Bistro on B fires up the grill for new twist on smokehouse classics

It's been a winding road into the restaurant world for Cayle Anderson, who started off as a plumber before launching a meal prep business that's turned into one of Saskatoon's newest restaurants.

"I've always been into smoking, just kind of cooking at home for my girlfriend," said Anderson. "So home cooking is how I learned how to cook, but now it's come to real life."

He is the owner of Bistro on B — named after its location at 312 Ave. B S. in Riversdale. He describes the restaurant's offering as Tex-Mex cuisine with a French bistro feel. 

Anderson had been a plumber for nine years when he decided he was ready for a change. He quit plumbing and started a meal prep business out of his backyard.

"I got really popular with that," he said, adding he started buying smokers and wood pellet grills to expand the business. "I did probably 900 meals a week. I just kept having more customers."

After running that business for two years, Anderson decided to turn his passion into a brick-and-mortar location. His mom purchased the building where Bistro on B is housed and Anderson sold everything he had to make it work. They renovated the inside and outside of the building and in February 2024, Bistro on B opened its doors.

"From the outside, it looks like a French bistro, but once you come in, it just has a bit of a twist," he said. "It's a Tex-Mex menu, but it's my twist to it."

Smokehouse menu

Popular menu items include tacos, which are available in five different flavours, including mango habanero, brisket street corn and cajun chicken.

The mango habanero taco — the most popular on the menu — is a must-try. Offering the perfect balance of sweet and spice, it features a delicious smoked pork base and fresh, flavourful toppings like pico de gallo.

The brisket mac and cheese is another favourite.

"It took me a while to master the cheese sauce," Anderson said. "Cheese sauce is one of the hardest things I think I've ever cooked. I probably threw out 100 batches of it, just because it's so finicky."

Everything is made in-house based on Anderson's own recipes. Classic menu items like smoked brisket and pulled pork are served with your choice of sides like crunchy apple coleslaw, street corn, honey butter cornbread or BBQ smoked beans.

Even the sauces are in-house creations. Their avocado sauce, which comes on most of the tacos, and the Carolina mustard sauce, which is served on a brisket sandwich, are customer favourites.

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Long smoking process creates distinct flavours

Smoked meat is the main event and is featured throughout most of the dishes. Anderson smokes everything himself at the restaurant, including brisket, ham, beef shoulder, pork belly and more.

"I used big, traditional Yoders," he said, explaining that a Yoder is a pellet-fired smoker. Anderson has two of them. He said he goes through 50 to 60 briskets every week.

Most of the menu items are smoked for 15 hours or more. Anderson said that's what makes Bistro on B's offerings stand out in Saskatoon.

"Nobody else does that," he said. "So I knew that we needed something like this here."

In addition to the main menu, Anderson still does catering and meal prep, which customers can purchase from the grab-and-go fridge at the Bistro. He also has plans to start a food truck so that he can offer his smokehouse creations at local events.