Bob Costarella found his calling in a smoke-filled pit in Central Texas. Now he’s bringing that Hill Country sensibility to Sonoma County. But don’t ask for brisket.
A rib man through and through, the Petaluma native has a lock on spice-rubbed, bark-crusted pork and beef ribs that would do a Texan proud. Working out of a Peruvian deli in the heart of Roseland, he’s also got a following for his jalapeño-cheddar sausages, pork belly, peppery chicken and beef cheeks, a tender cut favored by chefs.
Wearing a Stiles Switch BBQ cap, striped apron and gloves, Costarella slices into a glossy hunk of beef cheek — his “baby brisket,” named for its supple texture and deep, meaty richness — and your knees go a little weak. This is red-ringed, smoke-perfumed, unapologetic barbecue that doesn’t require a lick of sauce to justify itself. The sides keep pace.
The catch: It’s available only on Saturday afternoons.
The backstory
A longtime cook who spent years searching for his true calling, Costarella worked in cafés, bistros and fine dining before detouring into the cannabis industry, all while continuing to nurture his passion for cooking.
“I was cooking from The French Laundry cookbook for my grower friends,” he said. Around that time, his barbecue obsession took hold, launching a 10-state pilgrimage to the South’s most iconic smoke shacks.
“Most of it was really underwhelming,” he said — until he reached Taylor, Texas, a suburb of Austin, and discovered Central Texas-style barbecue. The genre favors quality meat cooked low and slow over oak; sauce is an afterthought, not a requirement. “It was just so good and so unpretentious,” he said.
He apprenticed under famed pitmaster Lance Kirkpatrick at Stiles Switch BBQ. In the barbecue world, your mentor matters almost as much as the meat on your smoker, with styles and secrets handed down through generations. Kirkpatrick apprenticed under the late Bobby Mueller, a James Beard Award winner whose Louie Mueller Barbecue is often called the “Cathedral of Smoke.” You could say Costarella is, in a sense, carrying on a tradition of Texas barbecue royalty.
During his yearlong training, it took nearly three months before Kirkpatrick stopped readjusting every log Costarella placed on the fire. Under a tin roof — freezing some mornings, sweating through others — Costarella learned to cook by touch and instinct, estimating that he tended roughly 15,000 briskets.
“I came in at 2 or 3 a.m. There was lots of Alex Jones on the radio and lots of coffee,” he said. “The fires stayed lit six days a week and there was always wood to be split, ash to be cleared, and cobbler and beans needing to be made.”
A Cali flair
Back home, Costarella brings a bit of his own California flair to Red Eye with drizzles of dill pickle-artichoke salsa verde over beef cheeks, sprinkles of truffle salt on potato salad and tossing grapes and golden kiwis into to his pickled vegetables. The ribs he leaves alone: crisp bark, fall-off-the-bone tenderness, offered with optional sauce but not needing it.
Launching the business took persistence — first cooking for friends at home on his G Stacks custom smoker (rigging up a filter for his smoke-sensitive neighbors), then seeking a more permanent space. Sazón Peruvian Cuisine owner Jose Navarro now hosts Red Eye at his adjoining deli from noon to 5 p.m. Saturdays, where the smoker stands out front. Costarella hopes for a dedicated home in 2026.
“Even on a bad day, when nothing goes right, I can still make some pretty damn good barbecue,” he said.
Finding him takes intention, but once you do, you’ll know you’ve hit on some of Sonoma County’s best barbecue.
What you’re here for
Beef and Pork Ribs: Ribs are Costarella’s signature, smoked over applewood from a Martinelli orchard and vineyard — proof that even barbecue can have terroir in Sonoma County. Beef ribs ($38 half rack) are split for easier handling (no dino ribs here) and seasoned simply with salt and pepper. Pork ribs ($26 for a half rack, $ 47 for a whole) get a proprietary Red Eye spice rub. The beef is the standout, but both deliver.
Beef Cheek ($25): Costarella’s brisket alternative — “baby brisket” — comes from the cow’s face, prized by chefs for its tenderness and collagen-rich texture and perfect meat-to-fat ratio after a low-and-slow cook. Bathed in beef tallow, it’s incredibly rich; a drizzle of green salsa and a scattering of garlic chips (soaked in milk before frying) cut the intensity. Indulgent.
Half Chicken ($19): Smoky, peppery and improbably moist — not dried into dust, as most barbecued chicken tends to do. Excellent with a touch of sauce.
Roasted Potato Salad ($6): Baby red potatoes roasted in beef tallow, tossed in truffle-infused sour cream and mayo, topped with chives and scallions, and a final dusting of everything bagel seasoning. Insanity. Mind blown.
Slaw ($6): My kind of slaw, with shaved cabbage, a hint of fennel, sweet apple and a creamy Meyer lemon-tinged dressing, topped with Old Bay-roasted almonds. A sweet chaser for the bold barbecue.
Why not brisket?
Costarella loves brisket but says the time commitment — and the waste — are tough to justify.
“I’ve got little kids, and I want to see them,” he said. “I like cooking brisket and I’m not scared of it, but it’s just a time thing.” His beef cheeks more than suffice; I’d put them up against brisket any day.
Fun fact
Costarella sports a sprawling octopus tattoo across his back and arms, its tentacles gripping a favorite knife and wearing a chef’s hat — the inspiration for his logo. In the kitchen, he said, a cook needs octopus-like dexterity. “There’s hot liquid and knives, and you have to have a cool, intelligent way to manage the chaos.”
On BBQ Jesus
Among the tight-knit circle of barbecue professionals, there’s a long-held belief in “BBQ Jesus,” the idea that redemption can be found in the grueling, primal, ritualistic work of the pit. Smoke and fire become a kind of reckoning. For some, the discipline encourages sobriety or breaks bad habits. For others, it sparks a deeper shift.
Costarella’s reset came through faith, family and a hard look at the math of restaurant-industry burnout. Sixty-hour weeks, he realized, weren’t a badge of honor but a fast track to misery. Red Eye BBQ is about building a business with health, balance and community in mind — and pulling others into that orbit with him.
Avoiding the lines
The surest path to a plate is to preorder staples by 5 p.m. Thursday at redeyebarbecue.com. Specials change weekly, so you can grab anything else that catches your eye on arrival. Walk-ins are welcome, and everything is available for dine-in or takeout.
Where
Red Eye Barbecue at Sazón Peruvian Cuisine Deli, 1117 Sebastopol Road, Santa Rosa, redeyebarbecue.com