Smoke Shop Will Serve Up Competition Plates & 'Chef-y Touches' in November

Boston Magazine pulled an all-nighter smoking pork butt with Andy Husbands, and over bourbon (in darkness) and cold brew (the next morning), a few more details about the chef's forthcoming Smoke Shop came to light.

It was his mentor, Chris Schlesinger of East Coast Grill, who taught Husbands the intricacies of smoking and grilling and showed him that barbecue isn't a low-brow cuisine. "Tremont [647]’s been my love," Husbands said, of his nearly-20-year-old South End restaurant, "but this is my passion."

When Smoke Shop opens in the former Tommy Doyle's space in Kendall Square later this year — in November, according to Husbands' updated Twitter profile — it won't focus on one regional, barbecue style, BoMag notes, but instead "competition-style" plates. As previously reported, that means platters of ribs, sausage, brisket, etc., and "more-eclectic offerings like Jamaican jerk pork belly."

But there will also be "chef-y touches," BoMag reports, like smoked, fried chicken banh mi and salads with local greens. On the bar, there will be a bourbon focus, and the potential live music reported earlier will be of the country variety. But "this is not going to be a roadhouse," Husbands said.

In other north-of-the-river barbecue news, Boston Nightlife Ventures is bringing Southern Kin Cookhouse and Bar to Assembly Row, as previously reported, and the Boston Globe has some more on that new concept. Expect country-fried steak and "curiosities like blackened gator tacos." Whiskey will flow at Southern Kin, too: Specialty cocktails will start with rye, bourbon, and moonshine. Southern Kin will have 108 seats inside as well as a 60-seat patio.