Cookn With Lenny's Smokehouse

"Eating is really one of your indoor sports.  You play three times a day, and it's well worth while to make the game as pleasant as possible."

---Dorothy Draper

COOKIN WITH LENNY’S SMOKEHOUSE

23360 Lake Manor Drive

Chatsworth, CA  91311

818-348-8100

11:00 AM to 10:00 PM        Tuesday through Sunday

http://www.cookinwithlenny.net/

Finding Lenny’s, a couple of minutes west of Topanga Canyon Boulevard, you feel that you have driven to the end of the world looking for barbeque.  It’s in the area above the old Chatsworth Reservoir, now empty, in what is, by LA standards, a sparsely populated area that still retains a rural feeling.  You’re not much more than a mile away from some of the highest rent neighborhoods in the West Valley.   It’s a small, unassuming, place so don’t go more than 30 miles per hour on the two lane road or you’ll miss it.  (And, you may just get a ticket.)  On the other hand, you can’t miss it if you leave your window open…the smoker is right out in front.

The physical impression of the place is, well, cowboy.  It’s all knotty pine, tongue and groove, paneling and wainscoting with stucco above and open beamed wooden ceilings.  The art on the walls is cowboy movie posters, cowboy memorabilia, and cow horns with a few license plates thrown in.  The stated capacity of the room is 45 and there are exactly 45 chairs in the room.  For nice weather, which we have more often than not, there is also a covered patio out back.  There is also a setup for live music which is provided by the staff.  We were told that they have to audition to work there.

We arrived at just the right time, about 6:00 PM on a Wednesday.  They were just getting setup for the dinner hour and there were no other customers in the place.  Lenny’s Smokehouse menu has appetizers, salads, seafood, and sandwiches as well as the que.  In fact, the selection of que is fairly limited.  The only combos on the menu were Family Feasts, feeding 4 to 6 people, which is a bit much for Sharon and I to get our usual sample of the que.  Fortunately, Lenny serves a Duet of Ribs appetizer, a pair of whiskey glazed ribs with roast garlic and pineapple, and a pair of raspberry-chipotle baby back ribs, which allowed us to sample the ribs while ordering other single entrée dishes.  Sharon ordered a Smoked Maple Chicken with Macaroni and Cheese for a side, and I ordered Carved Smoked Tri-tip with Slow Cooked, seasoned Red Beans as my side dish.  During our brief wait for our order other people began to arrive for dinner.  Even though our food arrived promptly, the place began to fill up.  We have been told by other people who have been there that when Lenny’s is full, on a weekend night, the service is not so prompt.

Raspberry-Chipotle Baby Back Ribs

Very meaty for baby back ribs, these have a good, but somewhat different smoky flavor.  There is the sharpness of California red oak smoke but the mellowness of hickory smoke.  I get the impression that both woods are used in the smoking.  The glaze is a bit peppery as is most of the food here.  It seems that Lenny, an actual TV star chef, has a Cajun background.

Whisky Glazed Ribs with Garlic and Pineapple

This is another way to make very meaty ribs with a smoky, peppery, but very savory flavor.  Eating Lenny’s ribs is worth coming out here.

Smoked Maple Chicken

This is a generous half chicken that has a good smoky flavor.  The maple glaze manages to have a slight bite to it.  Our only slight fault to the chicken was that it seemed to be a bit dry,  The leftovers passed the kitty test.

Carved Smoked Tri-tip

This is a strange way to serve tri-tip.  It seems to be marinated, in a rather peppery rub, before being smoked.  Then, it is served with sautéed peppers and onions.  This is something way out of Sharon’s range of taste, but it certainly was tender and flavorful and I rather liked it.

Macaroni and cheese

For a side it was a generous serving of a nice, al dente, penne pasta mixed into a cheese sauce that seems to have more than one cheese.  This is the one thing we tried that didn’t have a Cajun pepperiness to it.  Sharon is partial to macaroni and cheese presentations with the pasta simply mixed into a cheese sauce and rather liked it.  I prefer a baked macaroni and cheese, but this was not bad…not the best I’ve had, but not bad.  It was even good nuked as a leftover.

Slow Cooked, seasoned Red Beans

Another generous serving for a side, this is a simple preparation of red beans in a, guess what, peppery sauce.  Don’t get me wrong, this is not a bad serving of beans, they are not overcooked, overwhelmed by green peppers, or cloyingly sweet, our most frequent complaints about beans.  They are simply a good complement to the meat.

Lenny’s is not one of those places that people who don’t like the Cajun overtones to the seasoning will like.  Sharon, allergic to peppers, has to work at it a bit, but can still find things to eat here and she likes it.  I think that I will probably make the trip out to the west end of the Valley myself.  Be aware that it small and can be crowded on weekends.  Most people will find it an experience and a little gem.  We rate it an eight.