Posts filed under ‘Food & Wine Events’
It’s Time to Savor The Central Coast
The Santa Maria Valley is gearing up to participate in Savor The Central Coast, a one-of-a-kind food and wine extravaganza hosted by Sunset Magazine on Thursday, September 30 through Sunday, October 3.
Needless to say, Santa Maria Style Barbecue will play a starring role at Savor The Central Coast, as expressed and complemented by the signature flavors of participating local restaurants, food purveyors and wineries. The Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce and Visitor & Convention Bureau is partnering with other Santa Barbara County communities—Santa Barbara, Buellton and Solvang—to celebrate a “Santa Barbara County road trip” theme at the Central Coast Pavilion at the main event.
The main event takes place on Saturday, October 2 and Sunday, October 3 at the historic Santa Margarita Ranch, located about 35 miles north of Santa Maria in San Luis Obispo County. The main event will include a food and wine marketplace, cooking demonstrations, and kitchen garden seminars. Related events throughout the region will include wine tastings, agricultural tours, a gala dinner and a closing concert by Chris Isaak at Avila Beach Golf Resort.
Click here for more information and tickets to Savor The Central Coast. We hope to see you there!
Bring Your Appetite to The Salad Bowl Festival
The Santa Maria Valley may be most famous for its world-class barbecue, fine wines and sensational strawberries, but it is also home to a remarkable agricultural bounty that will be celebrated this weekend and the 1st annual Salad Bowl Festival in Guadalupe.
The event, which will be held at LeRoy Park at 4630 11th Street on Sunday, September 12, will feature a salad dressing recipe contest, family and kid-friendly games, arts and crafts, music and entertainment, food, beer and wine, and information booths promoting healthy living. Keeping in the spirit of the theme, the games include “cabbage bowling” where actual cabbages are rolled at pins; a “broccoli toss” in the vein of tic-tac-toe; and “gunnysack races” where participants retrieve carrots and croutons and place them in a salad bowl. Salad dressing entries will be judged in two categories: “creamy” or “vinaigrette.”
Conceived by Guadalupe residents and merchants, the Salad Bowl Festival was established to promote the City of Guadalupe and to celebrate the region as a place for healthy, high-quality produce. Click here to visit the event web site.
Don’t miss this unique opportunity to taste and celebrate the wondrous natural flavors of the Santa Maria Valley!
P.S. Special thanks to Reka Badger of the Santa Maria Sun, KKFX Television, Santa Maria Times, Santa Barbara News Press and others for spreading the word about this one-of-a-kind event in the heart of Santa Maria BBQ country.
The Santa Maria Barbecue Bash Is Back
Get ready for an extravaganza of Santa Maria barbecue this weekend as the Family Care Network hosts its second annual Wild West BBQ Bash at Preisker Park in Santa Maria this Saturday, June 26 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. This event is just another reason why they call Santa Maria “California’s BBQ Capital.”
That said, Santa Maria Style Barbecue won’t be the only sizzling treats served up on Saturday. Teams of barbecue experts from across the Santa Maria Valley and California will compete in six categories: chicken, beef brisket, pork ribs, pork shoulder, “People’s Choice,” and of course, Santa Maria Style tri-tip.
The event is a benefit for foster and high-needs children and families on the Central Coast. Admission is free, and barbecue sampling tickets can be purchased for $2 apiece. Click here for more information.
The family-friendly festivities will include live music, cultural displays and children’s games. So bring the kids…and your appetite!
A Perfect Pairing: Rodeo and Barbecue
The 67th annual Santa Maria Elks Rodeo officially begins this evening, kicking off an action-packed weekend at the Santa Maria Elks / Unocal Event Center, including the 2010 Elks Rodeo Parade on Saturday. From barrel racing to team roping, steer wrestling to bull riding, this rodeo has it all. And naturally, the aromas of red oak and sizzling Santa Maria barbecue will be prevalent throughout the festivities.
