The Roadside BBQ Story

Roadside BBQ first opened its doors in San Francisco, California, in 2006. A second restaurant, in Marin County at the Northgate Mall in San Rafael, opened in 2010. And a third restaurant, in Sonoma County at the Graton Casino Markeplace in Rohnert Park, opened in the fall of 2013. Today Roadside BBQ is an easy trip over the bridge to its two current locations in San Rafael and Rohnert Park. Folks will enjoy some mighty fine BBQ meals cookin' up 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.

About the Big Guys

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.

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.