Fat Anthony’s BBQ at Norman’s Farm Stands on Jones Bridge Rd. and Massachusetts Ave., Montgomery County, Maryland

Is this the best grilled chicken around?.

Here’s the deal. Fat Anthi]ony sets up shop at Norman’s Farm Stand on Massachusetts Avenue between Westbard and Chesterbrook on Saturdays, and at the Norman’s Jones Mill just off East-West on Sundays. Their stand sells wood-cooked ribs, grilled chicken, memorable macaroni and cheese, and, Anthony tells me, teriyaki salmon after 1:00 pm. The cooking starts at 7:30 am and the food is ready at 11:00. And it’s delicious.

I was only way to North Carolina when I heard about Anthony’s, and I went as soon as I got back. I got in line behind a couple of other people,

and lucked out as Anthony gave a sample rib to each of us. My luck didn’t hold in terms of photographing the rib. I have found over time that once you pick up a rib, there’s a lot that can go wrong with a photograph. Take my word that it looked good. More important, it had a very good flavor. Anthony knows how to season meat. And he and Chico know how to cooke it so that the meat is juicy and tender with an admirable smoke flavor. These are very good ribs.

When it was my turn to order, having tested the ribs and being in a moderate eating mode, I ordered two thighs ($15).

and an order of Anthony’s macaroni and cheese ($10).

Grilled chicken doesn’t get a lot better. Let me brag about Anthony’s skill with seasonings some more. This was an entirely different spice profile than the ribs, and was even better. It added layers of flavor to some smoky, succulent chicken.

And the macaroni and cheese. Here I was, just about to overcome my North Carolina weight gain, and along came some macaroni and cheese with smoked chicken. How could I refuse? I am but mortal. This macaroni and cheese is good enough to bring to a country church pot luck, a place when you have to bring real quality to avoid a lot of “Bless your heart” looks and head shaking behind your back. That good. And the chicken adds a light smokiness that makes it even better.

Pro Tip: Anthony automatically applies a sweetish barbecue sauce to the ribs. While sweet sauces are very popular generally, they don’t appeal to me. I grew up with light vinegar and pepper sauces on pork and chicken, and I find that sugar tends to mask the smoke flavor. Your tastes may differ, this is just for information. Know that you can ask Anthony not to include sauce, as I did with the chicken, and if you forget you can scrape off most of the sauce and let Anthony’s excellent seasoning shine through. It is so good!

I chatted with Norman

and gave him my card.

(The blog makes gift shopping for me lot easier.) He promised to let me know when his on-line presence sprouts and we can follow that I expect will be other appearances around the area. He’s on Instagram as fatanthonybbq When he gets a web site and Facebook page, I’ll pass the links on to you.

Sauce or no sauce, swing by Norman’s — Mass Avenue on Saturday, Jones Bridge on Sunday. You’ll probably want to go by anyway to pick up some quality fruits and vegetables. That’s where I always go when I’m not in Southern Maryland. And they offer a lot of jams and jellies, pickles and preserves, and sundry sauces they make themselves. Norman was there designing new labels. You’ll also find local cheeses, breads, flowers, and other goodies. Other places offer all of those, but no other stands offers that chicken and macaroni and cheese, and you have to do some serious driving to get better ribs. So treat yourself to some Fat Anthony’s food at either Norman’s, and pick up some vegetables to assuage that macaroni and cheese guilt.

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