“It’s going to be consistent with what’s happening in the bar – classic cuisine, 100 percent from scratch,” Grissom explains. From behind the L-shaped mahogany bar, where he lights a “shockand-awe” fire atop an orange-tinted amaretto sour, Smith adds, “I want to reintroduce this area to the evolution of cocktails.” At the root of all this libation and culinary ambition are Jake and Rachael Barth, who stumbled upon Roundup during a homecoming snowstorm four Octobers ago while driving home to the Puget Sound from property holdings in the Bakken oilfields of North Dakota. “I instantly fell in love with it,” recalls Rachael Barth, who describes Roundup as a community that “wraps its arms around me and my children” during Jake’s frequent road trips. The Barths moved to Roundup soon after and two years later bought the perpetually for-sale Branding Iron Saloon. They renamed it Dirty Oscar’s Annex for the popular Tacoma watering hole where Jake Barth was co-owner, Grissom served as executive chef and Smith worked his mixology magic. Undaunted by Roundup’s proximity to the geographic center of nowhere and the town’s anxiety over the future of its coal-driven economy, the immigrant owners envision a gravel parking lot full of Montana license plates from near and far. The clientele will be drawn to this arid pine and scrub outpost by the frontier-urban, always-changing, everything-homemade – yes, everything, right down to the salt, ketchup, seasonings, rubs, pasta and handcarved ice — drink and food menus resulting from the synergistic creativity of Smith and Grissom. The Barths began renovations immediately and provided glimpses of the future with cleverly named spirits and an equally creative menu that brought flair to meat-and-potato saloon fare. For two years they operated under an interim manager, bartender and chef, until Smith and Grissom arrived in late October. With the Barths’ blessings, the duo is going full throttle on a complete food-and-drink renaissance they plan to unveil to the public in early 2017, so don’t bother memorizing either menu. They’re keeping their future plans close to the vest, but acknowledge a commitment to sourcing their meats, produce, breads and cheese regionally, and eventually building a greenhouse for yearround herbs and greens destined to go on the plate or into the glass. And of the front man for it all is Smith, who “thoroughly enjoys
OLD FASHIONED
Bartender Colin Smith likes to stay within an orientation of classic cocktails, with his ultimate goal being to build cocktail culture. Dirty Oscar’s Annex continues that culture near Roundup with the Old Fashioned. INGREDIENTS: 2 oz. Maker’s Mark bourbon 2 dashes of angostura bitters 1 pinch allspice, ground .25 oz. honey syrup 1 zest burnt orange oil
MAGIC CITY MAGAZINE I DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017 I 43