Susie Q’s Brand
As the daughter of Far Western Tavern founder’s Clarence and Rosalie Minetti, Susan Righetti easily acquired both a taste and talent for local flavors. Today, these flavors are now available for all to enjoy through Susan’s popular Susie Q’s brand of products, which are available at Costco and other retailers.

Susan began marketing her family’s restaurant recipes in 1981, starting with her mother’s pinquito bean recipe, which she made available in packaged form. Other family specialties followed, including a Santa Maria style barbecue seasoning and a strawberry glaze pie mix based on a recipe from Susan’s grandmother.

In developing and marketing her products, Susan is joined by daughters, Renee and Jana, and husband Paul Righetti who also belongs to a Swiss-Italian family with local ranching roots. Through Susie Qs, the flavors of the Far Western Tavern are enjoyed far and wide, putting a fresh twist on the restaurant’s local fare. Visit www.susieqbrand.com for more information.

Santa Maria Style Barbecue
Barbara Abernethy, manager of the Far Western Tavern, recalls growing up in the Santa Maria Valley with three barbecue pits in the backyard. “My father was always barbecuing,” she says. “It was just a way of life for our family, our neighbors and our friends.”

Today, that way of life has become a regional culinary tradition known as Santa Maria Style Barbecue, which was once hailed by Sunset magazine as the best barbecue in the world. Naturally, Santa Maria Style Barbecue is woven into the Far Western Tavern experience and embodied by the Minetti family’s longtime local ranching heritage.

The signature cuts for Santa Maria Style Barbecue, whose origins date back to the rancho era of the mid 19th century, are top block sirloin and the triangular-shaped bottom sirloin known as tri tip, a cut that originated in the Santa Maria Valley. The meat is rolled in a mixture of salt, pepper and garlic salt just prior to cooking. The red oak, a species of oak native to the region, contributes to a hearty, smoky flavor. The traditional menu also includes French bread dipped in sweet melted butter, tossed green salad and slow-cooked pinquito beans, a small pink bean that is grown exclusively in the Santa Maria Valley. Over time, at the Far Western Tavern and elsewhere, the signature local barbecue has enjoyed a variety of variations and personal touches that give new expressions to an old tradition.

Wine Country Santa Maria Valley and Santa Barbara County
The famous flavors of the Santa Maria Valley are today complemented by locally grown, world-class wines. Indeed, when the wine-loving characters Miles and Jack went searching for the perfect Pinot Noir in the hit movie Sideways, they came to the Santa Maria Valley.

The Santa Maria Valley occupies the northern perimeter of Santa Barbara County, which is today recognized as one of the world’s most dynamic winegrowing regions. The valley boasts a rare transverse geography, an east-west orientation that channels cool ocean air directly into the valley. Syrah and Chardonnay are among the other varietals that excel in the Santa Maria Valley.

Grapes were first planted in the area in the 1960s, but it was not until the 1970s that local wineries began to populate the valley and Santa Barbara County. Yet in just 30 years, the Santa Maria Valley and its neighboring appellations, Santa Ynez Valley and Santa Rita Hills, have grown to encompass more than 70 wineries and more than 21,000 vineyard acres.