go local sonoma county

BBQ Smokehouse Go Local Updates

Shift Happens…

The idea is simple. Spend our dollars locally. Shop at locally owned shops, especially those that offer locally made goods. Eat out at local restaurants. Buy locally grown foods. Everyone wins. We create local jobs, ensure the preservation of Sonoma County’s agricultural heritage and reduce our collective environmental footprint. What’s not to like?

April 6, 2011: Locals Share Local Business Raves & Win Ribs

Thanks to everyone who added a comment on our Win Ribs page in March! The winners were… Lucy Miles (April 4), Chris Bator (March 25), Carol (March 15) and Jilly (March 8). You’ll find everyone’s comments posted below. Thanks for participating! By the way, you can still Win Ribs. We give away an entire rack of Larry’s legendary slow-smoked Memphis Ribs every week!

Have you been to Earthchild in Sebastopol? They have everything all natural for babies and kids. Really, it’s the best kids store in the county. The stuff isn’t cheap but that’s because its almost all handmade and everything top construction. My day care provider gets all her toys there because they last. Check it out! ~ Lucy Miles

To tell you the truth, I’ve never liked BBQ – meat swimming in red sauce doesn’t do it for me. My GF dragged me to the BBQ Smokehouse. We tried the rib tips, the pulled pork sliders, and the cheesy new potato appetizer. Everything was so good – I think I never had real barbeque before. Ever since, the smokehouse rates as one of my favorite local businesses. RileyStreet in Santa Rosa is another favorite – great people and reasonable prices. ~ Scott

Union Hotel in Occidental makes the best pizza in Sonoma County. If you get there early enough, try the pies before they’re gone. O.M.G. ~ Lori C.

Laguna Vet Hospital on Highway 12. They saved my sheep on a weekend for free! ~ wendybird

How about Annies Organics? My kids love the mac and cheese boxes where the macaroni comes, well, from the bunnies bottom. (Theres a bunny printed on the box.) Weird but the kids think its hilarious. Annies makes a good frozen pizza too. Needless to say when we go to the smokehouse the kids want the macaroni and cheese with their chicken! ~ Jilly

Hands down: Community Market = everything awesome. For people, not profit ~ Nikee H

Community Market and Oliver’s Market in Santa Rosa for all of the great fresh, organic, and local food they sell. ~ Derek H.

I love to stop in at Cast Away Yarn in Santa Rosa, they have such a great selection of yarns, patterns and needles. It’s nice to pour over yarns and patterns with a cup of tea. They have an irresistible and beautiful selection of yarns, all price ranges. Fun to stop there before my real destination, BBQ Smokehouse for gorgeous BBQ (I can never pick, so it’s always a couple of choices …rib tips, brisket…) and a glass of Amphora Zin!! Yummy! Thanks, Chef Larry! ~ Elaine E.

Great Local Business?? How about Screamin’ Mimi’s. Not only is the ice cream great but they also use fresh, local, seasonal ingredients. Also, they give back to the community in a big way..how many of you got a pint of ice cream for donating a pint of blood? That is what a local business is all about. ~ Dana D.

My Favorite business is KSRO Radio: Love the Drive With Steve Jaxon, especially, but also Cooking in Sonoma, the Good Food Hour and the garden show. Plus good coverage of local news and events. I am a daily listener. ~ Bob C

Coaches Corner rocks. ~ Denise P

I like Virtual Jeannie Business Services in Cotati: Jeanne Davis is a great bookkeeper, and her staff is competent and caring. Jeanne has saved money for a number of businesses that I know of, and kept them out of trouble with the IRS, too. She can take a bag of receipts and make sense of it – something I could never do. Jeanne’s also a certified QuickBooks Expert, as well. ~ Charles L.

Copperfields: Great book store, right here in town for us to enjoy! ~ Carol

Video Droid. I think they have like 3 stores but all in county so that should count as local. Best selection of movies and best prices. You can turn in your blockbuster card for a free rental. ~ Karen

BBQ Smokehouse ROCKS!! Of all the dining choices in Sebastopol, this place beats them all hands down!! The ribs are the best I have ever had. Thanks for providing our town with this quality food! ~ Doug

BBQ Smokehouse is my favorite! My family & I have been delighted every time with the best food in town! Today being Sunday & rainy weather, the meal brought a ray of sunshine to satisfy our tummy’s. And as always we walk out totally full. Worth every penny! Thank-you! ~ Janet Thompson

I’ve been getting printing done at Sprint Printing in Sebastopol forever. I’m really glad they’re hanging on in this economy wit all the digital changes too. Ron does great work over there and the whole staff gives you home-town attention that you just aren’t going to get it anywhere else. ~ Jay B.

My favorite local business is El Molino Pharmacy in Forestville. In addition to filling prescriptions, they have a wonderful array of gifts including jewelry, soaps, clothes, and a lot more. They carry great greeting cards. The staff is sooooo friendly and makes you feel good shopping there. ~ Connie

I bought a late lunch for starving staff and volunteers of the Legacy, the Needlework and Craft Supply shop that supports the Sebastopol Senior Center. Way to boost morale at the store and make customers want to turn into volunteers! Thanks for the help, better than incense in the store!! ~ Sherry K.