The rodeo speaks to the Santa Maria Valley’s rich ranching heritage, the same heritage that gave rise to Santa Maria Style Barbecue. Indeed, the roots of Santa Maria Style Barbecue date back to the mid-1800s, when large ranches occupied the hills of the Santa Maria Valley. Local ranchers would host Spanish-style feasts each spring for their vaqueros, or cowboys, as well as family and friends—barbecuing meat over earthen pits filled with hot coals of red oak. Out of this tradition came Santa Maria Style Barbecue.
The Santa Maria Elks Lodge has also played a storied role in the legacy of Santa Maria Style Barbecue, staging epic barbecues through the years, and counting numerous Santa Maria BBQ experts among its members.
As R.H. Tesene wrote in his Santa Maria Style Barbecue book, “The Santa Maria 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…There are many teams of Elks barbecuers who travel great distances throughout the United States with their barbecue its, red oak wood, meat and personnel to put on large special out-of-town Santa Maria Style barbecues.”
Visit the Elks Rodeo web site for information and tickets, and don’t forget to bring your appetite.
Chardonnay Symposium Comes to BBQ Country
Attention Chardonnay enthusiasts! The ultimate celebration of this noble varietal is coming to the Santa Maria Valley with the first annual Chardonnay Symposium on Saturday, July 31 hosted by the Santa Maria Valley Wine Country Association.
In the words of wine writer Steve Heimoff, “Chardonnay — America’s favorite white wine — is about to have its very own public event. The Chardonnay Symposium. About time.” Hear, hear!
The full-day event begins with morning informational sessions featuring speakers selected from California’s most notable Chardonnay growing regions, including Jim Clendenen of Au Bon Climat, Brian Talley of Talley Vineyards, Denise Shurtleff of Cambria Winery, Richard Sanford of Alma Rosa, and Randy Ullom of Kendall-Jackson.
Full-day tickets cost $100 and include a choice of morning panel discussion, lunch, transportation, admission to the Grand Tasting, a Riedel wine glass, and gift bag. Tickets for the Grand Chardonnay Tasting Event are included in the full-day cost or may be purchased for $45 separately. The tasting event will take place at Tres Hermanas Winery. Visit the symposium’s web site for tickets and more information.
Now, we won’t be so cheeky as to suggest that Chardonnay is the ideal pairing for Santa Maria Style Barbecue (a local Syrah or Pinot Noir tends to be a more appropriate match), but there is no question that the varietal is a perfect pairing for the soils and climate of the Santa Maria Valley. Chardonnay thrives amid the valley’s long, moderate growing season, which is forged by its rare “transverse” geography. Simply put, the valley runs west to east, opening right up to the Pacific ocean at the far end. This orientation encourages the influx of cool marine air, resulting in exquisite growing conditions for Burgundian varietals, among others.
So come on out and enjoy the ultimate Chardonnay experience, and don’t forget to savor authentic Santa Maria BBQ at one of our local restaurants while you’re in the neighborhood.
The Sweetest Festival of All
In the Santa Maria Valley, sweet strawberries are the perfect complement to sizzling barbecue. Indeed, no Santa Maria BBQ meal is complete without being punctuated by a dessert made with fresh local strawberries.
Now it’s time once again to celebrate and savor the valley’s signature berry as the annual Santa Maria Valley Strawberry Festival arrives at the Santa Maria Fairpark on April 23-25. As always, this berry bash will feature strawberry varietal sampling, strawberry desserts, educational exhibits and old-fashioned carnival entertainment.
The Santa Maria Valley is renowned for the rare quality of its strawberries, which, like wine grapes, thrive in the region’s uniquely moderate coastal climate. The recently released Santa Barbara County Crop Report reveals that more than 7,500 acres of strawberries were harvested in 2009 (with the vast majority of that acreage being in the Santa Maria Valley), and that the total value of the county’s harvested strawberries for 2009 was more than $344 million.
Now is one of the best times of year to enjoy local strawberries at their best, and the Strawberry Festival is your ultimate ticket to indulge in this sweet local sensation.
