Venice's Brickhouse Kitchen, a locals' café known for its hearty breakfast (and personally appreciated as one of the few spots in town serving housemade chips and Tex-Mex queso), has added a new nightly concept to its repertoire called the Brick Smokehouse, a Southern-style pop-in by chef Glen Rogers featuring slow-smoked meats, soulful sides, craft beer and wine.
This is the first brick-and-mortar venture for Rogers, a Venice local whose experience includes chef de cuisine for Top Chef celeb Stefan Richter at his restaurant L.A. Farm in Santa Monica (recently turned Roost), and then several years of private catering. Growing up on his family's organic vegetable farm in Portland, Rogers cultivated an appreciation for fresh-picked, seasonal ingredients long before farm-to-table was called a movement, and his experience shines through in the savory soul food he serves up for dinner.
Photo by Glennie Rabin
In an introductory tasting for friends and family, he stacked up plates of fork-tender, slow-smoked brisket and baby back ribs finished with a spoonful of his blackberry chipotle sauce, along with sides of white-cheddar mac and crisp slaw. All of this and a Sculpin IPA ran $25. The full menu features tri tip, turkey drums, pork belly and even more fixins' – fried brussels, mustard greens, creamed grits and stewed tomatoes. Also, an important note on biscuits and gravy: a recipe is in the works and will be on the menu soon. In fact, expect to see this menu switching up quite a bit, not only because it's centered on seasonality, but because Rogers wants to keep it interesting and creative while also keeping the prices reasonable and the atmosphere casual. The idea was to take what he already loves – barbecue, beer and casual nights with family and friends – and extend it to the larger Venice community.
Photo by Glennie Rabin
Revamped decor is now much more conducive to social gatherings. As guests walk in, they'll notice the large pastry display case has been removed, and a beer and wine bar now situated in the back corner. Exposed brick interior fashioned with local artwork and plush booths retain the familiarity of the Brickhouse, and Rogers says that they also plan to bring in musicians on occasion for casual entertainment.
Brick Smokehouse opens Friday, October 31 at 4 p.m., and runs nightly Tuesday through Saturday.
Brick Smokehouse // 826 Hampton Dr. Venice CA 90291