Trends and customs come and go but none has become ingrained in the fabric of Santa Maria culture like the tradition of barbecue.

On the right week, Broadway resembles a giant tailgate party, with barbecues raging in parking lots and infusing the air with the unmistakeable aroma of sizzling tri-tip.

Tourists quickly learn clouds looming over the city's main thoroughfare aren't Los Angeles smog or the fumes from a California wildfire - that's salt-seasoned smoke whipping off a congregation of makeshift grills.

Visitor books have begun to mention the city for wine, but they always begin their Santa Maria entry with the subject of barbecue.

Sunset Magazine called it the "best barbecue in the world,” a claim loyal locals hardly dispute.

The custom has trickled into nearby cities such as Lompoc, where Santa Maria-style barbecues now line H Street in the city of Arts and Flowers.

Santa Maria's number one cuisine has thrived since rancheros started the local tradition in the late 1800s.

Advertisement

Since then barbecues have become the no-brainer cure for a clamorous belly and a leading revenue source for local fund raisers.

The grills have become a spot for locals of all walks of life to mingle - an outdoor Cheers of sorts.

They're also the refuge of families beleaguered with an ill member or a funeral expense. Nearly 2,000 tickets were sold for Saturday's fund-raiser for the family of a Sacramento-area woman who was abducted, murdered and found in a river in January.

Scores of Santa Maria-area family members of the late Chairo Jaribay Ferreyra filled a North Broadway parking lot to buy lunch, but to foremost support the grieving family.

“We chose to hold a barbecue, because its the easiest thing to do here,” said Maria Amburgey, Ferreyra's aunt.

Valley Christian Academy has evolved into the behemoth of local grills, pumping out nearly a ton of meat each weekend from its sprawling barbecue pit, said Dan Taylor, who manages the grill.

Volunteers fire up the grill at 6:30 a.m. and dish out the first slabs of beef by 8:30 a.m.

Yes, barbecue is a breakfast food around these parts.

Valley Christian uses the proceeds from nearly 1,000 customers each weekend to benefit student causes, like an upcoming senior trip to Israel.

Any Santa Maria barbecue uses red oak. If a dish of tri-tip hasn't soaked up the smoke of red oak, it isn't from the All America City.

Barbecue sauce is slapped across beef, but doesn't touch the chicken. Both meats utilize a generous dose of salt, pepper and garlic powder to fuel their addictive properties.

Though Valley Christian's business is thriving, Taylor laments the recent decline in grills around town. At its peak, two dozen grills would be charring beef and chicken along Broadway on any given weekend. A handful would operate throughout the week, Taylor said.

Compare that to a disturbing site Saturday, when Broadway hosted just two barbecues. The dismal weekend showing is partially due to the slow winter months, but also in part to recent crackdowns by the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department.

The department began a campaign enforcing permits and health standards in the North County in April. Santa Maria city leaders are working on a new ordinance that would tighten rules and permits for groups hosting barbecues.

The proposed ordinance and county crackdown have left some vendors confused over current and pending regulations, and worried for the future of the local custom.

“That's what Santa Maria is known for, for barbecue,” said Sonja Vea, whose Filipino Community Center runs a barbecue. “Now nobody is out there.”

The Filipino barbecue - a local staple - just moved from its South Broadway location to the tucked-away Community Center on Preisker Lane after the property's owner asked them to leave for unclear reasons, according to Vea.

Whether barbecue continues to populate Broadway like it did in its hey day is dependent on how the city and county go about regulating it, barbecuers say.

Regardless, it will always be the dish of choice, Vea said.

Mark Baylis can be reached at 739-2218 or mbaylis@santamariatimes.com

February 13, 2006