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Todd Leaf has realized his dream of combining great cooking, fast service and a fun atmosphere. He opened Todd's Bar-B-Que in Oakhurst a little more than a year ago.

Todd Leaf shows off his delicious barbecue ribs, smothered in his own award-winning sauce.

French cuisine, wine trails, Crème Brulee, caviar and escargot are fine sometimes, for some people, but most Americans would really rather, to borrow a line from the movie "Almost Famous‚" just get some barbecue man.

Todd's Cookhouse Bar-B-Que in Oakhurst is easily one of the best places around for deliciously messy barbecue washed down with a cold brew or a glass of iced tea. You know it's going to be good barbecue when they hand you several handi-wipes with your meal.

Todd Leaf has been dreaming about cooking as far back as he can remember.

"When I was a kid and the family would fire up the barbecue grill I was fascinated," Leaf said. "It wasn't like some other kids who were interested in the fire. I was fascinated by how the meat cooked."

Throughout his life, Leaf has been involved in the restaurant business, working everything from bussing tables to cooking gourmet meals at a French restaurant in Las Vegas.

"I have cooked gourmet meals, managed a Del Taco fast food restaurant and cooked in some great barbecue restaurants," Leaf said. "Todd's kind of brings it all together. We serve high-quality barbecue served up right and we do it fast."

Leaf's interest in barbecue really got started in 1994 when he went to Nashville to try and sell some of the songs he had written.

"At that time I was trying to decide between a career in music or cooking," Leaf said. "I only had one call back on my songs but while I was in Nashville I found all these great barbecue restaurants. I was hooked."

Leaf calls his cooking "American regional comfort food."

"The trend today for restaurants is very casual," he said. "We are trying to ride that wave. Right now people are looking for the casual feel."

In 1995, after cooking gourmet food in Vegas, Leaf worked with a cook that was wearing a hat that said "Blake's Place." Blake's, it turns out, was a barbecue restaurant in Orange County. Leaf ended up working there and the owner taught him about catering and the business end of operating a restaurant.

It's no surprise that Leaf loved Southern-style cooking. Years ago he became a fan of Cajun chef Paul Prudhomme and was constantly buying his cookbooks.

"In 1993 or '94 I went to a book signing and met Paul at the old Bristol Farms in the Anaheim Hills," Leaf said. "I also watched him cook. He was amazing."

Leaf began collecting Southern-style cookbooks.

"I know it sounds crazy, but I would just look at the pictures and then try to make the dish. I didn't follow the recipes," Leaf said. "I just tried to do my own thing."

Then in 1999, Leaf heard about a contest being held by Kraft Foods. They were looking for recipes for barbecue sauce.

"The timing couldn't have been better," Leaf said. "At the time I was doing a lot of experimenting with barbecue sauces and I was making a new sauce every day. I heard about the contest and did some research. I learned that Kraft didn't have a Southwest or Santa Fe style barbecue sauce, so I entered my Santa Fe sauce. I entered a second sauce also, but the Santa Fe won. There were 10,000 entries in the contest."

Kraft put the sauce into production and it was their most successful new line in recent years, Leaf said. In fact, Leaf said, at last count, about 10 million bottles of Todd's barbecue sauce had been sold across the nation.

Leaf considered opening his own restaurant a couple of years ago while he was working in a New Orleans style restaurant in Disneyland. He had just about given up on the idea when his brother-in-law called him and told him about a restaurant in Oakhurst that was available. The next thing you know, Todd Leaf, his wife Alice and their three children moved to Oakhurst and opened the restaurant Feb. 1, 2005.

"The local community has been great," Leaf said. "They have supported us when the times were tough. Tourist season isn't that long and if it wasn't for the great lunch crowd and take-out orders we get locally it would have been tough."

All his meats are cooked using local wood. Currently he is cooking with Live Oak, Leaf said. Leaf's restaurant is certified in Serve Safe Techniques.

"Around here we all wear rubber gloves," Leaf said. "We go through a box of gloves every day. I believe that we have a responsibility to provide our customers with clean, safe food. Besides, I'm a bit of a germ freak."

So what makes good barbecue?

"The main key is knowing when the meat is truly done," Leaf said. "It's not when the meat hits the right temperature, its when the temperature is right to break down the fibers. Cooking low and slow is important. Every piece of meat is different. Every fire burns differently. You can't just put the meat in, turn on a timer and walk away.

"Cooking barbecue right can only be done by feel. That's why I never get to go anywhere; once the meat is put in I stay right here to make certain it's cooked right. That's what most restaurants don't get, they think it's about the sauce but the meat has to be right. It has to be the right cut of meat with the right amount of marbling and you have to babysit the meat.

"I love the Southern-Style street foods because it's all about the food. It's about portioning and quality. It's not about the plates or table cloths."



From the author ...

If you find yourself in Oakhurst, make sure to try Todd's barbecue ribs. It's wonderful to taste the smoke from the wood ingrained in the meat, covered in a sauce that is delicious and light. Combined with his coleslaw and seasoned French fries, it's a meal that's tough to beat.

During the interview, Lloyd Patton, who lives just north of Oakhurst stopped in for some food.

"I have been coming in here for about a month," Patton said. "I have tried about six different items on the menu and I just keep coming back. I want to try everything they have here. This time I just wanted to meet Todd and thank him."

If you are looking for good food, reasonably priced, plenty of it, served up fast, stop by Todd's Cookhouse Bar-B-Que in Oakhurst. If you're looking for overpriced pretentious food that leaves you wanting to stop at a fast food restaurant later, then go to the Bay Area.





Todd's Crowd Pleasin' Baked Beans

4-6 servings



4 slices of bacon

28 ounce can of Pork N' Beans

1 small white or yellow onion, diced

1/4 cup of firmly packed dark brown sugar

1/4 cup of Maple Syrup

1/4 cup of Ketchup

1 Teaspoon of Worsteshire sauce

1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard

Brown the bacon, not crisp. Cut up and stir all ingredients together and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.



Buttermilk Cole Slaw

Makes about 10 to 12 servings



1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup of Miracle Whip

1/4 cup of milk

1/4 cup of buttermilk

3 1/2 tablespoons white vinegar

1/2 teaspoon of salt

pinch of black pepper

1 small head of finely shredded cabbage

1 shredded carrot

Mix all ingredients together, add cabbage and chill for about two hours. Toss before serving.