Territory BBQ & Records

Territory BBQ + Records is an only-in-Silverlake (adjacent) spot serving up BBQ and rare vinyl. The owners (pictured below) should be on lookatthisfuckinghipster.com (or a PSA for chewing tobacco), but they serve up a decent plate of 'Q.

The menu is straightforward. Sandwiches + 1 side for $8, entrees + 2 sides for $11, and ribs + 2 sides (dinner only) for $15.

Things were a little hectic when we arrived. Some sort of leak had occurred, and they were out of biscuits and mac n' cheese. However, they made more mac after we arrived, and although they said it would take an extra 15 minutes to make it, the mac came at the same time as the rest of the food.

Territory is BYOB, in the strictest sense. No bottle openers and no cups. Clearly the place to bring a 6-pack of beer, but I was determined to have some vino on my Friday night so we grabbed a few wine glasses from my friend's place to use. There are serve-yourself sodas for $1.50, and a refrigerator on the patio advertised free freezer pops.

The pulled pork is North Carolina style -- cooked in a smoker and served dry (i.e. sans sauce). Fairly nondescript, but tasty doused in some of the table-side BBQ sauce. The fried catfish sandwich, however, was spot on. A nice crispy cornmeal crust, with some extra snap from the coleslaw on the bun. Given the biscuit shortage, we only had two sides: mac n' cheese and collard greens. The collard greens were done right. Very savory, but not boiled into oblivion. The mac n' cheese was of the velveeta variety, but that didn't stop me from eating it. Processed cheese + pasta = what's not to like.

The verdict: Territory certinaly isn't a BBQ destination, but it is a cool spot to walk to if you live in the neighborhood and want to dig through some rare funk on vinyl after eating a plate of ribs. Male skinny jeans and black frame glasses are optional, but highly recommended.