Introducing Smokehouse 21, Opening in NW Friday

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[Avila, 11/8/11]

The NW 21st space formerly known as Tanuki has gotten a bit of a facelift: Former Original chef BJ Smith brings on the wainscoting, sconces, and (obvs) a mounted boar's head for his BBQ joint Smokehouse 21, scheduled to debut this Friday, November 11. "It took me 20 years to realize that my passion does not rely on food made with tweezers," Smith says, "but to get back to doing good, basic food." With its smoker literally chained to the wall outside, the 22-seat space will offer Smith's brined and rubbed meats for take-out, dining-in, or via bike delivery.

Smith's smokehouse keeps the barbeque traditional, with meat smoked using a blend of cherry, applewood, and hickory woods, served up with "really traditional, straight-up" sauces in classic, mustard, hot, and vinegar varieties. In addition to the daily menu (which features plates of beef brisket, smoked trout, and Texas hot link sausages with eight "side" choices), expect specials inspired by the whole hogs Smith orders: think smoked hog head pate.

And for the boozers, the small back bar will offer five red and five white wins, in addition to an entirely canned beer program. "We're going to have 12 craft beers by the can, mostly from the west coast," Smith says. "The farthest east we go is Colorado, and all of it lends really well to BBQ. They're all pretty rare — we have one called the Ten Fidy [from Colorado's Oskar Blues Brewery], it’s only made once a year, so we bought a ton of it." Smokehouse will be open seven days a week serving lunch and dinner, with late-night hours (until 2am) on Friday and Saturday. The full menu will be available during all hours of operation.
· All Previous Smokehouse 21 Coverage [Eater PDX]