“We only have six main dishes on the menu, but that’s what BBQ is about — smokin’ meat,” said Ron Wishna of Ridgefield, who recently opened RW’s BBQ at 537 Federal Road in Brookfield. RW’s carries brisket, ribs, pulled pork, chicken, sausage, and salmon. While that might not sound impressive, he said, “what we do here is real authentic Southern BBQ. The hickory pit is on 24/7 and the big meat smoking takes 13 hours. That’s beef brisket and pork.”

Chicken and ribs take only five hours. “Our secret? We do everything very simply, the old fashioned way, no shortcuts,” he said. “Fresh food and lots of time.” “It was my years on the road in production of huge rock concerts, such as The Rolling Stones, Journey and Billy Joel and later with CBS Sports that I discovered real Southern BBQ and the best of it. It’s a 15-minute commute from Ridgefield to RW’s BBQ on Federal Road in Brookfield, one mile north of Costco, but here we have a minature golf course, an ice cream parlor and it’s all overlooking the cutest little pond with fish, ducks and a resident Great Blue Heron. The kids love it so its worth the drive.”

Mr. Wishna said Pig Trip BBQ review ( “who we in the industry revere”) wrote, “The best in Connecticut …possibly in the top five in the Northeast.” “I knew we were good, but that is great,” he said, but added, “It’s our customers whose opinion really matters.”