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Authentic "Slow Smoked BBQ" Joint opens in Ciales, PR |
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Great news for all you fans of BBQ out there. ASAO Smokehouse is NOW open on Road 149 at Km 18.5 in Ciales PR.
They had the opening December 17th and I had a chance to talk with the Owners & Operators of ASAO Smokehouse, Rafa & Brenda Gracia, and her husband Peter.
It’s a short and easy trip, about 45 min. to 1 hour from San Juan. Take highway 22 towards Arecibo and get off on exit 48 Ciales PR. Head south on road #149 to Km. 18.5, it’s on your right with lots of parking.
We took out some hungry BBQ fans from the Caribbean BBQ Association, The Backyard Grillers BBQ team and some of the BBQ Freaks team to check it out. We ate & drank, the reviews are in, and the marks are high! Read all about it then get to ASAO Smokehouse in Ciales and eat some meat!
Congratulations to Sr. Peter Vivoni, wife Brenda, and their entire family for doing a fantastic job with ASAO Smokehouse. It’s a great new family owned and operated BBQ Restaurant with their focus on using fresh locally produced meats and vegetables and attention to patron service details.
This really is a family run business. There were about 20 family members there Dec. 17th cooking, serving, and running every aspect the business. Albert Figueroa, Luis and Jane take care of the bar. Angel Gracia is the General Manager.
The restaurant sits on the same site that used to be another family business, a machine shop. General Manager, Angel, and his son Rafael who used to run the machine shop, were instrumental along with Peter in the design and building of the main smoker, 4 custom Lechon Asado cooking pits, and 3 custom built whole chicken cooking racks. You can see from the pictures of the pits and chicken cooking racks that it was well thought out and they are ready and able to turn out substantial pounds of well-cooked BBQ. All of this came about after the Vivoni’s got hooked on BBQ in 2009 when they went to their first BBQ Competition at La Bodega de Mendez.
 Peter shows Jose, Gabriel & Yolanda (BBQ Freaks) the 10 whole chicken cooking racks & special pits  Peter’s pit is built into the kitchen wall, the wood is stored outside & fire box is fed from outside. CBBQA asked Peter: "What kind of woods do you use to smoke the meats" Peter: "We use a combination of Cherry and Hickory woods. We bring it in by the pallet about 2100 #, from the US, from Southern Fuel Woods at a cost of about $750.00 with the freight." CBBQA: "Peter where did your interest in cooking come from?" Peter: "It came from my mother & father. My dad loved to grill on this little Weber Grill we had. He showed me how to control the fire and what kind of fire is best for grilling. From there I started learning how to slow smoke and loved the smell of it. My mother is a Southern Belle and she showed me how to put the flavor in the meat and how to make specialty desserts like Smores!!! CBBQA: "Peter have you owned a restaurant before or had any restaurant experience?" Peter: "No, never had a restaurant, but always wondered why so few restaurants buy the local produce? You know I love agriculture and I’m the President & General Manager of another family business Agro Servicios, and fresh meat and produce are the way to go. That’s what ASAO is all about, fresh pork from La Ceba Fine Genetics Farm, fresh chicken from To Rico’s, and local plantains and tubers. I know it’s a little more expensive, but freshness is the most important aspect in ASAO Smokehouse."  From the pictures you see the 5 hogs hanging in his cooler. All my hogs come from Empresas La Ceba, locally produced, genetic engineered hogs, very lean meat by design, raised in PR. I order hogs on Wednesday, they are processed fresh on Thursday and delivered in refrigerated trucks to ASAO Smokehouse the same day. Peter, a graduate of University of Puerto Rico with a Bachelor in Agricultural Science and major in Agri Business, was one of the founding members of The Barbicueros BBQ Grill Team back in 2009 and in 2011 their team did well at the Cattlemen’s BBQ contest. Dave Leon and Chef Chu of Brasas BBQ & Horacio Calero and Nestor Maldonado of Empresas La Ceba " fine genetic swine" make up the other founding members of the Barbicueros BBQ team and also have a hand in Peter’s success with the restaurant. You already know that Nestor & Horacio are Peter’s pork supplier. Dave Leon & Chef Chu from Brasas BBQ and BBQ Team Members, work hand in hand personally training the ASAO wait staff on plating the product, how to properly take an order, serving the dishes at the table, and how to think ahead of the diners and anticipate what they will be needing, and having it on the table before they have to ask for it. Man I like that kind of service. That enhances your dining experience. Asao hours of operation are currently Thursday through Sunday 10 am to 7 pm. They are serving roasted chicken and Lechon Asado all the time and have ribs available Sat & Sun. Peter also plans to introduce Beef Brisket and Pork Butts on the weekends very soon as well. THE BAR WILL BE OPEN TO 12PM. DURING WEEKENDS. If you need more information contact Peter at 787-466-7871 Let me tell you what we had to eat & how we liked it. 2 Thumbs up all around!  