Downtown Long Beach is about to smell like mesquite and bourbon. The second annual Smoke & Oak BBQ tasting event returns to Promenade Square Park on Sept. 5, bringing dozens of pitmasters, whiskey tastings and live music to the pedestrian-only stretch at 215 E. First St. for an evening run from 4 to 8 p.m.
The tasting, first reported by the Press Telegram, is organized by Axiom Smoked Meats & BBQ, the outfit behind some of Long Beach’s biggest food festivals. Axiom grew out of a smoked meats pop-up founded by Ian and Qiana Mafnas before expanding into citywide event production, according to LA Weekly. At Smoke & Oak, Axiom itself will be serving smoked barbecue plates inspired by the Chamorro Islands, including red rice and kelaguen, per the same Press Telegram report.
Tickets can be purchased at axiomproductionsllc.com/events/smoke-and-oak, with prices starting at $92.97, the Press Telegram reports. Third-party vendor Bucket Listers lists a wider range of discounted tiers, from $70.88 for general culinary access up to $113.88 for a pass covering both food and whiskey pairings.
A Lineup Built on Fusion
The event lineup leans heavily into the kind of cross-cultural barbecue that’s become a hallmark of the Southern California pitmaster scene. Big Brian’s Meats, a longtime festival favorite, will bring pit-grilled tri-tip, spare ribs, smoked brisket tortas and pit-grilled pollo asado. The brand was launched in 2022 by Brian Rodriguez, a former TV editor and film teacher who cashed out his teaching pension to fund what he calls a SoCal Mex Infusion barbecue venture, drawing on four generations of family Mexican-American recipes, according to Longbeachize…