Big BBQ flavor at Big Bad Wolf's

Big Bad Wolf's House of Barbeque

5713 Harford Road, 410-444-6422. Open 11:30 a.m- 9 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays.

Barbecue draws a crowd, and on a recent sunny afternoon, fans of smoke hurried into the cramped confines of Big Bad Wolf's House of Barbeque.

Fancy it isn't, but friendly it is. Regulars sitting at the counter stools interrupt their conversations about where they went to high school and what makes a good truck to advise newcomers on sauces ("you have to be a brave man to go for that triple X hot") and sides ("the baked beans are outstanding").

The smoke, I was told, is the product of hickory chips working with an electric cooker. Its flavor was apparent in the hefty beef brisket sandwich, $5.95, which I paired with Kansas City Sweet, one of the seven sauces offered to anoint the meat. The hickory flavor was less pronounced on the Carolina pulled pork sandwich, $5.75, dotted with tangy Carolina vinegar sauce. I prefer more smoke on my pig.

Best bites

My favorite was the Eastern Shore-style chicken, half a chicken for $5.95, started in an oven and finished on the grill, coated with a mop sauce made of apple cider vinegar, crab seasoning and spice. The chicken was moist, with balanced flavors, and was cooked to perfection. It was as good as any chicken I have had on the Shore, and that of course, is the regional standard for barbecued bird. The corn stick that came with it was pretty good as well.

The guys sitting at the counter were right: The $1.50 serving of baked beans studded with chunks of sweet pepper was terrific.

Best bargain

The homemade cookies, three for $1.50, were a pleasant surprise. The selection changes. The Heath bar cookies I got were crisp, flavorful and leagues above the usual dry cookie offerings.

This is the fifth year that Scott and Rick Smith have been cooking in this little brick house on Harford Road. Their huffing, puffing and smoking is a welcome addition to the eating scene. I plan to visit other barbecue joints in the region, so if you have a favorite, send word of it to me.