We often get this question from angry customers – usually between lunch and dinner or after the dinner rush.  The answer is really very simple – we have no idea how many customers will order what menu item and if it’s barbecue, will it be brisket, ribs, pork, or chicken?  Unlike most restaurants, we can’t cook to order as it takes anywhere from 5 to 18 hours in the wood burning pit to cook our barbecue.  And no, we won’t keep extra in the refrigerator and microwave your meat!  I know that most of you know that, but we have had more than one comment from a guest suspecting we had cooked the meat prior to their visit and just served them pre-cooked barbecue – well, of course we had!  We would be happy to cook anyone a whole brisket while they wait but 18 hours is a long time to without a nap!

We do keep meticulous records of how much of each meat we sell each day. We account for the time of the year, holidays, weather, recent volumes, and special events in the area. We try to time our loads of meat to come out just before the lunch and dinner rushes and still have a little meat for those that eat a late lunch or late dinner.

Quite honestly, the best time to order barbecue is between 11:30 am and 1:30 pm or between 6 to 8 pm.  Usually at these times the meat will have just been taken out of the pit and placed in the warming oven, ready to serve and it won’t be sitting around long.  At other times the meat has been held a little longer and the brisket, pulled pork, and chicken can be dryer than we’d like and our turkey, ribs, or sausage would be a better choice.  Those items, due to their faster cooking times are cooked more frequently and will be juicier than the large cuts that we must hold longer, or the chicken that doesn’t have the fat necessary to keep the meat moist.

So many people these days are so used to fast food and processed food they really don’t understand that real food, made from real ingredients can seem inconsistent. No pig is the same, no steer is the same, no chicken is the same, no potato is the same – unless you eat the processed food doled out by most chain restaurants – the chicken as been chopped and formed or pumped full of nasty things. The pork has been pre-cooked, shaped like a pork chop, and marinated in who knows what! At Willy’s we start with real ingredients; the finest pork from Iowa, USDA Choice Angus Beef, real potatoes hand-cut each morning for our Fresh-cut Fries, fresh California chicken, and sausage made in San Luis Obispo.

So if you are a real barbecue nut – order your barbecue during our peak, busy hours and be understanding when we occasionally run out of barbecue – it’s the Willy’s way.

Sincerely,

John Berwald, Founder

Our 2010 Booth

It’s the middle of August and we’ve  been gearing up for the biggest rib cook-off in the west – the Nugget Best in the West Rib Cook-off.  Armadillo Willy’s was first invited to complete in 1989 and we’ve been back eleven times since.  We had to respectfully decline the invitation a few times due to restaurant openings but we’ve been back for three years now and are ready to compete against some of the best rib cookers in the Country.  There will be 23 teams representing all regions of the Country. Team Willy is heading back to Reno with a brand new booth, new 1400 pound capacity barbecue pit, and some new tricks up our sleeve.  Over 200,000 pounds of ribs will be cooked for the 500,000 person crowd attending the event over Labor Day Weekend August 31st to September 5th.  Hope to see you there!

Welcome to Willy’s new Blog page.

I hope that you will feel free to comment on postings to the blog or contact me with comments,  information , requests,  or suggestions of things you would like to see.  I hope to post things of interest to our customers about upcoming events or offerings at Armadillo Willy’s BBQ as well as recipes and tips on smoking and grilling.  I also may post suggestions for other barbecue joints I have discovered in my travels that you may enjoy.

If you would like make a complaint about your meal or service at one of the restaurants this is not really the best place.  You can contact me directly at jberwald@armadillowillys.com or you can contact Bob Deagen, our president at bdeagen@armadillowillys.com.  Of course, we encourage you to talk to the managers of our individual locations directly to work out any differences before you leave the restaurant – a much more efficient way to voice your concerns.  We can fix it – usually right there on the spot. While we do strive for perfection we do sometimes make mistakes but sincerely want to make our customers happy.

Have a great day!

John Berwald, Founder

Armadillo Willy’s will be celebrating it’s 28th Anniversary next month and my wonderful wife has had to put up with a lot in the past 30 years. At one time in 1982 my wife, and our one year old son, had to make due with one small shelf in the refrigerator as I had 50 or so bottles and jars of barbecue sauce taking up all the space. I was trying to come up with the perfect recipe sauce for the opening of Armadillo Willy’s BBQ in 1983 and would save every batch I made as well as bottles I had purchased in travels to Texas.

