Salt Pepper Oak founder Vincent Hunt realized something about human beings. They really like to watch other human beings slice up juicy sides of smoked meat. One night last year, facing the daunting task of trimming 40 whole briskets, he thought, “Why not show it live on TikTok?” Enlivened by Hunt’s gift of gab and folksy kitchen confidence, the video and others like it went viral, soon garnering 2 million-4 million views a month, he says.
The hype helped build a following for the then-Mississippi-based barbecue concept, situated in a remote corner of Pass Christian near Diamondhead. Now, Baton Rouge diners can get in on the action. Late last year, Hunt decided to relocate Salt Pepper Oak to the Capital City.
The new spot soft-opened in late April on Exchequer Drive in a building once occupied by the former City Pork Kitchen & Pie.
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Hunt is starting with limited hours and what he calls a “baby menu” over the first few weeks. He’ll work up to the full menu and extended hours soon.
“I want to make sure we can deliver at the right level,” he says.
Things seem to be off to a strong start. Several customers who dropped by during the restaurant’s first few days open told the affable Hunt they’d seen his videos and were looking forward to trying the barbecue.
“It’s crazy how many people have said that,” he says. “In Mississippi, we’d have one out of every three people come in who’d seen us on social.”
There’s sizzle to that steak. Or brisket, as it were.
Hunt’s barbecue bona fides are backed by a craft menu executed with two massive offset smokers. Named Too Phat and Lottie, the behemoths were fabricated by his twin brother, Andrew.
Vincent and Andrew opened the Pass Christian iteration of Salt Pepper Oak together in 2023, but when Andrew posted videos of his custom smokers that also went viral, he left the business to sell them nationwide. His departure, along with Vincent’s desire to open a larger location close to his home in Baton Rouge, drove the decision to move operations to Louisiana this past December.
The Mississippi eatery, open only on weekends, had been a kind of test balloon, he says. It gave Hunt a chance to refine his menu and fast-casual format, which has made the Baton Rouge opening somewhat easier.
The new location’s dining room seats 60, and its grab-and-go case will soon be filled with finished briskets, pulled pork and other items.
Hunt’s 20 years of working in the corporate culinary world for concepts like Texas Roadhouse and Dave & Buster’s suggest this is a place that has scaling up in its crosshairs.
The restaurant’s name was inspired by a comment once made by Anthony Bourdain about barbecue’s only true requirements for flavor: salt, pepper, love and smoke. Hunt follows that straightforward playbook, smoking meats with minimal seasoning over oak in the resident smokers that live out back in a newly built shed. The cookers are about 20 feet long and 4 feet in diameter and feature not just offset smoking capabilities, but thermostats that give Hunt’s team more freedom and control. They can hold dozens of cuts of meat at a time.
The current limited menu includes the Kapalama Sampler, designed to feed four to five people, and stacked with smoked brisket, pork belly burnt ends, pulled pork, spareribs, smoked turkey and homemade pork cheddar cheese sausage. It comes with five sides.
Those sides get a lot of love. Hunt says the goal was to go beyond quotidian accompaniments, “like baked beans and mustard-based potato salad,” in favor of complex recipes that receive as much attention as the smoked meats. The current lineup includes six-cheese mac and cheese, fire-roasted corn elote, roasted Creole potatoes, creamy maple napa slaw, chimichurri basmati rice and guajillo borracho beans. Additional sides will be rolled out as the full menu unfolds, he says.
“We look at this as not roadside barbecue, but an uptick on what you’d expect,” he says.
French fries, fried in beef tallow, further illustrate the point. Sample them on their own or topped with brisket, pulled pork or pork belly, or as a side with the chopped brisket or pork sandwich, smoked turkey sandwich or Lottie Smash Burger. Like one of the smokers, it’s named for Hunt’s grandmother.
The menu also includes loaded barbecue baked potatoes and loaded barbecue nachos adorned with chipotle avocado crema, queso, smoked jalapeño pico and other toppings.
Homemade sauces reflect the regions of the country where Hunt and his wife, Anna Hunt, have lived throughout his career: Mississippi Sweet, Carolina Tangy and Louisiana Hot. He’s a native of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. She’s from Baton Rouge, and they once lived in Charlotte, North Carolina. The restaurant’s signature desserts include chocolate chunk cookies finished with sea salt, the SPO cheesecake with caramel drizzle and sticky bourbon toffee cake, along with rotating cakes and pies. Hunt says he’s just hired a pastry chef to focus exclusively on sweets..
Small details get plenty of attention. The ketchup is homemade, zhuzhed with a hint of fire and pickled mustard seed. The Lagniappe Pickles and pickled onions are made in house, and deliver a tidy, jaw-tingling flourish.
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Anna created the interior design, which features navy accent walls, natural wood and pops of green from mounted houseplants. The vibe reads clean and modern.
No surprise, fans can monitor the restaurant’s happenings through regular social media posts. Hunt is planning to continue his rapid-fire live feeds from the kitchen and smokehouse, and the restaurant will offer a podcast studio and social media area in its private events room that guests can use.
“Social media is a big part of what we do,” Hunt says. “We wouldn’t be here without it.”
