping practically at the feet of guests as they step out of their car.

    There isn’t another location like this in Big Bear, with so much lakeview spilling into the dining room, yet for nearly two years the prime location sat dark as owners John and Julie Gorzik were renovating and repairing the old Blue Whale restaurant. From the day B’s opened for business, barbecue has been flying out of the kitchen at a record pace, proving that the food’s as good as the view at water’s edge.

    B’s Backyard Barbecue is a nice comfy place that’s completely unpretentious, despite the lakeside location. It’s a family kind of restaurant where children are welcome, prices are modest and the food is the kind of stuff your next door neighbor might prepare for a backyard barbecue. Which is how the restaurant actually got its start, John tantalizing down-the-hill neighbors with the smell of barbecued beef and pulled pork wafting into the air, as he and Julie held parties for a hundred guests.

    Nothing has changed except the party has moved indoors to this historical building that had to be almost completely gutted. Those who remember the Blue Whale will hardly recognize the place, from the new stairway entry to the welcoming fish tank in the lobby to the salad bar-less dining room and expanded bar.

    Walk inside and the tantalizing aroma of Kansas City barbecue is everywhere. The enormous wood smoker, direct from the KC Masterpiece Smokehouse in Missouri, is the star of this show, able to hold up to 1,400 lbs. of meat at one time. “The most we’ve had in it is about a thousand pounds,” John said. “Usually it’s about one-third filled with pulled pork.”

    Indeed pulled pork is a specialty. It’s slow cooked for 16 hours and emerges from the kitchen hot knife-through-butter tender and flaky. A fork full tugs into tender strings of meat that are super moist and flavorful. Enjoy it on a sandwich for $10.50 or as part of a meal with choice of two sides for $13.95.

    Baby back ribs ($19.95 half-rack, $22.95 full) are another highlight, slow smoked to perfection with tender meat that almost, but not quite, falls off the bone. B’s uses its own tangy rub to give each rack a little kick. Not too much to overpower the smoky flavor, just enough to tickle taste buds. Too often roasted chicken is dry, but when wife Sandy and I sampled the restaurant’s fare our bird emerged golden crispy yet moist ($13.95). Tri-tip ($15.95), slow smoked till it’s melt-in-the-mouth, is terrific, served in natural juices.

    Combo plates allowing guests to mix and match their barbecue favorites are like a trip to Kansas City . Choose any two entrees for $22.95 or three for just two bucks more and you’ll have a good idea what B’s Backyard Barbecue is all about. Feed the entire gang of four to six people with the bountiful feast for $73.95, or a mob with the big pig-out featuring enough entrees and sides for 10 or more, just $179.

    Side dishes are stories unto themselves. Especially the baked beans, a lost art at many places but a delight at B’s. “I’ve always liked bacon in beans, not the white hunks found in pork and beans but real bacon,” John said. “Plus we always have plenty of pulled pork around. So we put a pound of bacon and a pound of pulled pork into every batch.”

    There are lots of things that set B’s apart, starting with “Devil” chips. These are the restaurant’s own homemade potato chips that are absolutely out-of-this-world, so named because the entire staff has a “devil” of a time staying out of them. “We slice our own potatoes,” John said, “about 500 lbs. a week made from scratch.”

    Salad dressings are also made on the premises, as are the potato salad and cole slaw. The full bar features the “Best Margarita on the Mountain,” as Steve Mason’s recipe was judged during the 2006 Cinco de Mayo Fiesta. Spicy hot links, catfish and burgers round out the menu at B’s, open daily for lunch and dinner.

    All served with what is unquestionably the best view in Big Bear. During the remodel booth seats were raised and moved back a few feet to create an additional row of premium seating, but the view pours in no matter where you sit.

    —by Marcus Dietz

    B’s Backyard Barbecue is at 350 Alden Rd., off the boulevard just east of Knickerbocker. Call (909) 866-5400.