Ribs, Pulled Pork, And Beef Brisket At Big Mista's | Los Angeles, CA

Mention barbecue to any rib, hot-link or brisket lover in town and you'll hear a lot of opinions on which place is best–Zeke's, Boneyard Bistro, Baby Blues and Leimert Park's Phillips are all top contenders. But Big Mista's mobile-barbecue company is slowly smoking its way to the top of the meat pile.

Banker-turned-pit master Neil Strawder–a.k.a. Big Mista himself–picked up barbecue tips from around the country, so his 'cue isn't inspired by any one region. The meats are dry-rubbed and smoked long and slow in a custom-built Spicewine smoker, ensuring fall-off-the-bone tender ribs ($10 half rack, $18 whole), juicy pulled pork, and beef brisket that's full of char flavor. All are so good by themselves, you don't even need the spicy-sweet barbecue sauce that comes on the side. Most meats are sold by the pound ($10 to $12) and sell out fast; call ahead for large orders, and they'll set it aside.

Strawder doesn't have a storefront, but you can find his stand at the farmers' markets in Atwater (Sunday), Torrance (Tuesday), El Segundo (Thursday) and Watts (Saturday); just follow the smoke and look for the lines. And, like any mobile-food company worth its wheels these days, you can also follow Big Mista's on Twitter.

Big Mista's BBQ, 562-423-4244 or bigmista.com