Buyers' Picks: May 2004

What are your best-selling barbecue products?

Sheila Giardini, Carmine’s Gourmet Market, Palm Beach Gardens, FL
Customers who are counting calories are choosing dry rubs. They are getting a lot of flavor without much sugar. Char Crust rubs do very well. For those choosing leaner meats, rubs and sauces specifically for chicken also sell. My picks include:
• Char Crust Roasted Garlic Peppercorn Dry Rub
• Walkerswood Spicy Jamaican Jerk Barbecue Sauce
• D.L. Jardine’s Chik’n Lik’n Bar-B-Q Sauce
• Stonewall Kitchen Traditional Honey BBQ Sauce

Frank Crosby, Turco’s, Hartsdale, NY
People want to make their house feel like a steakhouse and they love to buy steak sauce to complement their meats. Ben Benson steak sauce does very well. We also make an Angus steak burger in-house that is extremely popular as well as our chicken sausage with peppers and onions. Dry rubs are popular to add a spicy intense flavor. My picks include:
• Ben Benson Steak Sauce
• Turco’s Angus Steak Burger
• Turco’s Chicken Sausage with Peppers and Onions
• Lysander’s Meat Rub
• Hoboken Eddie’s Marinades

Pat Guba, The Well Bread Basket, Red Bank, NJ
We get a lot of requests for summertime gift baskets that include marinades, spices and plenty of drink mixes. Drink mixes that encourage customers to add their own alcohol are always good additions to a summer barbecue promotion. My picks include:
• Freshies Margarita Mix
• Nantucket Offshore Drink Mixes
• World Art Foods Finishing Sauces
• Napa Style Steak & Tuscan Bar-B-Que Sauces

Diane Knight, Diane’s Gourmet Luxuries, Little Rock, AR
We notice a big trend for Asian products on the grill—especially with ginger or wasabi-based sauces. Dry rubs sell well due to their low sugar content. And our homemade side salads like slaws and fresh mozzarella and tomatoes pick up during barbecue season. Southern sauces are always popular and so are hands-free picnic knapsacks that hold everything from salads to a bottle of wine. My picks include:
• Sassy Jones BBQ Sauce
• Diane’s fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and basil
• Stonewall Kitchen Wasabi Ginger Grille Sauce
• Stonewall Kitchen Curried Mango Grille Sauce
• Picnic at Ascot Backpack

Jennifer Ford, Surfas, Culver City, CA
Chefs love Peri-Peri rub for grilled prawns or calamari. Candied sweet peppers, pickles and jalapeños are a great addition for a picnic relish plate. Sugar cane sticks are an alternative to bamboo—they impart a nice sweet flavor on skewered meat or fish. My picks include:
• Surfas’ Smoky Peri Peri Rub
• Candy Krisp candied pepper rings, jalapeños and pickles
• Sugar cane sticks
• Texas Tiny Mesquite 100% pure logs
• Purity Organic Lemonade
• Just Chili California Hot Sauce with Garlic

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