Joe Gomez Photography

On Assignment · Community · Local food artisans · Riverside County

Nini’s BBQ:Good food.Common ground.

Fantastic barbecue deserves a story of its own. At Lake Elsinore Raceway, Nini's BBQ gave us one: local food, the people behind it, and the pleasure of a good meal shared around a common interest.

Photos & words by

Published

Rider 75 in a light-blue top leaning into a dirt turn at Lake Elsinore Raceway
The raceway sets the scene for a story about Nini’s BBQ, local food and the community around the track.

LAKE ELSINORE, CALIFORNIA

On October 24, 2026, riders and their supporters gathered for Round 2 of Emoto Racing Live's Fall Race Series. The electric motorcycle racing supplied the action; the paddock held the people, conversations and small exchanges that made up the rest of the day. [3][4]

That is where this assignment found its heart. I came to photograph Nini's BBQ and its crew, and to give the food artisans working at the event the attention they deserved.

There is a whole story in a meal changing hands. Someone has prepared it, finished it and made it ready. Someone else pauses, places an order and carries a little of that care back into the day.

For a community brought together by riding, good barbecue creates another place to connect. Nini's contribution was there at the serving table: food, hospitality and people doing the work behind both.

Good food gives people another reason to gather.

The setting · October 24, 2026

A shared day
at the raceway.

Rider 269 in black gear with fluorescent accents cornering on the dirt track
Rider 269 follows the turn through the October 24 race-day action.
Rider 25 in red Fasthouse gear leaning through a dirt corner
Red gear and a committed lean bring the corner into view.
A second view of rider 25 in red Fasthouse gear negotiating the turn
Another frame follows rider 25 through the same stretch of track.
Rider 28 in red gear leaning into a turn at Lake Elsinore Raceway
Rider 28 carries the line through the turn.
A second view of rider 28 in red gear cornering on the dirt course
A second angle holds the rider’s movement against the dirt.
Rider 15 approaching a dirt crest with the front wheel raised
The front wheel lifts as rider 15 approaches the crest.
Rider 25 with green goggles and boots approaching a mound with paddock tents behind
The track and paddock meet in the same frame.
Side view of a rider in red-and-black gear airborne with the bike angled
A side view holds the bike above the course.
Rider 25 in black and fluorescent-green gear on the dirt track with palms and hills behind
Palms and distant hills place the action in Lake Elsinore.
Rider 1 in black and fluorescent-yellow gear lifting the front wheel with another rider behind
The front wheel lifts, with another rider following behind.
Two airborne riders, number 25 in front and number 88 behind
Two riders share a brief moment above the dirt.
A rider in yellow, white and black gear crossing a dirt rise
The course rises beneath a rider in yellow, white and black.
Rider 1 in black-and-white gear airborne just above a dirt rise
One more frame above the track before the story turns toward the paddock.

Beyond the track

The gathering continues.

The commitment on the course is one part of a shared race day. Beyond the jumps and turns, the gathering continues beneath the canopies, where local businesses and the people around them help give the event its character.

People and parked bikes beneath paddock and vendor tents at Lake Elsinore Raceway
Beyond the track, people and local businesses give the paddock its character.
Adults, younger riders and parked bikes along a paddock lane beneath canopies
The gathering continues between the canopies.

Nini’s BBQ · At the serving table

The welcome begins here.

As customers fill the line, Nini's BBQ keeps the good food coming. Takeaway containers move across the counter, and happy guests walk away with goodies in hand.

The welcome carries beyond the serving table. A meal becomes a pause in the day, a reason to linger with good company, and one more connection among people who came together for the riding.

A takeaway container changing hands at the Nini’s BBQ serving table beneath a blue canopy
At Nini’s BBQ, the welcome begins with a meal changing hands.

On the menu

Goodies in hand.

The chalkboard lists brisket and pulled-pork sandwiches, mac-and-cheese bowls, and a small mac-and-cheese side.

Goodies in hand and a smile for the camera. Sometimes the clearest picture of hospitality is the moment an order leaves the counter.

