Charcoal: Rocks for People Who Need Supervision

First question: what the heck is charcoal, besides the thing you bravely dump into a grill while wearing flip-flops like a person with no enemies and no nerve endings?

Charcoal is wood heated with very little oxygen until most of the water, sap, and volatile compounds leave. What’s left is mostly carbon: lightweight, dark, and ready to turn vegetables into something your guests call “rustic” because they love you. That is why charcoal burns hotter and cleaner than a random log from behind the shed. A log is still full of moisture and tree boogers. Charcoal has already transformed; it’s wood after a silent retreat and one alarming haircut.

Let’s dig into the options:

• Kingsford Original is the classic route. You start it with a match plus a firelighter, lighter fluid, or a chimney starter if you own grill accessories and say things like “airflow” at parties. It gives you more control because the charcoal itself is just sitting there politely, waiting for you to stop being weird.
• Self-starting charcoal already has starter material added, so it catches more easily. This is great if you want fewer steps between “let’s grill” and “why does your zucchini look like a rejected geology sample?” The catch: let it burn until the coals are properly ashed over before cooking, so the starter smell clears and your portobello doesn’t taste like a gas station.

Either way, wait for gray, glowing coals. We know patience is hard. We also know about that time you got second-degree burns warming up a Pop-Tart, so let’s not pretend this is beneath you.

Lighter Fluid and and Matches: Let's Get This Party Started

Second question: what the heck is lighter fluid, and why does it make certain dads stand eight inches taller?

Charcoal lighter fluid is a flammable liquid made to help charcoal catch fire. It evaporates easily, and those vapors ignite. That is useful. It is also why you treat the bottle like a small jug of consequences, not like BBQ cologne.

Some tips:

• Use matches when you need the basic spark. Matches are humble. Ancient. Reliable. The flip phone of fire. They do one job and, unlike half the apps on your phone, they don’t ask to track your location while failing to improve your life.
• Use firelighters when you want a steadier start without soaking the charcoal. They’re little solid starter blocks or cubes that burn long enough to get the coals going, which is helpful if your fire skills peaked at birthday candles and even then success was not guaranteed.
• Use charcoal lighter fluid when you want classic charcoal going faster. Add it only before lighting, give it time to soak in, then light carefully. Do not add lighter fluid to hot or already burning coals. That is not “a little boost.” That is auditioning for the Mountain View Fire Department’s annual presentation titled “What Is Wrong With These People?”

The goal is fire under the food, not on your cuffs, eyebrows, deck railing, or forearms. We know by the end of summer you are usually a walking flesh wound, a mummy of aloe-soaked bandages shuffling toward the produce aisle. That’s why you planted that backyard aloe garden: Not for decor… for crop yield.

Tiny BBQ Fire Rules for Your Remaining Skin

Fire is useful. Fire is also extremely committed to being fire, which is more than we can say for your follow-through on "this year I'll be careful."

So: grill outside, keep the grill stable, keep sleeves and paper towels far away from the action, let coals ash over, and keep a way to shut things down nearby. Water is fine for many oops moments around the grill area, but if you're dealing with grease, use a proper extinguisher, or smother it. Don't negotiate with flames. Flames do not respect your Stanford degree or your Patagonia vest.

Also, assign one adult to be in charge. This can be a literal adult or the person in the group least likely to say "hold my beer." If that person is you, congratulations on your personal growth and condolences to everyone nearby.

Lorina Lemonade: Cooling Off (Your Insides)

After all that flame management, you need something cold, fizzy, and supportive. Ideally before someone starts identifying country shapes in your individual blisters. Enter Lorina Lemonade, new at Ava’s!

Lorina is a sparkling French lemonade brand with roots back to 1895 in Munster, France. It’s made with natural flavors, no preservatives, no artificial colors, and a proudly bubbly attitude. It is lemonade with carbonation and glassy European confidence. American lemonade arrives at the picnic in a pitcher. Lorina arrives in oversized sunglasses and quietly judges your entire vibe.

The classic lemonade is bright, citrusy, and sparkling. The pink lemonade gives you that rosy summer thing without turning the whole drink into a sugar punch. Both are ideal for pairing with burgers, grilled vegetables, salty chips, and the moment when the grillmaster has been standing too close to the heat and starts blinking one eye at a time.

The Clearance Table: Nobody Saw Nothin'

The clearance table in the back is still making quiet little back-room deals: rotating oddball treasures, marked-down snacks, and products that seem like we'd say "I cannot discuss my supplier." Check it before you leave. If you find something at a price that you just can't refuse, that is not an accident. That is the table choosing you.

​Last Chance to Vote!​

If you enjoy having a local, independent neighborhood grocery store where you can buy raw honey, organic produce, obscure European cookies, and one extremely specific type of mustard you just can't find elsewhere, please vote for Ava’s in the Voice's "Best of Mountain View". Your support helps keep small local businesses alive on Castro Street.

​https://www.mv-voice.com/best-of/​