The clock has just struck noon in the Town Commons shopping plaza in the community of 4S Ranch, and the line at Brett's BBQ is starting to snake out the front door. "It's amazing," said owner Brett Nicholson, who with his partner, Bruce Weisman, now serves more than 300 people a day and between 500 and 700 on weekends.

No fears here that Weisman and Nicholson's new venture might limp along in the first year - it is already off to a bang-up start. "There's not a whole lot of barbecues around," said Nicholson, a former chef at Remington's and Red Tracton's in Del Mar. "Barbecue is something everyone likes, and people will come from everywhere just to get it."

Nicholson, 45, who lives in San Marcos but grew up in Solana Beach, has been perfecting his barbecuing technique for more than two decades. "We could have done a steakhouse, but we said, 'Let's do barbecue,' " he said. Apparently that decision was one of the easier ones the partners had to make - what to call the place was the hardest.

"We went at it for months, got the wives involved and finally our landlord said we had to have a name," said Nicholson with a smile. "So we decided on Brett's BBQ."

Jeffrey Steingarten, legendary food writer for Vogue and part-time San Diego resident, has called real Southern barbecue "without doubt the most original and delectable American cooking technique and our greatest contribution to world gastronomy." And Nicholson seems to agree. "Barbecue is something everyone likes," he said. "They think of it as an event."

According to Nicholson, their motto for real barbecue is "low and slow." Cooking times in the Ole Hickory smoker in the kitchen, he said, typically run from 12 to 14 hours or overnight for the largest pieces of meat such as brisket and pork shoulder and four to five hours for ribs and chicken.

Deciding how much to cook before the doors open at 11 a.m. has been crucial. "The thing with barbecue is, when you run out, it's through," he said of the day's serving.

Barbecue's smoky flavor should come from the cooking technique, said Nicholson, whereas some chefs just steam the meat and add the flavoring later. "Ours is Memphis-style, but we play on the regions," he said. "We have beef ribs and brisket to satisfy the Texans and pulled pork with coleslaw sandwiches for the Southerners."

At Brett's BBQ, no marinade is used on the meats, just a dry rub before the lengthy cooking process and a special, homemade sauce added at the end. "We finish all the meats with the same sauce," he said. "They usually all come out wet."

But Nicholson isn't talking particulars about the recipe, except to say that the shiny dark patina on the meat is the most important feature. "I caramelize the sugar that's in the sauce into the meat," he said. And that's all he'll say on that subject.

The menu features eight meat plates from the smoker, all smoked with hickory wood and each served with a choice of two sides. Pork lovers can try the BBQ Baby Back Ribs, half or full rack ($14.95 half, $21.95 full) and the BBQ St. Louis Style Spare Ribs, which have been trimmed, leaving only the most desirable portion of the rib ($13.95 half rack, $20.95 full). There is also BBQ Pulled Pork, which can be made with coleslaw into a sandwich or served separately for $12.95. As for beef, there are center cut beef ribs ($11.95 half, $18.95 full rack) and beef brisket for $13.95.

The sides are popular too: cole slaw, potato salad, baked beans (barbecue, of course), french fries, sweet potato fries, corn pudding and hush puppies. There is only one salad on the menu - a huge thing called the Pit Master with mixed greens, a choice of smoked pulled pork or beef brisket, smoked Gouda, roasted sweet corn, black beans, jicama, tomato and sweet onion served with barbecue sauce and ranch dressing ($8.95) and one dessert: bread pudding with whisky sauce and whipped cream ($5.95).

Nicholson said he thought it necessary to include a paragraph about the smoke ring on the menu for those patrons who might think the meat's pink tone meant that it was not cooked sufficiently.

"Slow-cooked barbecue meats often exhibit a pink ring around the outside edge," it says on the menu. "In beef and pork, the ring is reddish-pink; in chicken it is bright pink. This pink ring is often referred to as a 'smoke ring' and is considered a prized attribute in many barbecued meats. Barbecue connoisseurs feel the presence of a smoke ring indicates the item was slow-smoked for a long period of time. The pink color is not an indication of the meat being undercooked."

Nicholson runs a tight ship at the new location, saying he has not taken a day off since the opening on Jan. 15. He said they are already looking into opening a second location, this one closer to the coast.

- Contact staff writer Ruth Marvin Webster at (760) 740-3527 or rwebster@nctimes.com.

Now Serving: Brett's BBQ

WHAT: Brett's BBQ

WHERE: 10550 Craftsman Way #185, San Diego (4S Ranch)

CONTACT: (858) 487-RIBS (7427) or www.brettsbbq.com

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

COST: $7.50 (sandwiches) to $19.95 (BBQ sampler plate)