We used to get funny looks from passerbys when we’d set up the Weber grill near the garbage pails in front of our building and have pot-luck BBQs on summer evenings.

But now everyone’s doing it  on Third Street. On the north side of Third Street, that is.

On Memorial Day, at least four apartment buildings got out their grills and folding tables. The succulent smell of BBQ steaks, veggie burgers, salmon and other delicacies traveled from Sixth to Seventh Avenues inspiring others to do the same.

Our building has been doing this for years. All it takes is one person to say: "Anyone wanna do a BBQ?"  and we’re off and running. It’s the casual nature of the thing that makes it so sweet. Neighbors bring whatever they’ve got. Sometimes that means running out to the supermarket for meat and vegetables. Sometimes that means bringing leftovers from the fridge.

At our Memorial Day feast, in addition to the usual BBQ fare, there was tuna steaks, veggie shish kebab, Apple Brown Betty pie and a fruit salad with mangoes.

And there’s always plenty of wine and beer to drink.

The kids in the building spent much of the evening roasting marshmallows.  And S’mores are a tradition: What would a Third Street BBQ be without  a grahm cracker  sandwich filled with marshmallows and Hershey chocolates? Wrapped in silver foil, this concoction is heated for a few minutes or so – the kids seem to know the exact duration – until the ingredients are perfectly melted together. And delicious as hell.

Observing this warm-weather ritual, one is disabused of all guilt about bringing kids up in the city. If you squint your eyes, there’s little difference between this Park Slope scene and a summer evening in suburbia. The kids, hunched over a grill roasting marshmallows on chopsticks, could be anywhere: Scarsdale, Summit, or Syosset. And the adults, too: sipping wine, sitting on lawn furniture, discussing local politics and world news.

Sure,we’re out there on  the cement by the garbage. Sure the furniture is plastic, not Smith and Hawkins teak. Sure, the only green is the tree in front of our building and the geraniums and posies that got potted early in the day.

It’s a classic American scene, but very Park Slope in its way:

Everyone’s invited, the food is delicious, friendly pedestrians are welcome, and the conversation is as juicy as the burgers: veggie or otherwise.