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This big-town/small city I live in is tucked away in the Pacific Northwest, an area of the country where the denizens are construed as being more concerned about the bovine contribution to global warming than whether said bovine are goooood eatin'! This perception should not imply that we don't like good barbecue. In the words of one Mr. Cambpell: Mm-mm-good.

A few years ago, alittle shack popped up on the side of the main road through town. I thought that the structure was going to become YAES, or Yet Another Espresso Shack. You can't swing a dead cat in this town without hitting an espresso shack. For those of you who do not know what I am talking about yet were alive when the Kodak Instamatic was in use, think Fotomat booth on edge of parking lot. That form of the shack has evolved from its humble roots as a spot to drop off film to have it returned in little pieces of 3 x 5 beauty into a place to acquire a legal drug. Anyway, this newest shack was soon sporting the best aroma in town, that of burning charcoal and scorched meat.

Without showing evident concern about cleanliness issues—or the clean air act, for that matter—the locals have turned the Meat Shack into a success. In fact, the Shack has grown into an actual building with tables and place settings. Granted the food is served on paper plates and the utensils are plastic, but at least there is an alternative to take-out or eating in your car. Since Meat Shack is a name that conveys the humble beginnings of this local success story, I think I'm going to stick with it for the duration.

Well, driving past the Shack yesterday, getting caught up in the mouth-watering scent that is barbecue while trying to stay on the road, I noticed that the owners are not resting on their laurels. Since they moved across the road from the original shack to the newer eat-in structure, there has been constant upgrading of the building and rearranging of charcoal grills and fuel and what-all it takes to get the poultry, bovine, or swine heated to an appropriate temperature. The latest edition of progress has been to put a fenced-in yard right next to the restaurant with—you guessed it—future meals grazing on the insta-lawn!

This looks like the barbecue version of the seafood restaurant lobster tank. I wonder if the customers also have the option of offing their entree as well. "Well it's been a few years since I attended rabbinical school and I need to practice my schetica skills. Let's go get some barbecue, kids!"

I'll let you know what the turnover is in the pen. Maybe the beasts are just there as a draw. Maybe not.