How Smoke & Oak started
Ray Dunham built his first offset smoker from a propane tank in a garage in Westport and sold brisket out of it on Saturdays for three years. In 2009 he signed a lease on an old tyre warehouse on Southwest Boulevard, rolled the smoker inside and never moved it.
The warehouse now has three offset pits, 90 seats at communal tables and a line at the door most days by half past eleven. The brisket recipe is the same as the garage: salt, pepper, hickory, patience.
What we insist on
- Hickory and oak only, split by hand, no gas and no pellets
- Prime brisket on the pit at midnight, 14 hours, sliced to order
- Sauce on the side so you can taste the smoke first
- When the meat runs out we close, usually before eight
Who runs the pit
Ray still lights the fire most nights. Pitmaster Denise Carter runs the day shift, two cooks tend the fires through the night, and eight people cut, pack and serve from eleven until the last brisket is gone.
Good to know
Do you take allergies into account?
Every product lists its allergens. The rub is salt and pepper, the sauce has mustard and the sides have dairy and wheat; add a note to your order and we read it before we pack.
What if you sell out?
We do, most days. Order online before noon and your meat is set aside with your name on it; walk-ins get what is left when they reach the counter.
Lean or moist?
Brisket is sliced from the flat for lean and the point for moist, which has more fat and more flavour. Say which in the note; if you do not, you get a mix.
How do I pay?
Online at checkout, by card at the counter, or scan the code on your table and pay from your seat.