There is something unmistakable about the smell of wood smoke drifting through a neighborhood before most people have poured their first cup of coffee. In Northeast Portland, that scent has been part of the morning air since 2006. It rolls out of a wood-burning smoker on NE Killingsworth Street, where briskets are already hours into their slow transformation long before the lunch crowd lines up.
This is Podnah’s BBQ, Portland’s original craft barbecue restaurant. And while the city has never been short on food trends, Podnah’s has never chased them. It has simply stayed committed to doing one thing exceptionally well: brisket and Texas BBQ the way it was meant to be made.
The story begins far from Oregon, in Waxahachie, Texas. The restaurant is named after Rodney’s grandfather, J.R. “Podnah” Muirhead. In Texas slang, “Podnah” means partner, and by all accounts, J.R. embodied that word completely. He was a butcher and a barbecue man, the kind of grandfather who let you into the world a little earlier than your parents might have preferred. He taught songs you probably should not have known, encouraged a bit of harmless mischief, and treated farm animals like family pets. He cooked without shortcuts and lived with personality.
Growing up around Sunday meals made from scratch shaped Rodney’s understanding of food long before he ever considered opening a restaurant. Watching briskets trim, hearing the crackle of fire, smelling meat hit smoke — those weren’t special occasions. They were part of life. That early exposure to hands-on cooking created a deep respect for craft and patience…