LA’s Secret Brisket King Takes Over Some Prime LA Real Estate Along West Third

Some switcheroo news today out of bustling West Third Street. It seems as though the recently-shuttered Doughboys space won’t be down for long, as paper is up and work is being done to transform the address into a casual barbecue concept called Slab BBQ.

Slab is actually the brainchild of the H.Wood Group, those nightlife impresarios behind Delilah and The Nice Guy and plenty of other places. The LLC listed on an ABC license for the place points back to H.Wood’s own John Terzian, and Eater was able to confirm through them that the project is indeed happening. The plan is to craft an easygoing restaurant with top-quality Texas-style barbecue, something they say has still been hard to come by in this city.

What’s really intriguing is the pitmaster being named for the place. Though word is not out in any large or official way, multiple sources confirm that the menu will operate under the direction of one Burt Bakman, also known as Trudy’s Underground BBQ. The Studio City weekend smoked meat Instagrammer has garnered quite a name for himself in a short amount of time, and is parlaying that success into a standalone barbecue operation with some big-time backing, it seems.

Clay Larsen

There’s always a jump from the backyard game to the business side of things, but with Bakman’s team including the know-how of the H.Wood Group, it’s a fair bet to assume things will be just fine. The move to bring barbecue to such a main stretch of the city also comes at an interesting time for Los Angeles overall, when La Barbecue is eyeing Downtown and other small startups are pushing brisket everywhere from Orange County to Koreatown. No word on when exactly Slab BBQ will be going down, but construction should be starting up in earnest soon.

Slab BBQ
8136 W. Third St.
Los Angeles, CA

• LA’s Best Secret Brisket Comes From a Studio City Driveway [ELA]