As countless Southerners fire up backyard barbecues to kick off the summer season, we recently opted for a less labor-intensive alternative.

We visited Duke's Bar-B-Que on Atomic Road in North Augusta, one of the most homespun slices of Americana you'll ever encounter. With its brick fireplace, vinyl tablecloths, vintage Coca-Cola art and friendly ambiance, the place would look at home in a Southern Living magazine.

The food is quintessentially Southern, with a buffet including barbecue pork, barbecue chicken, fried chicken, hash, macaroni and cheese, fried okra, lima beans, rutabagas, potato salad, cole slaw and banana pudding. Iced tea is a given. Extra pitchers of tea and rolls of paper towels are supplied on tables.

We enjoyed many of the selections, including the terrific, surprisingly lean pork barbecue. Diners help themselves to tangy, mustard-based sauces from a selection ranging from sweet to spicy.

The fried chicken was a tad greasy, and the side dishes were hit and miss. We loved the homemade-tasting macaroni and cheese, and the cole slaw was among the best we've ever tasted. The homemade potato chips were tasty and creative. On the other hand, the hash was bland and the turnip greens on the bitter side.

Overall, the meal was delicious and filling, with the crowd-pleasing banana pudding leaving our crowd in a good mood. We decluttered our table by dispatching our Styrofoam plates and plastic utensils into the trash can.

With a few strategic tweaks, Duke's Bar-B-Que will soon become popular enough to nudge a few backyard barbecue chefs into early retirement.

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DOWN-HOME DINING

Where: Duke's Bar-B-Que, 1022 Atomic Road, North Augusta (map)

Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday-Friday

Phone: (803) 442-7679

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.

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Mary Deriso is the retired general manager of the Pinnacle Club, a private dining club in Augusta. Christine Hurley Deriso is a writer whose children's book, Dreams to Grow On, is available in local bookstores and on Amazon.com.