Smith: We came so close to losing Angelo’s

Raise your hand, please, if you’ve ever heard or declared yourself that any worthy list of must-visit, uniquely Sonoma County food meccas must include “Pasta King” Art Ibleto’s kitchen and shop in the country near Cotati and his kid brother’s Angelo’s Meats in the country near Petaluma.

When Art isn’t right there beside the freezer stacked with his award-snagging lasagna, polenta, pesto sauce, minestrone and such, patrons comply with the hand-scrawled instructions to take what they want and leave the money on the table.

There’s also a sign across the valley, where Angelo makes his sausages, jerky, stuffed olives and other prized products. It reads:

“No tri-tip is sold here unless it has Angelo’s California Grand Champion BBQ rub on it.”

The monarch of meats isn’t kidding, any more than his brother the Pasta King jokes about his honor-system sales table. At 80, Angelo is one of the most endearing men you’ll ever meet, but don’t ask him to sell one of his tri-tips naked. He’d also appreciate having your word that you won’t overcook it.

How terrifying Monday afternoon, when it appeared for a time that all of his shop buildings and his adjacent home on Adobe Road might be devoured by flames. I was in Florida, where Kent Porter’s online photo of the inferno made me shudder.

It was so good to stop by Angelo’s Meats on Wednesday and see that the main shop wasn’t only standing, but open for business. Angelo and his helpers were making the multi-seasoned jerky that Angelo has for years shipped as cherished gifts for troops toughing it out in Afghanistan and, before that, Iraq.

Angelo said he’s been taking calls from as far away as Saskatchewan and his native Italy. People close to him, yet far away, saw news of the blaze online and phoned to ask nervously, “You OK?”

Thank goodness he is. Angelo is a local treasure, with hands the size of the outfield mitt at AT&T Park and natural charm that extends to his way of speaking, a rich and thick blend of Old Country and New that inspired grandson Bill to record this greeting on the meat master’s cellphone: “If Angelo left this message, you would not be able to understand it.”

As I left the damaged but undaunted Angelo’s Meats, a country neighbor stopped by to offer a hand with rebuilding and to ask what all was lost to the fire. Angelo told him that only storage sheds burned, “It was just stuff.”

Anyway, that’s what I think he said.

THAT NEW FENCE around the Luther Burbank Home & Gardens is coming together slower than expected, but it’s definitely happening.

The rotted, old, redwood picket fence at the landmark across Sonoma Avenue from Santa Rosa City Hall came out lickety-split nearly five weeks ago. Installation of the new one was to start at once but workers with the firm that’s performing the $110,000 project discovered that the foundations of the posts had to be re-engineered.

That’s been done, and now more than half of the 740 feet of fencing is in and finished but for touch-up. The previous fence looked funky for many years; this one looks to beautify the historic gem for a good deal longer than even youngsters like us will be here to enjoy it.

Chris Smith is at 707-521-5211 and chris.smith@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @CJSPD