Get My Goat! Harvest Fair Double Gold BBQ Goat Featured at Smokin’ Saturday Adventure Barbeque in Sebastopol
June 9, 2011, Sebastopol, CA: Just in time for Father’s day, Sonoma County chef Larry Vito will be serving up the heart-healthy slow-smoked BBQ goat that won Double Gold from the Sonoma County Harvest Fair.
With culinary credentials that stretch from palling around with such luminaries as M. F. K. Fisher and James Beard to certification as a Kansas City Barbecue Society Judge, Sebastopol chef Larry Vito promises adventurous gourmands an extravagant slow-smoked barbeque and local wine pairing adventure every second Saturday of the month. This Saturday, June 11, Vito serves the beast that started it all.
When Sonoma County Harvest Fair judges gave him a Double Gold for Best Use of Sonoma County Goat, Vito knew he had to find a way to bring the experience to Sonoma County gourmands… The Smokin’ Saturday Adventure BBQ was born.
Vito says, “Smoked goat has a tremendous flavor all its own. And, it’s a lighter, healthier red meat that’s better for you than beef.” Goat is generally considered to be a heart-healthy alternative to beef, with fewer calories, less cholesterol and significantly less fat. Consider how a serving of goat meat compares to beef:
Beef: 179 calories ~ Goat: 122 calories
Beef: 73.1 mg cholesterol ~ Goat: 63.8 mg cholesterol
Beef: 7.9 g total fat (3 saturated) ~ Goat: 2.6 g total fat (.79 saturated)
SOURCE: Alabama A&M University Publications
It’s good for your heart but how does it taste? When Vito launched the BBQ Smokehouse Bistro Smokin’ Saturday Adventure BBQ back in February, his customers were absolutely wowed by the delectable flavor of this juicy, healthful, low-fat meat.
Several international cuisines include signature goat dishes and U.S. chefs have started to catch the trend. In March 2011, Starchefs.com, the magazine for culinary insiders, reported that the biggest obstacle to serving goat in the U.S. is not the American palate — it’s the supply chain. (Full article)
Fortunately, this is Sonoma County and we have Gleason Ranch in Bodega. The Prebilich family raises grass-fed beef, lamb, pork, and poultry served in some of San Francisco’s finest restaurants. And the most tender, gently raised goat on the market.
Vito said, “This goat is totally hormone-free, no antibiotics, grass-fed. Gleason meats are absolutely the best you can get. We are so fortunate to have a local source for top quality meats right in our back yard.” The BBQ Smokehouse Bistro and Gleason Ranch are working together to bring Gleason’s conscientiously raised meats to local diners — at an affordable price — every month at Vito’s Smokin’ Saturday Adventure BBQ.
Intrigued? There’s only one way to get Vito’s goat: stop by the BBQ Smokehouse Bistro in Sebastopol on Saturday June 11. Vito plans to carve at noon and serve the delicately smoked goat until it’s gone, paired with a luscious Amphora Vineyards Red Table wine: a balanced, relaxed wine with jammy stone fruit flavors and hints of chocolate in the finish.
Since the popular wine country eatery opened in 2009, the BBQ Smokehouse Bistro has garnered dozens of local awards from the Sonoma County Harvest Fair, as well as attention from food writers and barbeque fans from the Bay area and beyond. Vito’s BBQ Smokehouse Catering is a family owned and operated concern, serving the North Bay since 1996. About | BBQ Smokehouse Press Page | Chef Bio
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
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BBQ Smokehouse Bistro & Catering
6811 Laguna Park Way, Sebastopol CA · contact: Larry Vito 707-575-3277 (ext. 2) · Email Larry Vito
Apr. 5, 2011, Sebastopol, CA: Balletto Vineyards Russian River Valley Estate wines meet Sustainably Raised Local Lamb
When wine writer Gerald Asher wrote “A wine list is good only when it functions well in tandem with a menu” Sebastopol chef Larry Vito said, “Amen!” Vito has selected three superior Russian River Valley wines that marry perfectly with the Gleason Ranch lamb slated for this weekend’s Smokin’ Saturday Adventure Barbeque at the BBQ Smokehouse Bistro in Sebastopol.
Balletto’s estate-bottled wines are highly coveted limited edition vintages, grown and bottled by the Sonoma County Farm Bureau’s 2010 Farm Family of the Year. Vito says, “Paired with my slow-smoked lamb, each of these wines offers a different, very appealing flavor combination. The truth is, they all work so well, I couldn’t choose just one!” Guests won’t have to choose, either.
Vito will offer a flight of three legendary Russian River Valley wines from Balletto Vineyards at the BBQ Smokehouse Bistro in Sebastopol: the 2008 Pinot Noir Winery Block (Double Gold Medal – San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition), the 2006 Zinfandel, and the 2006 Syrah (Gold Medal- San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition).
StarkInsider.com says of the 2008 Pinot Noir, “It might be hard to find, only 300 cases were made. If you do score a bottle, be sure to savor the occasion.” The Balletto flight will be available Saturday April 9 only for the unheard-of price of $12.
The Smokin’ Saturday Adventure Barbeque is a local affair — paired with Sonoma County wine will be a slow-smoked whole lamb from Sonoma County’s own Gleason Ranch. A sixth-generation ranching family, the Prebilich’s raise their grass-fed beef, lamb, pork, and poultry in Bodega.
The local lamb will be rubbed with Vito’s rosemary, garlic and black pepper pesto a full 48 hours in advance, then slow-smoked to perfection for 12 hours. Vito plans to carve at noon on April 9. The Bistro will serve the tender barbeque lamb dinners and the Russian River Valley Flight until both the lamb and the wine are gone. More About the Tipsy Lamb Adventure BBQ
The quirky Sebastopol restaurant launched its Smokin’ Saturday Adventure BBQ in February with his award-winning smoked goat. Adventurous gourmands can now enjoy slow-smoked Gleason Ranch meats paired with a local wine every second Saturday of the month.
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 in Sebastopol, CA. The family owned and operated restaurant pairs local wine with cuisine that melds traditional Southern-style barbeque with bistro style comfort food from both sides of the Atlantic. Catering in the North Bay since 1996. 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
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 in Bodega, CA, Gleason Ranch has a well-earned reputation for producing meats of superior quality. About
# # #
BBQ Smokehouse Bistro & Catering
6811 Laguna Park Way, Sebastopol CA · contact: Larry Vito 707-575-3277 (ext. 2) · Email Larry Vito
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
# # #
BBQ Smokehouse Bistro & Catering
6811 Laguna Park Way, Sebastopol CA · contact: Larry Vito 707-575-3277 (ext. 2) · Email Larry Vito
