Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Pigs make a smooth landing in downtown Vista

Music festival tickets motivated restaurant founders

A platter of BBQ goodness: smoked corn, smoked mac'n'cheese, brisket, hot links, pulled pork, and a corn muffin.
A platter of BBQ goodness: smoked corn, smoked mac'n'cheese, brisket, hot links, pulled pork, and a corn muffin.

The Ginos thought they were saving money on tickets into a music festival, but it turns out they were opening a tasty BBQ restaurant in Vista Village.

Granted, the entire process took over a decade. To begin with, North County couple Dale and Tammy Ginos wanted to attend the Stagecoach Festival, the country music version of Coachella, held at the Empire Polo Club outside Palm Springs. They probably would have skipped the pricey event, but Dale learned you could score discounted tickets by competing in the festival’s BBQ competition.

Sponsored
Sponsored

First, he had to learn how to use a smoker.

Fast forward ten years, and the Ginos boasted award-winning brisket and a BBQ counter serving it out of the Vista gas station they own. They took the name, When Pigs Fly, because that’s how likely Tammy thought it was any of this would happen.

Winged swine must be a common sight in Vista’s historic downtown district this year, because this winter the Ginos opened a full restaurant, to bring their winning takes on brisket and other Texas BBQ staples to a broader audience.

Place

When Pigs Fly BBQ

230 Main Street, Vista

Not to be confused with the nearby Flying Pig gastropub, When Pigs Fly sits on Main Street, at the site of a former winery. The space has been revamped with a patchwork of unfinished planks and corrugated metal walls, the dining room framed in a pergola-like structure of wood beams and rails. Counter seats look out large cutout windows over a sidewalk furnished with a few outdoor tables.

It’s a big step up from a Chevron mini-mart or music festival booth, though it sticks with a service counter, where I found a line forming as Saturday dinnertime approached. I might have held up that line with an inability to choose were it not for the “barnyard” option: a combo plate featuring three types of meat and two sides. Even with that offering, I had to skip spare ribs, tri-tip, and dark meat chicken so I could try that brisket, the recommended pork shoulder, and a house-made Texas hot link.

Ordering sides proved no less challenging, and I had to bypass good ol’ coleslaw and saucy beans to dig on two smoked sides: mac and cheese, and corn. The smoked mac proved more cheesy than smoky, though I’m hard pressed to complain about either attribute. I liked the corn, but next time I’d probably aim for garlicky mashed potatoes.

The brisket won me over, and though the sausage was almost too finely minced, I had no problem digging through the two, appropriately spicy links and letting the skin provide all the chew. The pulled pork had more toothsome appeal, and while I chewed, Tammy approached my table to remind me they offer three kinds of house BBQ sauce, ranging from sweet to spicy. Every bite of meat was flavorful enough it didn’t need dressing, but I’m glad she said something, because theirs is the most satisfying sauce I’ve tried locally outside of Phil’s.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Crimes against San Diego pets

Kensington, Little Italy, Ocean Beach, City Heights, Tijuana, Prescott, Arizona
A platter of BBQ goodness: smoked corn, smoked mac'n'cheese, brisket, hot links, pulled pork, and a corn muffin.
A platter of BBQ goodness: smoked corn, smoked mac'n'cheese, brisket, hot links, pulled pork, and a corn muffin.

The Ginos thought they were saving money on tickets into a music festival, but it turns out they were opening a tasty BBQ restaurant in Vista Village.

Granted, the entire process took over a decade. To begin with, North County couple Dale and Tammy Ginos wanted to attend the Stagecoach Festival, the country music version of Coachella, held at the Empire Polo Club outside Palm Springs. They probably would have skipped the pricey event, but Dale learned you could score discounted tickets by competing in the festival’s BBQ competition.

Sponsored
Sponsored

First, he had to learn how to use a smoker.

Fast forward ten years, and the Ginos boasted award-winning brisket and a BBQ counter serving it out of the Vista gas station they own. They took the name, When Pigs Fly, because that’s how likely Tammy thought it was any of this would happen.

Winged swine must be a common sight in Vista’s historic downtown district this year, because this winter the Ginos opened a full restaurant, to bring their winning takes on brisket and other Texas BBQ staples to a broader audience.

Place

When Pigs Fly BBQ

230 Main Street, Vista

Not to be confused with the nearby Flying Pig gastropub, When Pigs Fly sits on Main Street, at the site of a former winery. The space has been revamped with a patchwork of unfinished planks and corrugated metal walls, the dining room framed in a pergola-like structure of wood beams and rails. Counter seats look out large cutout windows over a sidewalk furnished with a few outdoor tables.

It’s a big step up from a Chevron mini-mart or music festival booth, though it sticks with a service counter, where I found a line forming as Saturday dinnertime approached. I might have held up that line with an inability to choose were it not for the “barnyard” option: a combo plate featuring three types of meat and two sides. Even with that offering, I had to skip spare ribs, tri-tip, and dark meat chicken so I could try that brisket, the recommended pork shoulder, and a house-made Texas hot link.

Ordering sides proved no less challenging, and I had to bypass good ol’ coleslaw and saucy beans to dig on two smoked sides: mac and cheese, and corn. The smoked mac proved more cheesy than smoky, though I’m hard pressed to complain about either attribute. I liked the corn, but next time I’d probably aim for garlicky mashed potatoes.

The brisket won me over, and though the sausage was almost too finely minced, I had no problem digging through the two, appropriately spicy links and letting the skin provide all the chew. The pulled pork had more toothsome appeal, and while I chewed, Tammy approached my table to remind me they offer three kinds of house BBQ sauce, ranging from sweet to spicy. Every bite of meat was flavorful enough it didn’t need dressing, but I’m glad she said something, because theirs is the most satisfying sauce I’ve tried locally outside of Phil’s.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

The White-crowned sparrow visits, Liquidambars show their colors

Bat populations migrate westward
Next Article

San Diego car vandals – getting bolder?

Tesla Cybertruck throws down the gauntlet
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader