HISTORY OF ROADSIDE BBQ

About the Big Guys

#1 Randy Kaplan
Owner/operator
Randy has been a restaurant owner for over 22 years. His first venture was McBurley’s of Isla Vista, while he was a UC Santa Barbara student. McBurley’s opened in 1985 and became famous for its cheap beer, flame-broiled burgers, and chili-cheese fries. In 1989, he opened The Cantina, a Mexican Grill with jumbo burritos, homemade corn tortillas, and a fresh salsa bar. In 1992, he moved to San Francisco and opened Pancho’s at 1639 Polk St. in San Francisco. Pancho’s, a sister to The Cantina, specialized in fresh homemade Mexican food. Another Pancho’s location was opened in 1998 at 3440 Geary Blvd. in San Francisco.

#2 Francisco "Pancho" Tornez
Pit boss/kitchen manager/quality control supervisor
Pancho worked with Randy at The Cantina, and moved up to San Francisco to help in the opening of Pancho’s. He has over 20 years of restaurant experience. You’ll see him in the kitchen at Roadside BBQ. He’ll be the one basting the ribs in our smoker, mixing the batter for the corn muffins, baking the homemade pies, or chopping, mixing, blending, stirring, sauteeing, and grilling just about everything else for the menu at Roadside.

The Roadside Story

Roadside BBQ opened its doors in San Francisco, California, in 2006. Our restaurant is a place where folks can go to enjoy a mighty fine BBQ meal in a comfortable, friendly, and “down home” atmosphere.

We use a combination of Apple,Hickory, and Mesquite woods to smoke all our meats.

You’ll notice a pinkish hue under the surface of the meat. That results from slow cooking with wood.

BBQ Basics

Rubs- The basic seasonings of BBQ. Spices, salt and sugar, that are rubbed onto meat hours before it is cooked.

Mopped- The process of basting meat with sauce while it cooks.

Wet- Meat served with sauce on top.

Dry- Meat served without sauce.

Low and Slow- The process of cooking meat at low temperatures for long periods of time.

Smoke Ring- Layer of pink color near the surface of BBQ’d meat that is the result of low and slow cooking.