We had the Lachon Asado a la Varita and a Full rack of pork spare ribs  Appetizers: Surtido PAssOOO a sampler plate of Lechon Asado & Cuerito, Mofongo Balls, Morcilla, & Longaniza  Mini-Empanadillas de Conejo Sides: Baked Beans / Cole Slaw - Dessert: Flan de Queso - Beverages: Cold Beers Ok to start with the appetizers were very good, just like everything that rolled out of the kitchen all day long. The mini empanadillas had a good golden color to them and were hot and fresh. Everything was plated on attractive, matching white dishes. The empanadillas had meat, they weren’t "Blind". That’s the local expression if the empanadilla is light on the meat it’s ‘BLIND"  Mike Compton checks out the new Lechon cooking pits The Surtido PAssOOO Plate was pretty cool, it had a nice verity of items (5). I’m not a big fan of most Morcilla but from the start I could see this was a little different so I tried it. In fact I had seconds later and that’s a sign it was actually good. The grind of the Morcilla stuffing was much finer and had less of a deep black color to the sausage like most Morcillas I see here. It had no gristle or funkiness like a heavy gamey taste or aroma, and it had a good casing. It was a good Morcilla, a smooth texture and a light flavor that went well with the others items on the platter. The Cuerito was crunchy, Longaniza fresh, tasty, not greasy & no gristle. Mayo Ketchup, and local hot sauces, along with a verity of Cattlemen’s BBQ Sauces and Peter’s own special house blend of BBQ sauce were assembled for dipping the meats.  The ribs were smoked very nicely, a good texture, nice smoke ring, good flavor, and good appearance. It had some bark on the outside in the right places and amounts. It was served and nice long platter that displayed the entire rack well and comfortably without having it piled on top of itself. It showed well and ate even better. The Lechon Asado was tasty and very well cooked. It had a good curito with excellent color, very tender pork.  The side dishes were excellent. I didn’t have the slaw, I’m not a slaw man, but the rest of the gang, Randy Corsi & Garry Howard from the CBBQA, and Jose Bengoa, Gabriel Atunez, & Yolanda Bolivar of the BBQ Freaks BBQ Team, dove on it like hogs at the feeding trough. As for the Baked Beans, well that’s another "Veinte Pesos" as they say in PR. Hell yes I eat Baked Beans and man Peters beans are good. Peter has a great recipe for those beans, originally from his mother. They have a wonderful smoky flavor and plenty of cooked bacon slices and chunks of pork butt and pieces of pork ribs running through them. F.Y.I. the best baked beans I’ve ever had in PR come from Lawless Paul (A.K.A. Paul Gundry or WP) and Peter’s beans are pushing a close 2nd. By far the best baked beans I’ve ever had in any restaurant or BBQ joint that’s been here before. Great Job Peter.  A band of musicians stopped by to entertain the diners and sang happy birthday to Yolanda ASAO is a cool Smokehouse and rates high on the scale with that comfortable easy going style, good food, good service, and a great atmosphere. They have some cool attention to details like the log cabin look of the place, Bahama style windows, menus on wooden pig shaped cutouts, and wall of trophies, medals and awards won competing in local BBQ competitions around the island. They actually slow smoke the meat so these factors considered qualifies ASAO to be called a "BBQ Joint". Two Thumbs Up for ASAO SMOKEHOUSE.  If you like good BBQ or have ever wanted to try authentic slow smoke meat get on out there. Peter, Brenda and the family won’t disappoint you. The menu is a good blend of local favorites and some good slow smoked BBQ.
Enjoy your holidays. Merry Christmas, Happy Ney Years and Happy 3 Kings Day.
BigMAC.
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CBBQA Calendar |
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June 2013 |
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