Best Bites: Peanut butter, jelly and brisket? This Mesa food stand says yes

Welcome to Best Bites, a series where we celebrate not a whole restaurant or menu but one specific and amazing dish. These bites have something to say, and we are listening. Keep reading for dishes that are seriously worth the trek across metro Phoenix to find. Dig in!

In many parts of the country, summer means spending time outdoors, firing up the grill and enjoying barbecue while seated around picnic tables surrounded by lush summer greenery.

In Phoenix, that's just not the case.

There really are very few reasons to want to eat outside in the heat of the summer in the Sonoran Desert. But a feast at an East Valley food stand nestled in a grove of 100-year-old orange trees might just be worth it.

Housed in a shipping container clad in wood siding, Jalapeño Bucks is located on Val Vista Drive just south of the Salt River and the Loop 202. Small and easy to drive by, it's best spotted by the cluster of parked cars scattered along the roadside.

If you've ever wondered about the little spot pumping out country music while shrouded in a cloud of water from cooling misters, we're here to say it's worth the stop.

Park along the edge of the road or in the lot in front of B B Citrus Farms, a produce stand that's closed until the heat subsides and the oranges ripen. Walk up to the order window and peruse the menu as a local high schooler slides open the hatch.

At Jalapeño Bucks, the menu is largely split into two sections: barbecue sandwiches and burritos. Ribs are available on Saturdays, and some of the menu items blend barbecue with Southwest flavor, such as the brisket burrito and sides of fresh mango salsa. But the hidden gem here is one of the most unusual items available.

For a sweet, savory, satisfying meal, order the PB&J Brisket Sandwich. Now, for many, peanut butter and jelly are the only two ingredients needed for a sandwich. At other spots around town, the classic condiments have been added to burgers. But peanut butter, jelly and salty, smoky brisket are a combination we didn't know we needed.

Served on a brioche bun, the sandwich comes in quarter- and half-pound options, the lesser of which is still piled high with meat. While strawberry jelly is available, on a recent visit, the server recommended the original grape.

The brisket is tender but not falling apart, lending a good chew to the saucy sandwich. Be prepared for sticky jelly to drip down your fingers as you dig into this wonderfully messy meal. Wash it all down with a lemonade or soda, served in enormous foam cups, and pair the hot meal with a cold cup of creamy macaroni salad.

As you sit at a picnic table, sweet and tangy barbecue sandwich in hand, and cooling misters rain down among the greenery of the orange trees, you almost forget, just for a second, that it's hotter than 110 degrees in the desert. The experience transports you to the idea of summertime, a season for sitting outside in the sunshine enjoying barbecue. And for however long it takes you to demolish a brisket sandwich, this little roadside stand in Mesa makes that dream a reality.

Jalapeño Bucks

3434 N. Val Vista Drive, Mesa