SMOKEHOUSE 21’s CHOPPED SALAD

Well, the good news for salad-eaters is that our menu now features another salad!

Of course, the bad new for some of those salad-eaters is that our Chopped Salad is also made of meat. Two kinds, actually: chicken aaaaaaaaaaaand bacon. But you probably could’ve guessed that.

Still, it’s not a lot of meat. Rather, it’s mostly tossed with our sherry vinaigrette and swirled into a twisty mountain of baby arugula, radicchio and bleu cheese crumbles.

It’s fresh and, even with that bacon, it’s light. And it’s perfect size to either share with your date before the “main event” arrives, or to covet and hog all to yourself for a light lunch.

Of course, if chicken and pig ain’t your thing, we’ll chop you one up sans.

SMOKEHOUSE 21’s HEIRLOOM TOMATO SALAD

If you’ve ever tasted an heirloom tomato that’s just been plucked from the earth, then you know that nothing—nothing!—tastes better. It’s like your tongue is an orchestra and your taste buds a choir that the tomato conducts.

Sorta makes you wonder why you’d ever wanna bother with them store-boughts, right?

Well, we’ve got ’em. Heirlooms, that is. And you know what else you might not’ve known? Tomatoes are as Southern as they come.

Now you might think that nothing sounds as Southern as smoked meats, cold beers, warm nights and good friends, and you know, you’re probably not too far off.

But according to BJ, the man behind our smoker, those things ain’t got a thing on tomatoes, vinegar, cucumbers and red onions.

That’s why he’s taking all of those ingredients and tossing ’em together in a bowl just for you.

What you get is something light and healthy, tart and tangy, and—once we crumble in a little feta cheese—cheesy, too.

In other words—and in BJ’s words exactly—what you’re more-or-less getting is “the South in a bowl.”

Keep in mind, when the weather turns, we’ll swap out this salad for something a little winterier, but with the weather the way it’s been looking, we think we’ll be keeping this leafless salad around a little while longer.

Either way, when it goes, it goes, so you should come see us and get in here while the getting’s good!

And it’s meatless, too, so bring them vegan friends of yours.

SMOKEHOUSE 21 DISHING IT OUT AT INTERNATIONAL FOOD BLOGGERS CONFERENCE

Pictured, left: an armada of apps. Plate upon plate of Pickled Watermelon Salad (with feta cheese and arugula), to be exact. So what’s with this summer salad invasion?

Well, they’re part of the spread we’ll be serving up from our booth at the fourth International Food Bloggers Conference, which is being held, for the first time ever, in Portland, at the Portland DoubleTree.

The conference, put on by the online culinary encyclopedia, Foodista.com, and Zephyr Adventures, trip planners for adventurous travelers, hikers, bikers and eaters, is an annual symposium of all things food and all things technology.

Want to learn about pigs, pears or turning your hobby (eating and talking about food) into a legitimate business (eating and writing about food)? Then sign, show up, mingle and learn.

Of course, in between symposia, you’ll get a chance to try some of the best eats from some of the best restaurants this city has to offer, including the aforementioned Watermelon Salad and our melt-in-your-mouth Pulled Pork Sliders.

Swing by our booth on Saturday, August 25, and ask us how we do up Southern barbecue Portland-style. And of course, sample what we’re sampling.

Plastic flatware will be available, but we’ll be more impressed if you skip it and eat what we’ve got using only your hands.

SMOKEHOUSE 21’s CRAFT BEER: HELL OR HIGH WATERMELON

When summer begins to draw to an end, the best way to send it out with a bang is to celebrate is with beer (or two).

And now’s your chance to send it out right, because San Francisco Brewer 21st Amendment‘s Hell or High Watermelon won’t be around for much longer (this seasonal beer is retired each year at the end of September).

This beer is fermented like any other ordinary wheat—at first. But once the primary fermentation process has been completed, the brewers ferment it again, this time by adding to it the meat of fresh watermelons.

If you like wheat beer, you’ll love this. It’s crispy, dry, not all bitter, not at all sweet and, with and ABV of less than 5 percent, it’s perhaps the most ideal session beer on our menu.

Pair a pair of them with some Smoked Barbecue Chicken, our Texas Hot Link plate, or our summery Pickled Watermlon Salad, made with arugula and feta cheese.

Or just have a seat at one of our outdoor tables, order up a can and unwind with your summer read some sunny afternoon.

Either way: drink ’em while we got ’em, because the brewers won’t make them again until next April.

SMOKEHOUSE 21’s PICKLED WATERMELON SALAD

Besides blowing one up with an M-80 on the 4th of July, nothing quite says summer like slicing up and sharing one of nature’s beautifully striped, brilliantly colored and meatiest of fruits: the Watermelon.

It’s also a barbecue staple, and that is why you can now find watermelon on our menu.

Thing is, watermelons are pretty to look at and fun to eat, has they a very, very subtle taste that, for a fruit, is just barely sweet.

So how do you jazz one up? By splitting it open, slicing it into one-cubic-inch bites and then pickling those bites in a secret summer brine.

Artfully arrange a few of those slices atop a bed of a sherry vin-tossed arugula and then sprinkle over it all crumbles of feta cheese and you’ve got our deconstructed take on a fresh, cold, classic summer salad.

So come on in and give our Pickled Watermelon Salad a spin. It’s still sweet, but it’s also tart, tangy, leafy and, just like fruit itself, pleasingly colored in whites, greens and reds.

And, like our Smoked Portobello Sando, it’s yet another meatless addition to our smoked meats menu.

As always, silverware is optional.

SMOKEHOUSE 21’s FRISEE SALAD

We should consider ourselves lucky that we’re often so busy that sometimes a day’s most challenging dilemma is being in such a rush that we don’t have time to eat.

But if you find yourself in that jam (you’re hungry, pressed for time, close by and looking for something that won’t slow you down), then we’ve got just the thing for you: our Frisee Salad.

And as salads should be, this one’s just as nutritious as it is delicious—it’s made from edible elements spanning the major food groups, which means, yes…it’s a salad tossed with meat, in this case, our smoked chicken (because we are a smokehouse, after all).

As for those who don’t care for frisee (and we know you’re out there), keep in mind that you probably do like it. It’s likely that it just hasn’t been properly prepared for you yet.

And while frisee is bitter, it should’t be so bitter that you can’t eat it, so we do away with the bitter bits and use only the best, leafy parts, which is how it should be.

If you’re still not convinced that this is exactly what will help get you through the day, we also toss it with cubes of marinated celery root, cornbread croutons and our housmade brown butter vinaigrette.

So not only is it made from things from all four food groups, it’s also, at once, slightly bitter, slightly sweet, certainly smoky, savory and crunchy.

And whether you’re going to casually and leisurely dine in, or take one back to the office to eat at your desk, remember that we can make it in a flash.

Try one and see why frisee just might some day be the new arugula.