Folks come here for Southern-style barbecue ribs and chicken that taste heavenly, rubbed in spices, marinated overnight and slow-roasted until succulent, with the option of a wet mop of tangy red 'cue sauce.
Located in a onetime ice cream stand, Mess A'Round is painted bright green with a few stools at a counter and battered old chairs out front. Tammy Whiteside is the heart of the place with husband Ray a barbecue master who works his magic out back at a grill he built himself. The ribs and whole birds are smoked over charcoal and oak for pit flavor. Be sure to add sides of mac and cheese or potato salad with collards and corn bread. Fresh baked pies and banana pudding round out the menu. At night the parking lot is lit up and people get take out to eat in their cars.
Mess A'Round BBQ is literally a bright spot at night in a working-class neighborhood of Hallandale, its parking lit up like a stadium and filled with fans of the stand's heavenly Southern-style barbecue ribs.
There are a few stools at the counter inside, a few battered plastic chairs out front, and three picnic tables to one side. When those are filled, customers eat in their cars or get take-away.
Co-owner Tammy Whiteside works long, hard hours, but still has smiles for all her customers and hugs for the regulars. She grew up in Ocala and studied special education at Nova Southeastern University, but ended up following her mother, a cooking teacher, into the food business. Almost two years ago, she and her husband, Ray, took over what had been an ice-cream parlor and turned it into Mess A'Round.
Ray is the barbecue master, turning out slabs of ribs, smoke-roasted over charcoal and oak. A welder by trade, he transformed a giant propane tank into a barbecue, cutting doors and adding two smoke pipes and a grill that sits over the glowing embers. It's like an oven, holding the heat, smoking and slow roasting to give the meat an open-pit taste.
The premium pork spare ribs come from Georgia and are ''three and a half down,'' meaning there is more meat than bone (a full slab is about 13 ribs).
Mr. Ernie, the day manager, cleans the ribs, pulling off the membranes and cutting them so the spices seep in. Then they're massaged with a dry rub that combines mesquite flavoring, crushed red pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and secret herbs and spices. The ribs are sealed in plastic bags, refrigerated for 48 hours to marinate, then grilled 45 minutes to an hour. They're cooked to order -- one reason many customers call ahead.
Have the ribs dry or wet, brushed with the house-made tomato- and mustard-based sauce. Get whole or half slabs or a ''pile'' (a pound of trimmed tips and ends). Chicken is barbecued whole or in quarters, and sold on its own or in rib combos.
Tammy makes all the sides -- Southern favorites seasoned with soul, meaning spicier, saltier and sweeter, from the mac and cheese to the peach cobbler. The collard greens are cooked in pot liquor, and the souse (pig ears, tails and feet) is cooked twice to eliminate greasiness. There are also pigeon peas and rice, potato salad, pork and beans, and corn muffins. Turkey wings are offered on Thursday, oxtail stew Friday and Saturday.
For dessert, there are cakes from lemon to red velvet, sweet potato pie and banana pudding. In the morning come for the rib and grits breakfast or pancake on a stick (a sausage dipped in pancake batter and deep-fried) and a 50-cent cup of coffee. No messing with the prices here.
