It feels like farmers market graduates Neil Strawder and wife Phyllis are attempting to smoke out Long Beach. They’re not doing it in a Snoop Dogg way, though the legendary LBC rapper no doubt has that capability. Bigmista and his partner in ‘cue now run Bigmista’s Barbecue & Sammich Shop and Bigmista’s Morning Wood, which are both barbecue restaurants worth visiting north of the 405 freeway.

Neil Strawder smokes meats with pecan wood and mojo bricks. Barbecue is available by weight. The Strawders also serve their luscious smoked proteins in sammiches, bowls, and as part of BAPOM. That’s an acronym for Big Ass Piles of Meat. Spare Ribs ($14 per pound) were Bigmista’s latest triumph. Bigmista’s Barbecue & Sammich Shop chills and rubs the ribs with spices like salt, pepper, cayenne, garlic powder, chile powder, sugar and cinnamon. They smoke spare ribs for 3.5 to 4 hours, resulting in rosy meat and winning outer rings. The counterman gave me a choice of sauce: regular or spicy. Spicy (“hot enough to make your lips tingle but not blow your head off”) is clearly the best choice at Bigmista’s Barbecue & Sammich Shop, where flavor is best left in high gear.

Dose of Vitamin P spotlights my favorite pork dish from the previous week.