I love everything I’ve ever eaten at the Rendezvous. Whether it’s the ribs, the beans, or that unique slaw, you know it when you taste something from the Rendezvous. Their food has that distinctive Rendezvous taste.
And, when you leave Rendezvous, people around you know where you’ve just eaten because your clothes smell like the Rendezvous.
You can now buy more Rendezvous products, in addition to the restaurant’s signature sauce and rub. According to a news release, Rendezvous Marinade is “the original recipe to baste and flavor our world-famous ribs,” and Greek Seasoning is “Our medley of spices from our Greek heritage.” In addition, Nick’s Salt & Pepper Blend, “a perfect portioned salt-and-pepper mix,” is in production and is slated to be available in stores or online in the coming months.
Items already available include: Famous Rendezvous Seasoning; Original Rendezvous Sauce; Hot Rendezvous Sauce; Charlie’s Select Sauce; and Tigertail Rendezvous Sweet Glazed Mustard.
The new items are “not anything we hadn’t had for years and years,” says John Vergos, one of the restaurant’s owners. “But we just decided to produce it for public consumption. Put our baste in a bottle, and our Greek seasoning and our different seasonings and our Nick’s salt and pepper in a jar, ‘cause it’s really good stuff.”
Vergos describes the salt-and-pepper concoction, which is from the recipe of his brother, the late Nick Vergos, as “really good salt and really good pepper.” And Nick “did some things to it.” But John isn’t going to divulge any more information.
“We’ve never decided to franchise, but we’re still capitalists over here,” Vergos says. “And we like to grow. And we realize we’ve got these wonderful products that people have enjoyed. We let people take some home, call us back and say they’re wonderful.”
Veergos says they’re working on putting out their mother’s Greek salad dressing to the public. Asked to describe the dressing made by their mother, the late Tasia Vergos, John says, “Well, it’s like your good olive oil and vinegar. And, of course, some oregano in it. Salt, pepper, garlic, a few other items. I won’t disclose the whole thing.”
The restaurant began bottling the seasoning in the late ‘80s and then the sauce. “That’s pretty much been it,” says Vergos. “But we’ve always let people take home some of our basics. Nick used to give people his salt and pepper for Christmas presents. We ship this stuff all over the country.”
I asked John to describe that unique Rendezvous barbecue sauce. “It’s not heavy and gooey. And you can taste the mustard and the vinegar in it. It’s good but not overpowering to the meat.” As for the seasoning, he says, “People put it on everything from deviled eggs to a dash in a Bloody Mary.”
The Rendezvous rub is “what started people making dry rubs,” John says. And that’s thanks to his dad, the late Charlie Vergos, who founded the Rendezvous. “My dad was the first.” People put salt and pepper on meat they were going to barbecue, Vergos says, but not dry rubs like his dad made. “I don’t think you have a well-stocked cupboard unless you have some Louisiana hot sauce and some Rendezvous seasoning in it.”
Rendezvous products are available at several locations, including Kroger and Novel. bookstore, and online at hogsfly.com.