Navigating: haute barbecue | Metromix Detroit

Navigating: haute barbecuepick

Where L.A.’s finest stoke up the grill

By Jiyeon Yoo

Metromix
August 6, 2008

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Navigating: haute barbecue
Vinoteque's vino-Q (Credit: Alex Lampila)

Another day, another backyard barbecue? Something like that. While L.A.’s perpetual sun provides yearlong opportunities for a good cookout, summertime brings about that familiar, open-door kind of hospitality. Even fancy-pants types are letting their hair down, dedicating at least one balmy night to the great American art form of setting flame to bovine flesh. You’ll obviously have to shell out more than your usual contribution of Bud Light, but for an evening free of Dixie plates and pestering from the parental units? That alone is worth the price of admission alone.

pick BBQ Thursdays @ Josie

It’s become a yearly tradition, and Josie doesn’t disappoint. Summer barbecue nights are back on Thursdays. The menu changes weekly, as dictated by the freshest ingredients. That might include quail or venison, the bounty of a clambake, or even kangaroo ribs. Expect grass-fed beef to make an appearance sometime this season—chef Josie Le Balch is one of L.A.’s early advocates of happy cows—as well as her popular apricot barbecue sauce. Call ahead for menu details.

pick Beefsteak Sundays @ Bacaro

It’s not traditional barbecue, but it is a gluttonous, meat-gorging tradition nonetheless. Popularized in New York in the mid-1800s, beefsteak was an all-you-can-eat-and-drink, all-hands, no-utensils event, often tied to political fundraising or vote buying. Beefsteak at Bacaro is a more civilized, monthly affair: that means no on politicians (perhaps) and yes on utensils (if you must). But the immoderate spirit lives on: A.Y.C.E. steak and potatoes, A.Y.C.E. BreadBar bread, and A.Y.C.-guzzle beer and red wine, all for a mere $25. The limited 32 seats fill up fast; reserve well in advance.

pick Los Angeles Barbecue Festival

Ocean & Colorado Aves., Santa Monica

2008 marks L.A.’s inaugural celebration to the gods of barbecue. The weekend-long party promises 10 pit masters from around the country, including several local folks (Gus’s BBQ, Mr. Cecil’s California Ribs, Parise Pit BBQ) who’ll rumble with the big boys from Texas and Mississippi. The event also offers a Fast Pass for those who abhor waiting in lines. Note that neither admission price nor Fast Pass pays for the cost of food.

pick Weekend Barbecues @ The Peninsula Roof Garden

A $4 million renovation and a happening Fourth of July outing sparked the inspiration for more ’cue atop the Peninsula’s swankified Roof Garden. Admittedly, the weekend offering is a prim sit-down affair—the only smoke you could hope to ingest would come from the designated ciggie section. The menu is a three-course prix fixe: salad and dessert to go with the grilling of your entree. Lobster is an additional $15; visions of all the hard bodies along the rooftop pool, priceless.

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