Don’t look now, but the couple with more than half a dozen local restaurants, Dave and Kara Bailey, just launched a concept within a concept: Knockout BBQ, located within the Baileys’ Rooster location on South Grand. The new concept opens to the public at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, October 10.
“We only really utilized that [back room] space for Rooster’s weekend brunches,” says Dave. “Now we have a new attraction that’s open for lunch and dinner but closed on weekend days when Rooster needs the extra seats.”
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The Knockout space is deceivingly large: 66 seats inside and about 166 outside, under a permanent canopy with removable sides for all-season use, a picnic-table filled space that looks especially inviting during this time of year. On each table are bottles of Knockout’s six house-made sauces and, in a break from tradition, logoed glasses that resemble 16-ounce beer cans and heavy-duty napkins rather than the barbecue industry’s ubiquitous rolls of flimsy paper towels.
Inside, the focal point is a wall of metallic orange wallpaper that, depending on the viewer, looks like a collage of LP records, three-bladed fans, or an optical illusion. Look long enough, and the circles on the wall seem to pulsate, like the cones in sound speakers (conjuring the famous Seinfeld bit with Mr. Pitt), which is exactly the effect the Baileys were after—something conversational, interactive, unpredictable, and fun. (Flavor Paper, the wallpaper manufacturer, is a favorite of the Baileys, who used it at their restaurants POP and Small Batch.) The rippling speaker effect is repeated in three lettered panels on a corrugated gray metal wall that, from the proper angle, also appear to vascillate.
One aspect that likely won’t vascillate is the food. Andy White, an adept fine-dining chef who formerly worked at Harvest and elevated the cuisine at Schlafly Tap Room and Brew Hub Taproom, has served as director of operations and culinary development at Baileys’ Restaurants for the past nine months. Asked how much influence White had on Knockout’s recipes and menu mix, Bailey says, “a whole lot.” And it shows.
For a barbecue joint, the menu is heavy on appetizers and sandwiches, plus combos and sharable plates, including a pork steak, half chicken, or both. A scatter of limited-time-only specials, coined “knockouts,” currently include smoked fried chicken, wasabi pea-encrusted salmon, smoky red beans and rice, and smoked jackfruit, a vegan BBQ option.
Highlights from the beverage menu include seven signature cocktails and two boozy shakes, including a key lime pie shake and a sweet potato pie shake with spiced rum, rye, house-made cinnamon ice cream, sweet potato, and pie crust crumbles.
Scroll down for menu highlights, descriptions, and general info.
