To try and decide each week where and what to eat around the basin can be a challenge – there are so many amazing choices. In this feature we’ll dive into dishes that will surely satisfy those hunger pangs and leave you wondering where to go next.

Let the weather warm up just a bit and my mind starts swinging into summer mode – more importantly, barbecue mode. Albeit, it doesn’t take much to push me in that direction with the winter we’ve had, so I am gladly on board to feature this week’s dish from Chicken in a Barrel.

The beauty of this dish is that we really have two feature items we’re highlighting (along with sides of rice and beans). Their unique cooking style of “hook ’em and hang ’em” really comes through with flying colors in all of their offerings. And just like it might sound, the meats in this dish (chicken and ribs) get a dedicated rub before they are impaled and hung in barrels letting that distinct mesquite flavor seep into its pores.

You have a nice array of sauces to mix and match your flavor palette, but if you truly want to let that taste of barbecue and smoke do its thing, take a couple of bites without. The ribs walk that delicate balance of being fall apart but also just the right amount of pull from the bone where the meat doesn’t disintegrate – giving you great beef flavor.

But, if we’re being honest, the real star of the show is the chicken – I mean the place is called Chicken in a Barrel for a reason. First off, the portion is huge. But what really tickles the taste buds is how the smoke is able to simultaneously crisp up the skin and penetrate the chicken, still leaving it insanely moist. Even if you can’t finish it and have to take it home, come midnight it makes for an amazing snack.

If you’ve never been to this restaurant, hopefully this write-up will soak into your skin like smoke from fire and let it serve as the reason why you need to get out and try it. Plus it’s sunny outside for a change. Get out and enjoy before Mother Nature changes her mind.

Chicken in a Barrel BBQ is located at 2100 Lake Tahoe Blvd. in South Lake Tahoe. For menu items and more information visit them online at chickeninabarrel.com or reach them by phone at 530-600-4480.