San Jose museum chef pivots, opens Tony’s Patio BBQ restaurant
Low-and-slow smoked meats available Wednesday through Saturday
San Jose chef and caterer Tony Santos has been pivoting madly since the coronavirus forced the temporary closing of his cafe at The Tech Interactive museum.
He’s making family meals for delivery, catering for virtual parties and creating holiday boxes for companies to send to their staffers working from home.
And he has turned his commissary kitchen in Alviso into a restaurant, Tony’s Patio BBQ.
Santos has been smoking meats for years, but now he’s got a pitmaster pal. His new head chef, Paul Miller, brings both barbecue experience — he learned to smoke hogs in his native Arkansas — and a deep restaurant résumé to this venture. In the Bay Area, he’s cooked in the kitchens of Sent Sovi in Saratoga, Los Gatos Brewing Company, Martins West gastropub in Redwood City, among others.
They’re smoking brisket, baby back ribs, pulled pork and chicken, and serving those with house-made barbecue sauce and Texas toast. Clever options include Grown Up Beanie Weenies, with hot links or kielbasa atop baked beans, and Pulled Pork Nachos.
Smoked meats are also available on sandwiches or in salads.
Rounding out the menu are side dishes of miso cole slaw, potato salad, mac & cheese and honey mustard deviled eggs. There’s seasonal cobbler for dessert and sweet tea.
Barbecue is available for pickup, delivery or outdoor dining on the patio from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.
Details: 5202 N. First St., San Jose; 408-493-6090. https://tonycaterstoyou.com