Go Fly A Kite in BBQ Country
While this blog is dedicated to Santa Maria Style Barbecue and the surrounding flavors of the Santa Maria Valley, sometimes something comes along that causes us to put down the forks, knives and wine glasses…
On that note, we just can’t resist talking about the first annual Famly Kite Festival brought to you by the Santa Maria Valley Discovery Museum. This free festival takes place on Sunday, April 18 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Rotary Centennial Park.
The festivities will include a kite chase for children, a “most beautiful” kite contest, and expert “sport flyers.” You can bring your own kite to join the fun, or purchase one on site. Check out this Kitelife Magazine article for more information and a schedule of events, or visit the Discovery Museum web site.
And after you work up an appetite after an afternoon of kite flying, you know what to do: Enjoy a reduced-price menu during the DineOut: Santa Maria Style promotion that is taking place through April 25.
It’s Time to Dine Out…Santa Maria Style!
The time has come to treat yourself to the many flavors of the Santa Maria Valley as DineOut: Santa Maria Style begins today, with eight local restaurants offering reduced-price menus for the next two weeks.
The fixed menu prices start at $10.10, and continue with the “2010” theme at $20.10, $30.10 and $40.10, depending on the restaurant and meal (see below for link to full menus listing).
The participating restaurants include Santa Maria BBQ specialists The Hitching Post (Casmalia location) and Far Western Tavern, as well as Trattoria Uliveto, Garden Room Restaurant at the Historic Santa Maria Inn, Vintner’s Grill at the Radisson, Portabella at the Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites, Adelina’s Bistro at the Monarch Club, and Quizno’s at South Bradley Road.
Just ask for “DineOut: Santa Maria Style” when making your reservation. Click here for a full list of DineOut: Santa Maria Style menus. Bon appetit!
P.S. Thanks to KKFX Fox 11 and KCOY 12 for featuring DineOut: Santa Maria Style on this morning’s news show!
Wine and Dine During Vintners’ Festival
In the Santa Maria Valley, BBQ country is also the wine country, as the region is home to numerous award-winning wines, including the Wine Enthusiast’s Wine of The Year for 2009.
Are you getting thirsty? Good, because at the upcoming Santa Barbara County Vintners’ festival on April 17 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., you will be able to sample a wide array of local wines, including those from the neighboring Santa Ynez Valley and Santa Rita Hills. The event will be held at River Park in Lompoc.
The festivities will include live music and appetizers from a variety of local restaurants. Please visit www.sbcountywines.com or call (805) 688-0881 for tickets and information.
P.S. For more information on touring the Santa Maria Valley wine country, visit www.santamariavalleywinecountry.com and www.santamaria.com. Click here for restaurants specializing in Santa Maria Style Barbecue, and here for information on a dining promition that coincides with the vintner’s festival.
Dine and Save in BBQ Country
“DineOut: Santa Maria Style” is back, and it’s better than ever as eight participating restaurants in the Santa Maria Valley offer special reduced price menus from April 12 through April 25.
The dates are designed to correspond with the Santa Maria Strawberry Festival on April 23-25, and it’s a great way for people to affordably experience the variety of our local flavors, including, of course, Santa Maria Style Barbecue!
The fixed menu prices start at $10.10, and continue with the “2010” theme at $20.10, $30.10 and $40.10, depending on the restaurant and meal. For example, the Historic Santa Maria Inn is offering a Grilled Salmon Filet atop grilled basil polenta for $20.10, which includes choice of soup or salad, tomato bruschetta and a dessert featuring vanilla ice cream, seasonal berries served in a caramel basket. Prices do not include tax or tip.
The participating restaurants are The Hitching Post in Casmalia, Trattoria Uliveto, Far Western Tavern, Garden Room Restaurant at the Historic Santa Maria Inn, Vintner’s Bar & Grill at the Radisson Hotel Santa Maria, Portabella at the Holiday Inn and Suites, Adelina’s Bistro at the Monarch Club, and Quizno’s on South Bradley Road.
Diners are encouraged to make reservations in advance, and to mention the “DineOut: Santa Maria Style” promotion when dining or making a reservation as regular menu items will also be available. Click here for a full listing of menus and pricing.
