John Diamond is the kind of man that catches over 100 pounds of fresh salmon and halibut and mails it back to Utah during his yearly summer cooking expedition in a remote Alaskan town.
Now Diamond has teamed up with several of his sons to open what they refer to as the only real barbecue place in Utah Valley. D-Boys opened this past January and is located at 294 N. State St. in Orem. With their special family sauce, called Nasty Sauce, they are pushing the limits of barbecue food.
Sam Diamond, John's second oldest son of five, recently completed his associate degree in culinary arts and was running the restaurant while his father was in Alaska during the summer. He takes pride in his family's heritage and the namesake of the restaurant.
'My grandfather was Greek,' Sam said. 'When he came to America, he changed his name from Diacos to Diamadopolis, which means city of diamonds. So we called the place D-Boys. When we opened we sold Greek food too, but as soon as the barbecue signs went up the Greek sales plummeted.'
The key to their business is the Nasty Sauce recipe, their special dry rub technique and the way they prepare their meat.
'We smoke our meat for about eight hours and braise it for another four,' Sam said. 'I personally like the BBQ tacos. It's pulled pork with Chipotle BBQ sauce and it has coleslaw, pico de gallo and southwestern ranch on top.'
The family restaurant prides itself on reasonable prices as well. Selling shooter sandwiches for just a dollar or two and having a 'Little Wranglers' kids menu with meals for around five dollars gives D-Boys an edge in a competitive restaurant market.
They are serious about their barbecue and portion sizes. To prove it, they have the Hog Tie Challenge, a 20-minute challenge to put away a two-pound burger, a pound of french fries and a 32-ounce soda.
'When you weigh something and cook it it loses weight. We weigh it and then cook it,' said Trevor Diamond, one of the younger Diamond sons. 'Then there is a 32-ounce soda, it has to be soda and it has to be done in 20 minutes. I've never done it.'
Sam hasn't ever done it either. In fact, only six people have since they opened in January. They were all awarded Hog Tied T-shirts.
John Diamond, father of the family, said he had been trying to open a barbecue restaurant like this for years. Finally, with his sons' expertise on food, the restaurant business and his experience with barbecue, they got the place together.
'The diamond on the sign is actually a drawing my father wanted to use for this,' John said. 'When I finally got it out there, I looked up to heaven and knew he could finally be happy.'
With the family feel the employees exhibit and tangible smoke smell, the Diamonds have challenged the whole local barbecue community to step up their game.