Joshua Regal and Laura "Red" Wilson started Saucebelly to bring quality craft barbecue to the Peninsula.
Regal met Wilson in his native Charleston, South Carolina. They have both worked in local restaurants for more than 20 years, both front and back and house, include at the now-closed Calafia Cafe in Palo Alto and Waterdog Tavern in Belmont. Regal also worked as pitmaster at Armadillo Willy’s in Los Altos and Wilson is currently a part-time manager at Timber & Salt.
The couple traveled to the East Coast this summer and "took the barbecue trail back," Regal said. When they were back home, they wanted to recreate what they tasted throughout the South and decided to launch Saucebelly.
Regal describes their barbecue style as a hybrid of Texas and the Carolinas. They have a custom hardwood smoker and churn out brisket, pork shoulder, pork spare ribs, half chickens, lamb shanks, hot links and other proteins.
An enticing slice of Saucebelly brisket. Photo courtesy Saucebelly.
"What I offer in the way of particularly brisket and ribs would be definitely considered Texas, without a doubt, but being from the Carolinas our pulled pork is something we take very, very serious," Regal said. "There are subtle nuances of that throughout."
Sauces are also a mix of the two regions: there's South Carolina-style mustard, a tomato-based central Texas sauce with sugar and molasses and a raspberry-chipotle sauce. They're also collaborating with Federation Brewing in Oakland to develop a beer-based sauce.
Sides include slaw, potato salad, macaroni salad, "New South" collards and bacon and beans.
The couple, who lives in Woodside, hope to eventually open a brick-and-mortar barbecue restaurant in Redwood City. They see it as an "up-and-coming community" with the right demographics for their food.
"What you have is a group of people (who) aren’t settling for bad food," Regal said. "They're not going to the corporate restaurants. They're going to the smaller spots and they appreciate it."
The Saucebelly pop-up will be at Timber & Salt, 881 Middlefield Road, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Follow Saucebelly’s blog for information about future pop-up events.
Saucebelly also offers catering, delivery and pick-up.
