Location: 235 SW Century Drive, Bend

Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily

Price Range: Lunch from $6 to $8; dinner from $10 to $17

Alcoholic Beverages: Beer and wine

Kids’ Menu: Yes

Reservations: No

Credit Cards: Visa, MasterCard, Discover

Contact: 385-7427

Behind the kitchen, rather than in it, is one of the secrets to the award-winning ribs of Baldy’s Barbeque in Bend.

It’s the smoker: A square, 10-foot-high stainless steel convection oven bolted to the pavement behind the west-side eatery. Pungent smoke wafts up into the large front compartment. Inside are rotating racks of browning baby-back ribs, beef brisket, cuts of pork and whole chickens.

”It’s the most important piece of equipment I have,” said owner Brian Dioguardi. ”It’s always going. You can’t do (barbecue) without it.”

Dioguardi slow cooks all his meats in the smoker, using nothing but hickory wood.

The other important element for good barbecue is, of course, the sauce. Dioguardi’s is a secret family recipe and the tangy sauce is served liberally with almost every dish.

Award-winning ribs are a highlight of any traditional barbecue menu, and they figure prominently at Baldy’s. A full rack is 1-3/4 pounds of baby-back pork ribs, hand rubbed with a blend of herbs and spices and slow-smoked.

Beef brisket, another traditional barbecue favorite, is smoked daily at Baldy’s for 12 hours before it reaches the kitchen.

Sandwiches are also available, served on kaiser rolls or garlic toast. Burgers, too, are on the menu, in the form of one-third-pound ground beef, turkey bacon or spicy black bean.

For appetizers, be sure to check out the onion rings. They are handmade daily, dipped in a special buttermilk batter and served with a ranch dipping sauce.

Dioguardi is Baldy. Sporting a shaved head, Dioguardi can be spotted most any afternoon or evening moving between the restaurant and kitchen, chatting with customers and cleaning tables.

When Dioguardi moved to Bend, opening another restaurant wasn’t even on his mind, he said. He was more interested in settling down and raising a family. But when he discovered Bend was short on barbecue restaurants, he started researching real estate and by fate, he said, he came across the restaurant’s current location.

With help from a family friend, he began renovating the building. They laid down a tile floor, put up wood siding and decorated the restaurant with old ranch tools and farm implements. The country theme seems to have hit the mark.

In addition to take-out and in-house dining options, Baldy’s also offers a delivery service. Because barbecue travels well, Dioguardi said it is a natural for delivery and take-out. ”It stays on the bone and it’s a great alternative to pizza or Chinese,” he said.