Palo Altan Russell Savage spent five years in Texas learning the art of barbecue before returning to start his own barbecue business back in the Bay Area.
In January, he began offering weekly barbecue service from his food truck in an industrial pocket of Menlo Park. Before that, he’d been hosting catering events and pop-ups arond the Bay Area, building up a loyal following on social media.
With more than 28,000 Instagram followers, his first Pico’s BBQ cookout drew a line down the block behind a warehouse at 162 Constitution Drive, where there are a few picnic tables and where he plays country music and blues in an effort to create a more Texan atmosphere. Each week, the service starts at noon and continues until he sells out. Customers start to line up well before noon, he adds.
Savage writes up his narrowly focused menu each week by hand on butcher paper. So far it’s included four meat choices: brisket ($18), pork ribs ($15) and two sausage varieties ($8 per link), with homemade barbecue sauce, plus a few sides including potato salad, creamy cucumber salad and pinto beans. Starting next week, he’s also planning to offer family pack platters aimed at feeding groups of four up to 10.
After growing up in Palo Alto and attending culinary school and working in professional kitchens, Savage says, he found himself burnt out and tired of cooking. But he was still drawn to barbecue, and particularly the idea of transforming humble ingredients into something special over a long period of time, he says. So he moved to Texas and learned the craft, working at barbecue restaurants there for about five years before returning to the Bay Area. Starting a business, he says, has been “terrifying but rewarding” — and worth it.
Seeing someone try their first 12-hour smoked brisket? “It’s pretty priceless,” he says.
Details: Open “noon to none” Saturdays at 162 Constitution Drive, Menlo Park; linktr.ee/picosbbq