My wife also had to put up with stopping at just about any dive that had barbecue in it’s name. As she has not yet had the pleasure of joining us on one of our road trips throughout the south eating barbecue, most of these stops were in California. As she will attest, most of those places did not compare with the quality of barbecue served at Armadillo Willy’s to say the least. I like to say that I have never eaten bad barbecue, just some that is better than others. Sue likes to say that I am an idiot!

This all leads to this past weekend when we pulled into the parking lot of BarBersQ in Napa. My wife and I were heading to Napa Valley for a quiet weekend of relaxation, wine tasting, and fine food. I didn’t tell my wife about our first stop as I knew what her reaction would be if I told her there was a barbecue joint I wanted to check out.

I think the name on the front door confused her as did the upscale look of the place – surely this isn’t one of his typical barbecue joint detours? I had heard of BarBersQ but had never had the opportunity to give it a try.  Boy, am I glad I did! A great looking little restaurant with a comfortable patio out front but the real star was the food.  Sue and I split a Rib & Brisket plate that was served with a side of very good cole slaw.  While the plate looked beautiful, my first taste of brisket was amazing – if not the best brisket I have ever had, surely one of the top two!

My wife was amazed as well, not only with the flavor and tenderness of the brisket, but by the fact that I had finally taken her to a barbecue “joint” other than Willy’s that she really enjoyed.  I refer to BarBersQ as a joint in jest and as a term of endearment – it is a top notch restaurant with an outstanding menu, great look, and great staff.  There are so many menu items I wanted to try; Lamb Mini Burgers, Gumbo, Barbecued Shrimp, and Bourbon Pecan Pie – we will be back soon. I congratulate GM and partner Kelly Sherman and owner Gene Tartaglia on creating a great upscale barbecue experience.

At Willy’s we are celebrating this spring and summer (if it ever arrives) with Mango Madness! Starting off last month with our pit-smoked Spicy Mango Pulled Pork sandwich (still available) we have moved on to a couple of great limited-time offerings -The Spicy Mango Wild Salmon Burger and our Mango Spinach Salad, two of my favorites.  Let me know how you like them.

The Salmon Burger features sustainable, natural, Wild Alaskan Salmon with fresh pineapple-mango salsa, feta cheese, and our new spicy mango barbecue sauce.

The Mango Spinach salad has the same mango salsa, fresh spinach, feta cheese, double-smoked bacon, glazed pecans, and red onions with a balsamic vinaigrette.

Armadillo Willy’s BBQ – Locally Owned for over 25 years!

The idea for Armadillo Willy’s BBQ came to John Berwald after he recognized the demand for, and the lack of, good southern style Barbeque in the Bay Area.  Berwald’s first restaurant with partner John Carroll, St. John’s Bar & Grill in Cupertino and Sunnyvale had added a few barbecue items to their menu back in 1981.  Those menu items proved so popular that Berwald began to research real southern barbecue and decided to give a restaurant featuring Real American Barbecue a try.  After several trips around the country Berwald settled on Texas BBQ and began experimenting with woods, spices, and sauces. Berwald got some friends and business associates together and talked them into joining him in the venture.  In addition to Carroll the original partners included local restaurateurs Bill Bradford and Skip Palmer.

After many months of experimentation the partners launched their first Armadillo Willy’s BBQ in Cupertino in June of 1983 – right down the street form our current location on De Anza Blvd and the rest is history.  While we haven’t kept pace with our famous neighbor down the street (Apple), we tried to grow in a way as to never compromise quality.

A lot has changed over the past 26 years but not our dedication to bring our customers the best barbecue possible.  Kevin Roberts joined us as a partner in 1990 and Bob Deagen (now Company President) in 1999.  This is Bob’s second stint at Willy’s, having been the original General Manager of the Los Altos location in 1984.  We have continued to take those road trips to Texas and the South, always searching for that secret that will make our barbecue even better.

Try one of our barbecue items today – a lot of people have put a lot of hard work into it and we hope you appreciate the effort.