Share Categories Barbecue More Articles The original Hitching Post restaurant in Casmalia in the Santa Maria Valley is certainly no stranger to this blog. In fact, it is one of the most iconic restaurants in the pantheon of Santa Maria Style Barbecue. But that’s not where the Hitching Post story ends. There’s a related restaurant, the Hitching Post II, in the nearby Santa Ynez Valley that has been thriving for nearly 30 years (which sounds like a long time, until you learn that the original Hitching Post opened 60 years ago!). Both locations are renowned for their epic barbecue fare, but the Hitching Post II has another claim to fame, as it was featured prominently in the hit movie Sideways. Jeanette Trompeter of KSBY recently featured the Hitching Post II in her No Place Like Home series, which features experiences that are unique to the Central Coast. Click here to watch the segment and learn more about the unlikely Hollywood story of the Hitching Post II.
Barbecue Thanksgiving Santa Maria Style Try these recipes for a Central Coast twist on your traditional Thanksgiving meal. Most people think of creamy mashed potatoes and an oven-cooked turkey when they think of Thanksgiving—but here in Santa Maria Valley, our Thanksgiving dreams taste more like the unmistakable smoke of a red-oak fire than Aunt Susan’s mallow-topped sweet potatoes. If you’re […]
Barbecue The Secret to Santa Maria Style Grilling: 3 Pro Tips for Tasty, Timeless Barbecue They call Santa Maria the “barbecue capital of the world”—and anyone who’s visited our Valley knows why. Our tasty, slow-roasted tri-tip makes for an unforgettable meal. But how, exactly, do you recreate that unmistakable barbecue flavor after vacation’s over? Today, we’re breaking down our top three tips for grilling Santa Maria Style…no matter where you’re […]
Barbecue A $500 Wine Weekend in the Santa Maria Valley Get away to wine country without the wine country price tags. In the Santa Maria Valley, you can get away to a wine country that the Travel Channel listed as a Top 10 City for Wine Snobs with award-winning Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays, but you won’t find any snobbery here. You can pair your Pinot […]
Barbecue Grilled to Perfection Preserving a decades-old tradition of rarity, spice and flavor. Food trends come and go, inspiring diners to eat outside the box. But one tradition has stood the test of time: Santa Maria Style Barbecue, consisting of tri-tip grilled over red oak and served alongside pinquito beans, garlic bread, salsa and a green salad. Far Western […]