The smokehouse at Lewis Barbecue, which just opened at Ansley Mall behind The Cook's Warehouse, is unlike anything you've seen. Six 22-foot smokers fill a spacious loft with panoramic windows overlooking the new pedestrian bridge to the BeltLine. They run 24 hours a day, staggered in eight-hour shifts.
John Lewis helped weld the smokers himself out of 1,000-gallon propane tanks. He designed them so smoke rotates around the meat like a convection oven. "I like smoke flavor," he says, "but I don't want to be burping it an hour later. I like it delicate."
Lewis has run one of the best pits in Charleston for the past decade. At 48, he's bringing that same Austin-style approach to Atlanta. The brisket is the star, but don't sleep on the loaded platters.