Barbecue Champ's Back Lot Grill Pops Up In Hollywood

Studio insiders are used to the smell of delicious-smelling meat wafting from grills run by catering trucks on the lot. Not a showrunner? Not to worry, that back lot barbecue experience is now being opened to the public.

This summer, the Jimmy Kimmel back lot has been transformed into a BBQ paradise with the launch of grilling expert Chef Adam Perry Lang's Serious Barbecue Back Lot BBQ. Lang's BBQ experience will be serving up his signature sliced beef short rib, pork butt, and beef brisket from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays for lunch until Sept. 5.

Lang, a classically trained chef, took first place in the Kansas City America Royal AKA The World Series of BBQ. He is also a consulting partner in Chef Mario Batali's Carnevino in Las Vegas and founded Daisy May BBQ in New York and Barbecoa with Chef Jamie Oliver in London. Now Lang has moved his family to Manhattan Beach to share his passion for food and significant grilling skills with Southern California.

All of the BBQ know-how and massive set up of equipment and setting has been put together to help Lang relaunch his BBQ manifesto, the "Serious Barbecue" cookbook. "One of the motivations behind it, was I got the right back to my first book. I self-published the relaunch of my book and wanted to have some fun and get to know Los Angeles and feed LA people."

Lang has set up in his dream BBQ "backyard," complete with grass, whiskey barrel tables, and an Airstream trailer where Lang stays during the night to be able to stay close and watch the fires.

When asked how he found himself firing up a two-ton custom built Texan burn pit outside Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Lang explained, "I did the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2009 and we hit it off. We are both avid fly fisherman. He is the main reason I am living in Los Angeles now. In my quest to find a restaurant space, he said 'Why don't you do a food truck in my lot?' I decided to put together a BBQ experience. We have the piles of wood and everything. It is a community event.

"I am celebrating craft. This is where we make our charcoal. I just wanted to do something cool." While we were at the Back Lot BBQ, Lang hand-sliced the meats to order. He fielded questions from diners about the differences between brining and cooking the local pork and how he will treat an incoming delivery of Korobuta pork differently. He explained how all of the techniques are different than the kind of grilling he does in BBQ competitions. When Lang won the world series of pork at the Kansas City American Royal, he was judged on one bite.

"My whole thing now is about how you feel after you eat. Cooking BBQ like this, where you are making the charcoal, it is more like a roast, you don't feel that smokiness, or too heavy. That's what I appreciate most," said Lang. "This is the best BBQ I have ever cooked, I am really happy with it."

Helping Lang in his Back Lot BBQ adventure wearing her "Cowgirl" name tag, Nicole Davenport is a fourth generation Texan Lang is the director of operations. "And she plays polo!" Lang says. "She really knows the tastes, flavors and textures of BBQ. She knows how to light the pit."

The Serious Barbecue Back Lot BBQ will feature at least one of Lang's signature dishes everyday with prices ranging from $15 to $40. Every day, 25 percent of the food cooked will be donated to L.A.C.E.R. Afterschool Programs and PATH, an organization that support homeless individuals and families.

Each day in to addition the lunch open to the public, Back Lot BBQ menu items will also be available for take away service from 4 to 5 p.m. Lang will also be hosting VIP and special events at night in a private dining area with a George Dickel whiskey bar and weekly cooking classes in the 12 Big Green Eggs.

Serious Barbecue Back Lot BBQ

The Jimmy Kimmel Live! Back Lot
6901 Hawthorn Avenue
Hollywood, CA 90028
(parking is available at the corner of Hawthorn and Orange)
www.adamperrylang.com

Julie Wolfson (@juliewolfson) is a freelance writer living in Los Angeles. She covers travel, lifestyle, art, pop culture, cocktails and food for Cool Hunting and several other media outlets. Most days you'll find her out and about in Southern California and around the world tracking down stories about talented people doing amazing things.