thrillist

The first rule of marketing is to come up with an irresistible name -- just take Snakes on a Plane, which grossed $34,000,000, and totally shattered the first rule of marketing. Luring you in with two sweet words: Whiskey Cake.

From the folks behind subtly named breastaurant Twin Peaks comes this high-windowed warehouse of TX-sourced comfort food where rustic touches like a partition made of stacked firewood are set off by seriously industrial touches like caged Edison bulbs dangling from pipes held in place by c-clamps; the gotta-have-it name comes from a flaky, whiskey-sauced tart attributed to a fictitious grandma figure oddly not named Tara Reid. Everything possible (even the mayo) is made in-house for a menu that runs from the grass-n-grain-fed beef OMG Burger (topped w/ an onion ring & roasted crimini mushrooms), to mussels in smoked-chili butter, to slow-roasted prime rib w/ root vegetables & fingerlings, to the Holmes Farm Bird: half a spit-roasted chicken, because as any 1970s adult starlet can tell you, trying to eat a full Holmes will send you running to the John. Belly up to the bar for 40 brown liquors (Buffalo Trace to Laphroaig), 20+ taps (Stone IPA to Dale's Pale), and cocktails from Victor Tango's former mixologist including the Maple Whiskey Smash and a ballsy margarita called "Secretariat" that features glass-bottled Coke, horseradish, and house-cured jerky -- quality product that ain't no Sham.

Cake's got lunch and brunch, too, with a pancake- and waffle-centric menu that also includes numbers like Farmhouse Eggs Benedict, a first-class meal sure to make your asp huge.

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Samuel L. Jackson would give away his "L" for food this good. Have your cake and drink some, too at Whiskey-Cake.com.