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ON AN OUTPOST of Lawrenceville Highway, just over that city's line, there is a big red pig on the side of the road. It is part of a sign that lures you into the parking lot of Hometown Barbeque. The parking lot is big — twice the size of the restaurant's building — and covered in chipped granite mixed with red clay.

The spot was once Gunter's (that's pronounced "Gunnah's"), a sandwich shop that would have been a hole in the wall if there were a wall to have a hole in. Now, it proudly displays the pig. And the pig is the emblem of a barbecue joint that has finally found a home.

Jenni Girtman/AJC (ENLARGE)
The main reason to stop by Hometown Barbeque is for those smoky, meaty, juicy ribs. The restaurant also sells its tangy and sweet blends of barbecue sauce.
Jenni Girtman/AJC (ENLARGE)
Pulled pork with slaw and fries are a savory combination at Hometown Barbeque, which has settled down in Lawrenceville after operating out of a catering truck.
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HOMETOWN BARBEQUE 1173 Highway 29 South, Lawrenceville Overall rating: Food: Barbecue, barbecue and more barbecue, with ribs, pulled pork and smoked chicken, plus beans, coleslaw and Brunswick stew Service: Excellent. Fast as lightning. You say it, they bring it. Setting: Formerly Gunter's barbecue, which oddly enough specialized in chili dogs. The place has been gussied up and is tidy and comfortable. Address, telephone: 1173 Highway 29 South, Lawrenceville, 770-963-5383 Hours: Lunch: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Sundays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays. Lunch and dinner 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays Saturdays Price range: Everything is less than $10, except the whole rack of ribs, which is $16.25, and the rib platter, which is $17.75. Credit cards: Cash only Best dishes: Rib platter and pulled pork platter Full bar or wine/beer: Soda and iced tea only Reservations: None needed Vegetarian selections: Baked beans, coleslaw, Hometown fries Children: Very welcome Parking: Large lot Wheelchair access: No Smoking: Nonsmoking Noise level: Low Patio: Porch Takeout: Yes, and barbecue can be ordered cold with directions for reheating. KEY TO RATINGS Outstanding. Sets the standard for fine dining in the region. Excellent. One of the best in the Atlanta area. Very good. Merits a drive if you're looking for this kind of dining. Good. A worthy addition to its neighborhood, but food may be hit or miss. Restaurants that do not meet these criteria may be rated Fair or Poor.

For five years prior to this past September, partners George Richbourg and Martha Kelly sold barbecue from a catering truck in the parking lot of the Prescription Shop on the corner of Gwinnett Drive and Scenic Highway in Lawrenceville. He is from South Carolina; she is from North Florida. Their barbecue is a version somewhere in between.

Kelly's husband, Brian, is a barbecue consultant extraordinaire and taught them the tricks of the trade, which must have included secret incantations regarding all things pork, because nothing that comes out of their smoker is ever anything but yummy beyond all reason.

It's nice to know barbecue this good has found a home without wheels. The new digs are neat and tidy, with quaint touches like hardwood floors and country curtains. On the front porch, one of the picnic table's chairs has been pulled aside to boast a large, tablet-sized version of the menu. Wooden rockers make comfortable perches on a dusty fall afternoon from which to watch and wait for late lunch mates.

It is the barbecue, especially the ribs, that has everyone in Lawrenceville, from the bridge club to the fire department, crowding Hometown's lunch counter every day but Monday (when Hometown is closed). The little front room boasts a faux fireplace flanked by a shelf chock full of the two barbecue sauces it sells: Carolina Red, a vinegary, mustard-based sauce that has a bit of bite to it; and Hometown Original, a sweeter sauce that's based more in tomato than vinegar, with a bit of black pepper. Mix the two together and you'll have the perfect sauce.

The ribs won't need any, though, because they are absolute perfection just as they are. Oh, you can smack some on if you want to, but it would be an insult. Plump and meaty, they don't literally fall from the bone — they need a little preliminary prompting from your fingers first. The fat in the meat is flawlessly rendered, the meat perfectly pink and smoky, the skin caramelized with just enough char and grit to make things extremely interesting.

It is a fine and rare instance with barbecue joints when ribs and pulled pork are of equal measure. At Hometown, the pork is pulled by hand — moist, tender, meaty, without fat or gristle — and possesses that perfect mix of smoke and wood that makes barbecue, well . . . barbecue. It comes with a bun, but you won't want it. Why would you?

Don't go lookin' for any fixin's out of the ordinary here, because you won't find them. And everything will come to you as fast as George can holler out your name, which he will take when you order, then ask you politely to get your own drink.

Note: You won't need or want extra fixin's. About 10 minutes after you finish your ribs, you'll be jonesing for more. It will take every bit of fortitude you have to not get up from the table and order another half-rack. And maybe this time you'd like to try the smoked chicken, too, which lo and behold, happens to be so tender and full of smoky flavor you'll want more of it, too.

There's Brunswick stew, its true Southern lineage questionable since it has too much tomato and not enough spice and grit. And there are good, solid baked beans that smack of green peppers and onions. The coleslaw is charitably left void of too much mayonnaise, with a little smack of vinegar and a bit of pickling spice. Oversized, hand-cut fries are coated in mild spices (a leftover from Gunter's along with the still-popular chili dogs) but are only good if you get them when they are piping hot, and it's a toss-up as to when that might be.

No, there's only one reason to go to Hometown. Well, maybe two. A plate of ribs and a plate of pulled pork.