If you enjoy attending outdoor events in the Sault, you’ve likely seen customers lined up for pulled pork sandwiches and other dishes served by Angry Joe’s BBQ.
“During COVID I had more time on my hands so I started doing barbecued food," said Joe Della-Savia, owner of Angry Joe’s BBQ.
"Now we’re in our fifth year of catering and doing events.
The first event he did was the Team Jacobs Charity Golf Classic where they served ribs and cornbread.
"One of the vendors pulled out and we filled in. Since then it's been one event after another for us,” Della-Savia told SooToday at WestFest at Anna Marinelli Park last Saturday.
At such events, Della-Savia can be seen cooking and serving with helpers Gerri Longo and Johnnie Tibbles.
What led Della-Savia – owner of Inside Out Contracting – to start a side hustle?
“The inspiration was the love of food, the love of learning new things and doing them differently,” Della-Savia said.
“We're not a pizza, wings or burger vendor. We specialize in ribs, brisket, our own Texas sausage and pulled pork. Pulled pork is by far our hottest seller because of the way we cook it over wood.”
Pulled pork is a barbecue dish from the southern U.S., which is slow-smoked over wood outdoors.
Della-Savia said he believes the wood in northern Ontario is the best there is for cooking barbecued food.
“In Texas they use what's called post oak. We have an abundance of northern red oak and maple here. I would put our maple and red oak up against anybody's wood and that’s what we cook with.”
Angry Joe’s BBQ has made its mark over the past five years.
“We do a lot of events with The Tap Room. We’ve catered at Algoma Steel, Tenaris, OLG. We've catered to a lot of big events,” Della-Savia said.
Della-Savia said the name Angry Joe has a funny background to it.
“It was a name some of my friends gave me from sports. I just think it's a catchy phrase but it derives from my nickname in hockey.”
Della-Savia, a musician, also leads local band Angry Joe and the Growlers.
“I love interacting with people. I'm an entertainer. I love to see people smile.
"When it comes to food, I love when they have one of our sandwiches and say this is the best thing they've ever had.”