Wooden-framed Nini’s BBQ chalkboard menu showing sandwiches, bowls, mac and cheese, and drinks
The photographed race-day menu at Nini’s BBQ.
A guest facing the camera while holding a tied white takeaway bag
Goodies in hand and a moment for the camera.

The local food artisan

The story behind the name.

Anthony, known as Nini, traces his barbecue story to food shared at work. On his website, he explains that the nickname came from being the youngest member of a construction crew.

After smoking a tri-tip at home, he brought the leftovers to his coworkers. Their response encouraged him to keep cooking and pursue the business. [1]

It is a fitting beginning for a local food artisan whose stated ambition is to bring people together through barbecue and hospitality. [2]

A gloved hand finishes takeaway bowls with sauce. Another order waits alongside it. These details put the work in view: preparing a meal, giving it its final touch, and getting it ready for the person at the counter.

Warm monochrome photograph of a worker’s shirt with the Nini’s BBQ Smoked Barbecue flame logo
The name behind the food: Nini’s BBQ.
A gloved worker applying red sauce to meat-filled takeaway bowls at the serving equipment
A gloved hand adds the finishing sauce to an order.

People & personality

Behind the plate.

The people at the stand give Nini's BBQ its human presence. Food, service and personality belong to the same experience, and a smile can be as much a part of the welcome as the meal.

Here, that spirit meets the camera directly. A shared gesture, an easy smile and a moment beneath the canopy make room for the people behind the plate.

Two people smiling and gesturing beneath a blue canopy, with Nini’s BBQ branding on a shirt and cap
A smile and a shared gesture bring the people at the stand into the story.

A little four-legged enthusiasm

Even the furry friends have something to howl about.

Good food, good company and a little four-legged enthusiasm. This expressive guest adds a playful note to the gathering - and a reminder that the day's best characters aren't all on two wheels.

A dog in a blue collar and harness resting in the shade near coolers
Even the furry friends have something to howl about.

Community, one order at a time

Good food.
Good company.

Happy customers, goodies in hand, and a welcome that keeps the conversation going. At the serving table, a guest holds a meal and a fork while a helmeted young rider and other visitors share the moment.

These are the connections that local food artisans help create. Their work meets the community one order at a time, through preparation, service and the pleasure of something good to eat.

Fantastic barbecue gives the moto community another reason to gather. Around Nini's BBQ, the food and the people enjoying the day belong in the same frame.

A smiling guest holding a takeaway container and fork beside a helmeted young rider and other visitors
Happy customers, goodies in hand, and a shared moment at the serving table.
A wide paddock aisle with canopies, riders, parked trucks and a no pit riding sign
The wider gathering at Lake Elsinore Raceway brings the day back into view.

The closing frame

A community worth feeding.

Racing brought this gathering to Lake Elsinore Raceway. Nini's BBQ contributed its own part: a local crew at work, a menu worth stopping for, and fantastic food woven into a shared day.

That is the story I wanted to recognize - the food artisans who bring their skills to community events, the people who welcome them, and the simple pleasure of leaving with something good in hand.

Thank you to Nini's BBQ and everyone who welcomed the camera into their day.

With appreciation · Anthony “Nini” Macedo

Special thanks to the smoke master himself.

A special thank-you to Anthony “Nini” Macedo for the craft and care behind Nini’s BBQ—and to the crew who brought that hospitality to the raceway.

Anthony “Nini” Macedo smiling and giving a thumbs-up in a Nini’s BBQ shirt
Special thanks to the smokemaster himself, Anthony “Nini” Macedo. Photo by Joe Gomez Photography, 2026.

Emoto Racing Live · 2026

Fall Series schedule

The October 24 assignment was Round 2 of Emoto Racing Live’s 2026 Fall Series. Here is the complete four-round schedule.

Emoto Racing Live Fall Series schedule: Round 1 October 3, Round 2 October 24, Round 3 November 14, and Round 4 December 5. All rounds at Lake Elsinore Raceway.
Open full-size poster ↗
  1. Round 1
  2. Round 2
  3. Round 3
  4. Round 4

All rounds at

Lake Elsinore Raceway

20700 Cereal St, Lake Elsinore, CA 92530
Official series schedule ↗Registration & race details ↗
See the series on our community calendar →
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