Paul Thacker at the Project on Government Oversight, posts on Abbott Laboratories' apparent desire to see me in a cast and on the fabulous barbecue party thrown by Abbott at the house of Dr. Mark Midei.                                                  

As Thacker notes, only the best barbecue would do for the party, which cost Abbott $1,235. Whoever planned the party ordered from Andy Nelson's Southern Pit Barbecue, which the City Paper says "is still the best barbecue in town."

Here is an excerpt of the CP review from last week:

You smell Andy Nelson’s Southern Pit Barbecue before you see it. A whiff of woodsmoke, sweet and lingering, like the smell of burning leaves in the late autumn air, pulls you along York Road to the barbecue joint so familiar that even the big pig on the roof no longer stands out in the commercial landscape. It just belongs there.

Andy Nelson’s has been smoking meats in the neighborhood since 1981, beginning as a seasonal stand at neighboring Valley View Farms and branching out to its current location about 10 years ago. This is more than enough time to cultivate perfection. The spot is habitually voted Best Barbecue by City Paper staff and readers, and Andy Nelson’s name comes up over and over on discussion boards like Chowhound when a Baltimore newbie asks where to find the best barbecue. A recent visit to check up on the small restaurant proves that the folks at Andy Nelson’s are not resting on their laurels (or their woodpile).