Archive for May, 2009
Far Western Tavern Named Top BBQ Restaurant
Sunset Magazine has included the Santa Maria Valley’s Far Western Tavern in its list of “Top 10 Barbecue Joints” in its June 2009 issue, scoring another prestigious accolade for Santa Maria Style Barbecue and putting the small town of Guadalupe on the map with Napa, Santa Fe, Seattle and Phoenix.
Here’s what Sunset says about the Far Western Tavern: “In a tiny town on a windswept stretch of the Santa Barbara County coast, this Santa Maria–style BBQ classic isn’t shy about embracing its ranching roots: The century-old building is decorated with cowhide curtains held by horseshoe clasps. The clientele is a mix of local cowboys in their Stetsons and foodies making a BBQ pilgrimage from L.A. or San Francisco…You gotta try the Pinot Filet. Served over grilled polenta, it’s where California barbecue meets the area’s Swiss-Italian heritage. And you get pinquito beans on the side.”
The Far Western Tavern was founded 50 years ago by Clarence and Rosalie Minetti along with cousin Richard Maretti, and is today considered a landmark of Santa Maria Style Barbecue. The restaurant is still owned by the Minetti family. Clarence and Rosalie’s daughter Susan Righetti is the founder of Susie Q’s Brand, an artisan purveyor of Santa Maria Style Barbecue foods.
Kudos to the Far Western Tavern for 50 years of barbecue excellence!
Chef John Embraces Santa Maria Style Barbecue
Chef John of the popular Food Wishes video blog recently featured a story and video on preparing Santa Maria Style Barbecue. Click here to view both.
As Chef John points out, his version isn’t the true “authentic” Santa Maria Style Barbecue, but rather his own artful interpretation with some extra ingredients. That’s the beauty of Santa Maria Style Barbecue, is it not? There is certainly a traditional way to prepare it, but it can also inspire creativity as well.
Thanks to Chef John for spreading the good word about Santa Maria Style Barbecue!
Susie Q’s Earns Raves at L.A. BBQ Festival
The Santa Maria Valley’s own Susie Q’s Brand sizzled at the recent Los Angeles Barbecue Festival, earning top billing in the Los Angeles Times’ recap of the event.
As reported in the Times: “The tri-tip, first popularized in the Santa Maria Valley, was juicy and just chewy enough. Festivalgoer John Jackson of Santa Monica was won over by the sandwich after initial skepticism: ‘I was like, “What, no barbecue sauce?’”A few bites told him the sandwich needed none.”
Score another convert to the big flavors of Santa Maria Style Barbecue!
Susie Q’s Brand ambassadors Brian and Nancy Stein tended festival fires and said that their food earned rave reviews throughout the day. Kudos to Susie Q’s Brand for representing Santa Maria Style Barbecue at this prestigious event!
BBQ Blog Named “Best Web Find” by Sunset
We were honored to have this Santa Maria Valley barbecue blog featured as one of Sunset Magazine’s “best web finds” on Sunset.com this week! That’s high praise coming from such a widely respected food and lifestyle publication.
Sunset.com’s “Our Best Web Finds” is a weekly series published on Fridays to showcase “what we’re reading now.” It turns readers on to a variety of web sites pertaining to food, travel and news from around the west.
On a related note, several Santa Maria Valley businesses will be at the upcoming Sunset Celebration Weekend on June 6-7 in Menlo Park, California.
This interactive festival features garden tours, kitchen demonstrations, wine and beer tasting, food samplig and much more. Keep an eye out for the Historic Santa Maria Inn, Radisson Hotel Santa Maria, Holiday Inn Santa Maria and the Santa Maria Valley Wine Country Association at this flavorful event.
Celebrate Elks Rodeo and Parade on June 4-7
The Santa Maria Elks Lodge is not only a cornerstone of Santa Maria Style Barbecue, but also the host of the annual Santa Maria Elks Rodeo and Parade, which takes place this year from June 4-7.
Get ready for bull riding, barrel racing, steer wrestling and team roping, to name a few of the exciting events that will unfold at the Elks-Unocal Event Center in Santa Maria. The festive parade takes place on South Broadway on Saturday, June 6 starting at 9 a.m. Of course, there will be many opportunities to enjoy Santa Maria Style Barbecue in and around the rodeo and parade. Click here for tickets and information.
The Santa Maria Elks Lodge has played a legendary role in the tradition of Santa Maria Style Barbecue. In his seminal book on Santa Maria Style Barbecue, R.H. Tesene observed that the Elks Lodge “has been by far the largest and most active organization to promote and put on Santa Maria Style Barbecues since the Santa Maria Club.”
Susie Q’s to Sizzle at L.A. BBQ Festival
The Santa Maria Valley’s own Susie Q’s Brand is one of a select group of barbecue artisans who will be serving up sizzling fare at the Los Angeles BBQ Festival in Santa Monica on May 9-10, 2009.
Pitmasters from Texas, Kansas City, Chicago, Los Angeles and elsewhere will join Susie Q’s Brand in celebrating the art of regional barbecue. The festivities will include live music, beer tasting and more.
Susie Q’s Brand was founded in 1981 by Susan Righetti, daughter of Far Western Tavern founders Clarence and Rosalie Minetti. Susan’s products include Santa Maria Valley Style Seasoning, Pinquito Beans with Seasoning, Red Oak Barbecue Chips and Strawberry Glaze Pie Filling. Susie Q’s Brand has been featured on the Food Network’s BBQ with Bobby Flay, Gourmet Magazine and elsewhere.
Bravo to Susie Q’s Brand for being selected to represent Santa Maria Style Barbecue at this prestigious event!
Three Questions with Daren Gee
Daren Gee is the founder and owner of DB Specialty Farms, one of California’s largest independent strawberry growers. His strawberries can be purchased fresh from the field at the Daren’s Berries stand just east of Highway 101 off Stowell Road. We recently spoke with Daren to get the scoop on Santa Maria Valley strawberries for our Three Questions series:
Why do strawberries thrive in the Santa Maria Valley?
It’s two things—the soil and the weather. We have a lot of sandy loam soil, which strawberries love. Also, we enjoy a mild coastal climate, where it’s rarely too hot or too cold. Most of the time, we hover between 50 and 75 degrees, which is perfect for growing strawberries.
What sets the strawberries of the Santa Maria Valley apart from other regions?
They just taste better. I can’t really say exactly why they taste better, but I hear this a lot from others, too, so there must be something to it. Santa Maria Valley strawberries just have a certain magic in them.
Where does the Santa Maria Valley rank in the big picture of strawberries?
Over the last four years, the valley’s strawberry acreage has increased faster than in any other area. In the not-too-distant future, we may emerge as top strawberry region on the Central Coast in terms of acreage and production.
Thank you, Daren! For more information, visit www.darensberries.com.
