"Connoisseur of smoke": it could describe a Cannabis Cup judge, a Tony Stewart fan, or Tim Love, who's opening fiery meat hub The Woodshed in Ft. Worth next Wednesday. With garage doors that allow the entire Trinity-facing side to be opened for what Love calls a "big party in my backyard, every day", the sprawling space will host lawn games, a monthly farmers' market, live music for up to 600 guests, and even rentable bikes. The sweet lowdown: They're using three smokers, two rotisseries, two wood grills, and six different woods for a menu that starts with apps like pecan-roasted 'shrooms spiced w/ four chilies, and baby artichokes poached in lemon water, smoked over hickory, fried in peanut oil, and served w/ shaved Parm & lemon juice. Down those, then move to mains of bourbon-/Coke-marinated pork shoulder tacos with pickled chilies, bulgogi beef with house kimchi, and "Today's Animal" -- rotating whole beasts who all turned down starring roles in ¡Rob!. Got friends? Shared plates run from 16hr beef shin (w/ ricotta, chilies & smoked oil), to a paella of clams, mussels, rabbit-rattlesnake sausage, jumbo shrimp, "game bird of the day", sofrito, and saffron, all cooked over mesquite, and under a rotating animal to catch fatty drippings, a tasty concept the producers of a Biggest Loser/Top Chef mashup would be wise to adopt. But of course there's more: there's "a nice old lady called Marta" who spends all day making fresh tortillas, pastries are baked daily, the taps will pump out 25 craft beers and five wines, and coffee comes by way of Portland's Stumptown -- because in a town as cannabis-crazy as the PDX, everybody's stumped. Exterior Photos by Jonathan Rice Food Photos by Paul Lin
