It's time, Lake Forest Park: Brileys BBQ & Grill opens today at 15030 Bothell Way NE. The Southern Pride SPK 500 smoker has kicked to life and is smoking everything from housemade sausages to brisket, ribs, and chicken using cherry and apple wood. "It's the Mercedes of smokers," said co-owner Kyle Brierley. "It can smoke 120 racks of ribs at a time, but efficiently burns low and slow, which will save on wood."
The menu includes "sandys" for $10 to 13, including one side. Sandwich options include pulled chicken, pulled pork, sausage "hammers," pit beef, and more. There are also sandwich specials, such as "The Rock," made with beef brisket and served with coleslaw on top; "The Harry Stamper," served with pulled pork, sausage hammer, and bacon; and the "Iron Horse," made with smoked jalapeño cheddar sausage, spicy mustard and coleslaw. All the sandwiches are made with brioche rolls from Essential Baking Company.
You can also buy meat and sausages by the pound that have been smoked low and slow (5 to 14 hours, depending on the product) to enjoy on-site, at one of the picnic tables in the covered outdoor dining space overlooking Lake Washington, or to take home. There are bone-in and boneless chicken wings, pork spare ribs, jalapeño cheddar or smoked andouille sausage, brisket, pit beef, baby back ribs, pulled pork, and pulled chicken. There are also seasonal favorites like fried catfish.
Brileys is as much about the meat as it is about the side dishes, with everything from gumbo made with the housemade andouille sausage, hush puppies, Brunswick stew (a house specialty), French fries, sweet potato fries, collard greens, mac 'n cheese, and more. Small portions are $4, large are $8. Or try the gluttonous Brileys Fries: French fries topped with barbecue sauce and Brunswick stew. The restaurant is also making all their own barbecue sauces. "Tomato-based sauces with a Kansas City kick," said co-owner Skyler Riley. All sauces are gluten-free.
The beverage program is another highlight. Brierley most recently left his post as wine director and restaurant manager at Cafe Juanita, and has stacked the wine list with several primo wines by the glass, including Triennes rosé from Provence, Love & Squalor Riesling and Angel Vine Primitivo, both from Oregon's Willamette Valley. Wines on tap are coming soon. Beers get equal love too, with rotating taps from local favorites Fremont Brewing and Diamond Knot, plus new breweries such as Sumerian Brewing in Woodinville and Hellbent Brewing, located just up the road on Lake City Way. And of course, there is also Rainier.
Plans are also in the works for family-style, whole hog, nose-to-tail dinners featuring wine and beer makers, and Brileys has also already kicked off a catering business.
The new restaurant opens it doors today for lunch at 11 a.m., and regular hours are Tuesday through Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
