Rob Bechtold of NOLA Smokehouse is no longer hiding his meats behind the PJ’s on Magazine Street. He’s now smoking up what used to be bounce rapper 10th Ward Buck’s wing-shack on Jackson Avenue at Annunciation Street, with actual hours posted on the door.

Photo by Elsa Hahne

Bechtold hopes to stay open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. The reason he closes before dinner even begins is because he’ll most likely sell out sometime in the mid-afternoon, and Bechtold only has so much room in his two smokers.

On our first brick-and-mortar visit, we ordered pork belly and brisket. Both were succulent and exactly what we remembered from NOLA Smokehouse’s pop-up. The awesome potato salad is back, sharpened with horseradish.

The baked beans are worth ordering only because they contain that most addictive of additives, “burnt” brisket ends. The greens were too wet and salty, but still good—especially when combined with the fluffy corn pudding and scooped up with a serviceable slice of pork belly.

Okay, then. Next time, I’ll take the butt.