Eats & Beats: Meats & Sweets at Live at the Vineyards

This portion of the interview above has been edited for length and clarity:

Adrian Anderson: That's one thing about the catering. We can do anything. A lot of people think, oh, well, they hear catering, and I think that's, well, it's a hundred people or twenty people, not in our case. Our case, one person, a hundred people, a thousand people. We can do all that.

Steve Chavis: Little private chef action.

Adrian: I'm just saying whatever it is, we can definitely take care of anything. For sure.

Steve: Veronica, you were talking about, we were joking about being on the phone so much, but that's what it really comes down to, is connecting with people in all their different situations.

Veronica Sare: You have to. You have to connect with the people first before you get to that face-to-face. And for us, that's showing the lighter side and everything in between, that we're just normal people too. And this is our passion and what we love to do, and we want to bring it to you and your family. So it's exciting.

Abi Clark: So you definitely have your staples. I know that peach cobbler very well. And you've got your brisket and the meats that you smoke, but I'm sure catering allows you to be creative and try new things. What are some of the cool things that you've been able to do this last year?

Veronica: Well, that brings us to what we're going to be bringing, actually, because we're changing it up this year for Balistreri Vineyards. And we are introducing the hickory heat bowl, which is actually a combination of our cornbread, which actually is a new menu because we met a micro farmer who does her own honey, and she infuses it. And so we can do serrano and habanero honey in this cornbread. And then we're going to do those green chili baked beans on top, and then we're…

Adrian: Everybody keeps talking about it. It's a fan favorite. I'm sorry, I had to cut in. But it's a fan favorite because everybody definitely talks about that. Also, adding a protein on top of that, hot link, pulled pork, pulled chicken. You can add all those things on top. Put that honey on top. The tofu. We do a marinated tofu now. I smoke it. Oh yes.

Steve: I've never heard that phrase in the same sentence.

Adrian: Yes sir.

Steve: Marinated tofu.

Adrian: You marinate the tofu. And then I smoke it on the smoker as well with that hickory smoke added to it. So you feel like you're having the same thing as everybody else with that consistency. Put either the honey on top of that, or you put barbecue sauce on top of that, and you're home free.

Steve: You work out of a truck or a kitchen?

Veronica: Kitchen. We used to have a food truck. We don't anymore. But our big goal now is to get a family-style restaurant within the next couple of years. But for now, we're serving our community. We're bringing it to you. Hot, fresh, made to order. Give us at least 24 hours ahead of time notice if you need breakfast burritos, lunchboxes; we do all that for you. Just need a night off. We got you.

Abi: How long have you guys been doing Meats and Sweets?

Veronica: 2021.

Adrian: Yeah, since '21. So through COVID, through all that. We made it through. Still here. Still fighting and we're not going anywhere.

Steve: Alright.

Adrian: Heard somebody say, I'm not going to say his name, but we're coming. But we're here. We're here and we're not going anywhere.