California > Santa Rosa: Sweet T's Restaurant & Bar (CLOSED)


 

Chris Allingham

Administrator
Staff member
Sweet T's Restaurant & Bar
2097 Stagecoach Rd., Suite 100
Santa Rosa, CA 95404

Sadly, this is part restaurant review, part obituary. Sweet T's burned down in the Santa Rosa firestorm in the early morning hours of October 9, 2017. We can only hope it comes back stronger than ever at some point in the future, either at this location or at another.

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Photo Credit: shelley.schreiber1 on Facebook

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Photo Credit: Google Maps (left); CalTopo.com with imagery provided by Google Crisis Response Team/DigitalGlobe (right)

My dad, mom, sister, and I visited Sweet T's on September 27, 2017 to celebrate my and my dad's September birthdays. It was a high-end restaurant with fine finishes throughout, a well-stocked bar, open kitchen, table service, linen napkins, and prices to match. It was located in a prestigious part of Santa Rosa and was very popular with the locals. It was also a place for special occasions...just a few weeks earlier, one of my nephews had a celebratory dinner there after his high school graduation.

On the day of our visit, I enjoyed a three-meat platter of pork ribs, brisket, and pork sausage. Sides included fries and a delicious cream corn. Not a loose, runny creamed corn, but cream corn—fresh-cut corn in a cream sauce with some herbs. Delicious. And of course, several glasses of sweet tea.

The brisket was the star of the show. Perfectly tender and flavorful, I could eat that brisket every day and twice on Sunday. The ribs were perfectly barbecued and tender, but needed a more assertive rub, IMHO. The pork sausage definitely came in last place...bland and a bit too greasy. The house barbecue sauce, a sweet tomato-based sauce which I liked a lot and was served on the side, helped add some flavor to the sausage.

Others at the table had a brisket plate, fried catfish, a roasted portabello sandwich, hush puppies, and nachos. Everyone seemed to enjoy their choices.

In addition to brisket, pork ribs, and pork sausage, barbecued meats included pulled pork, pulled chicken, and tri-tip. A variety of sandwiches, burgers, salads, and appetizers were also available. In addition to french fries and cream corn, the extensive list of sides included garlic mashed potatoes, black eyed peas, braised greens, an okra/corn/cherry tomato sauté, cole slaw, potato salad, a fresh vegetable of the day, mac & cheese, a sweet potato/red pepper/mushroom hash, sweet potato fries, fried okra, and organic sliced tomatoes.

At the end of the meal, my dad and I walked outside to check-out the Southern Pride pit used to cook all the barbecue. We ran into the pitmaster and had a chance to ask him a few questions about the operation...brisket goes into the pit at 4 pm for service the next day at 11:30 am.

As we prepared to leave, I took a few parting photos of the outside of the restaurant. Little did I know that Sweet T's would be no more in just 12 days.

Here are some photos I took during our visit.

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It's always a good sign when a BBQ restaurant advertises its brand of pit in the front window.

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Continued...
 
Last edited:
Sweet T’s will be rising from the ashes and opening in a new location in nearby Windsor, hopefully this summer.
 

 

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