We drive up from Tiburon regularly. There are 2 places we usually go. BBQ Smokehouse and Russian River Brewing Co in Santa Rosa. Vinnie and Natalie have the best place there. OK, sometimes we eat some pizza bites to hold us until we can get over to BBQ Smokehouse. But the award winning beer (especially Consecration) and friendly service really gets us ready for great BBQ. ~ Chris Bator

I believe that BBQ Smokehouse has the best ribs I have ever eaten! I used to get the dinner meal, but I have graduated to the full rack so I can make sure we have enough! The brisket is my second favorite, and the cornbread is a heavenly addition to any meal there! Thanks for bringing this fine food to our town!! You are my favorite restaurant!! ~ Lori

Fircrest Market: Fircrest is home town, friendly and a great place to shop. I see friends, family, and casual acquaintances. Prices are great, and they have a lot of stuff squeezed into a small store. ~ Carol

That’s easy. I’ve been shopping at Frizelle-Enos forever. Great stuff and friendly folks. And they let your kids pet the baby chicks! ~ Jamie

Visit the Go Local Business Directory.

March 2, 2011: Smokin’ Saturday Adventure BBQ Goes Local: Bodega’s Gleason Ranch Partners with BBQ Smokehouse Bistro in Sebastopol

Mar. 2, 2011, Sebastopol, CA: Sonoma County Go Local Cooperative prompts a partnership that will give local diners affordable, top-quality, grass-fed local meats prepared by a Mobil 5-Star chef monthly, beginning March 12. Sebastopol chef and restaurateur Larry Vito joined the Sonoma County GoLocal cooperative because he was sure it would benefit the community… somehow. “I support spending locally so it sounded like a good idea,” said Vito, “but I was a little vague on the details.” Just weeks later, he gets it.

“The first meeting was a revelation,” Vito reports, “GoLocal is about making connections locally. Getting local products into local restaurants. It makes sense for a restaurant. Locally sourced foods are fresher and less trucking is good for the environment.”

In that spirit, Vito contacted fellow GoLocal member Gleason Ranch and proposed a partnership. The Prebilich family raises grass-fed beef, lamb, pork, and poultry served in some of San Francisco’s finest restaurants. Vito’s catering business had been a client for years.

Vito said, “It’s hormone-free, no antibiotics, grass-fed. Gleason meats are the best you can get. The thing is, I’d have to charge more than the people in our neighborhood can really afford. This isn’t San Francisco.”

By the time the two GoLocal members were done discussing the impact of their business decisions on the local community, they had decided to work together to bring Gleason’s conscientiously raised meats to local diners at a more affordable price. The first Gleason Ranch offering will be a whole hog on March 12 at the BBQ Smokehouse Bistro Smokin’ Saturday Adventure BBQ.

The quirky Sebastopol restaurant launched its Smokin’ Saturday Adventure BBQ in February with the barbecued goat that brought home a Sonoma County Harvest Fair Gold award in 2010. Starting with the Whole Hog in March, adventurous gourmands can enjoy Gleason Ranch meats, slow-smoked to perfection and paired with a local wine every second Saturday of the month.

Drawing on decades of wine and food pairing experience, Vito will offer Sebastopol’s own 2006 Balletto Zinfandel, an Estate-bottled wine with aromas of juicy red berries, mulberries, black pepper and cream. Bright fruit flavors of pomegranates, red berries and a hint of coffee and chocolate. This is a mature zinfandel at the height of its perfection.

Vito’s catering clients have enjoyed Larry’s Gleason Ranch whole hog for years. Vito says, “It’s not something we can do every day. After the rub, it goes in the smoker for 16 hours. The skin stays on to seal in the juices — it practically pops when I make the first cut.”

Vito plans to carve at noon on March 12 and serve the delicately smoked pork with his signature North Carolina barbeque sauce until the whole hog gone. More About Adventure BBQ

The BBQ Smokehouse Bistro has garnered dozens of local awards from the Sonoma County Harvest Fair since the popular wine country barbeque eatery opened in 2009. Vito’s BBQ Smokehouse Catering is a family owned and operated concern, serving the North Bay since 1996. About

The Gleason Ranch is a sixth-generation family agribusiness committed to sustainability, conservation, and practicing low-stress management, rotational pasturing, and hormone-free animal husbandry. Established in 1912, Gleason Ranch has a well-earned reputation for producing meats of superior quality. About

In July 2010, the Balletto Family was honored by the Sonoma County Farm Bureau with the Farm Family of the Year award. John Balletto began farming produce just out of high school, with $200 in the bank and five acres in Sebastopol, California. The Balleto’s increased their wine grape acreage in the Russian River Valley in the 90s, selecting only the top 10% of the grapes from their 500 acres to bottle under the Balletto label. About

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