Opening Alert! RoadHouse LA at The Improv, West Hollywood

Feb 3, 2014

8162 Melrose Ave · Los Angeles, CA 90048 · Neighborhood: Beverly Grove

Do you like meat? BBQ? Or stiff drinks? How about a little comedy? If you answered yes to any of these, you have come to the right blog post. I was invited to a special preview opening of Roadhouse LA on Melrose in West Hollywood which does all that and more.

Brisket, pork, ribs, lamb, chicken and then of course, not to be outdone, there was this:

Head of the Day

But, before we get (ahem) a’head’ of ourselves… Allow me to fill in the gaps.

Roadhouse LA

The Southern/ worldly-style BBQ restaurant, The Roadhouse LA is adjoined to The Improv and is scheduled to soft open this week, officially opening to the public on Thursday. It will provide dishes for restaurant patrons as well as audience goers to the comedy club. I’m not sure what restaurant was there previously, but I remember once being starved before a show and my food options were something like mozzarella sticks and cardboard with red sauce. It was comedy material to say the least. Thankfully, not anymore!

Inside, a clean, Western-inspired decor makes you feel nice and cozy. Think: weathered wood, vintage signage.

Inside Roadhouse

In addition, there’s a sassy bar managed by Dave Fernie (Pour Vous, Harvard & Stone). Drinks are good and stiff. If you like Old Fashions, you’re in luck. You can get a jazzed up version of that here (called “Jimmy Dalton”) as well as a slew of other creatively named whiskey or tequila centered drinks; “The Phuket List” (Blanco tequila, Batavia array, falernum, pineapple, lime, orgeat, Thai chile, turmeric), “A Little Dickel Dew Ya” (George Dickel 12 year, Mtn Dew redux, lime peel) or “Honkey Tonk is Cheap” (Vodka, Amaro Montenegro, tamarind spiced Pomegranate, lemon, orange, mace blade) to name a few.

Jimmy Dalton

I LOVED, LOVED their house made sodas — there are so many to choose from, you may find yourself not even wanting booze after sipping the root beer or spiced grapefruit soda (pictured below).

Spicy grapefruit soda and Root beer

NY chef Robbie Richter (Hill Country, Fatty ‘Cue) created a wood-smoked, meat-themed menu — and it is SMOKIN’. I think I still had the smokiness in my afro hours after leaving. Though, it wasn’t a bad thing. I smelled delicious.

I really dug the crispy chicken wings – I asked chef Robbie what was in the sauce and he rattled off a long list of ingredients, followed by, “What isn’t in them!?” Fair enough. I had to ask.

Crispy Chicken Wings

I would also return for these bad boyz…

Pork Ribs

…The Jerk Chicken, which had me licking my fingers.

Royal Jerk Chicken and Black Eyed Peas

Detail: Black Eyed Peas

…OR perhaps to try their Head of the Day (feeds 8 ppl)…

Uhm, yeah. Seriously. Don’t piss this guy off.

If looks could kill…

Also, a nice touch — Watermelon as a refreshing palate cleanser between meats.

Watermelon with ginger, cilantro, date palm sugar, lime juice, rice wine vinegar, borrage flower garnish

My friend and I went to take a peak inside the newly jazzed-up Improv stage and the notorious Adam Fleischman (Umami Burger, 800 Degrees) came to say hello (or possibly make sure we weren’t getting ourselves into trouble) and ushered us back to the main dining room. Either way, it was cool to finally meet him.