Emil Villa's

California barbecue is the direct descendant of a traditional  system used by the Kiowas as well as the Araphoes. Fortunately, a Kiowa sheepherder named Tom Walkingstorm shared the secret of this method with the founders of Emil Villa’s California Barbecue restaurants.

The technique used a secret basting solution originally called “lassyemma.” During the barbecuing process, the meats were intermittently swabbed with the lassyemma which gave them their distinctive flavor and retained the juices, while also preventing the meat from shrinking.

California Barbecue was first introduced to the world in 1928, when Emil opened a small storefront on the old trolley line on Telegraph Avenue in downtown Oakland. Lassyemma, now known as by its trade name “pyrocure,” was applied with a patented spraying device. Emil Villas in Hayward was opened in 1952, and has been delighting locals with barbecue and delicious fresh pies ever since.  They now have a new sign.