San Jose's lofty BBQ ranking takes dive
There was a mixture of civic pride and sincere bafflement last year when San Jose was ranked the No. 3 barbecue city in the United States by Clever Real Estate, beating out BBQ-famous cities like Memphis and Kansas City. This year's rankings are out, and San Jose has fallen to a more realistic — but still respectable — 22nd out of the top 50 metros.
What changed? San Jose still ranked pretty high in the number of BBQ joints per 10,000 people, but the cost of buying meat spiked compared to last year and the number of Google searches about barbecue dipped. Austin moved up to the top spot from No. 2 last year, and Memphis — where the top search term is “fried catfish” — made a big jump from 11th to second.
As far as California is concerned, San Jose is still the king as the state's only city in the top 25. Sacramento placed 33rd, L.A. was 42nd and the bottom three spots were held by San Diego, San Francisco and Riverside. Where's the best BBQ in the San Jose area? It depends on the day, and your definition of barbecue (Henry's Hi-Life: steak house or BBQ joint? Discuss.). My top five generally rotate among Sam's BBQ on Bascom Ave., Sauced at Santana Row, Jon-Jon's on Oakland Road, South Winchester BBQ, and Mesquite and Oak on 13th Street.
Now that you're thinking about barbecue, it only seems fair to let you know about a couple of events coming up.
Now that you're thinking about barbecue, it only seems fair to let you know about a few events coming up. The first is this Saturday, when “Famous Dave” Anderson makes a stop in San Jose for a contest that will send a local team to his Famous Dave's All-Star BBQ Championship in Texas. The event, which starts at noon at his restaurant at The Plant, is free and open to the public, and the first 200 attendees will enjoy barbecue samples.
Next up is Ladies of Charity's annual BBQ fundraiser on Aug. 20, which is raising scholarship money for Sacred Heart Nativity School and Our Lady of Grace
School in San Jose. It's at the scenic Redwood Grove at Saratoga Springs, with an all-you-can-eat dinner prepared by the Saratoga Springs chefs, along with appetizers made by Ladies of Charity members. Get more information at www.ladiesofcharitysanjose.org.
And mark your calendar for BBQ in the Glen, which returns to Lincoln Avenue in Willow Glen on Sept. 30. The professional and amateur barbecue competition will be heating up from noon to 5 p.m. in the Bank of America parking lot. Get more details and information on VIP tickets at www.willowglen.org/bbq-inthe-glen.
VICTORY PARTY >> History Park in San Jose will again take visitors back to 1945 this Saturday with the Spirit of '45, an annual celebration of the end of World War II that includes a military tent city, vintage cars, a fashion show and a homecoming victory parade. The evening will wrap up with a USO-style swing dance beneath History Park's electric light tower with music by Swing Solution. Get more information and tickets at historysanjose.org/programsevents.
Two of the expected attendees: San Jose residents Ysidor Sanchez and Thelda Kothe, both 101. Sanchez served as a combat infantryman in Europe, and the house where he grew up near Oakland Road is still standing. Kothe was a “Rosie” who helped build B-20 bombers at Douglas Aircraft in Santa Monica and moved to San Jose in the 1950s.
Another “special guest” will be a 1942 M3 Halftrack; that'll be transported to History Park later this week. The 18,000-pound vehicle, used as an armored personnel carrier in Europe and the Pacific, has been fully restored with operational radio equipment and three 30-caliber machine guns. Of course, it wouldn't be much on a vacation, as it gets only 3 miles a gallon.
HALL PASSES >> Bellarmine College Prep has announced its honorees for its Hall of Fame ceremony Aug. 25: Washington Mystics General Manager Mike Thibault; Dinari Brown, chief operations officer with Hunger at Home and former executive chef at Levi's Stadium; and attorney Ed Watson with Watson & Machado. The 5 p.m. induction ceremony will take place at Bellarmine's Sobrato Theatre, followed by an al fresco dinner in the Leo J. and Mary G. Lucas Quad. Tickets are available for $25-$50 at www.bcp. org/bhof.
And the San Jose Sports Authority has announced that this year's San Jose Sports Hall of Fame ceremony will take place Nov. 8 at SAP Center. The newest class of athletic stars who either got their start or made their name in Santa Clara County are Los Altos native and World Cup soccer champion player Lorrie Fair; Major League Baseball pitcher Dave Stieb; former San Jose Earthquakes star Chris Wondolowski; and San Jose Sharks legend Patrick Marleau.
Heritage Bank is the induction ceremony's presenting sponsor, but Sports Authority CEO John Poch says there's always room for more sponsors — and tickets are still available for fans who want to attend. Go to www.sjsa.org/hof for details.