The new Lady Jaye restaurant, smokehouse and bar opens Sept.18 at 4523 Calfornia Ave SW. The menu is eclectic and unique in the area. It's family friendly too.

The design aesthetic in the new spot is a little bit country with wood (literally cut firewood) as part of the decor and a celebration of The Highwaymen a former country supergroup made up of Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristofferson. represented both inside in photos and outside in a nod to Mt. Rushmore in a large mural done by @nakmatter. 

The four owners Tyler Palagi, Charlie Garrison, Sara Rosales and Evan Carter have built a largely meat based menu (with some vegan choices too) in part because they felt that's what the area needed. Starters include Pimento Cheese Puffs, Fried Pork Cakes, and Smoked Oyster Dip with (house made) Kennebec chips. Salads such as Shaved Summer Squash, Butter Lettuce, a semi-traditional Wedge (only with Bacon Steak and tomato relish) are featured. The gets more serious with the sandwiches like a Pulled Oyster Mushroom and an astounding Smoked Bologna. 

Lady Jaye's 2000 pound smoker out at the back of their spacious patio area produces the smoked meats for their amazing Forever Smoked Turkey Drum, the Pork-Strami Sandwich and Smoked Chicken. Garlic Prawns are part of the Large Plate assortment.

Mac and Cheese, Dirty Rice, Broken Potato, beans and squash make up the side dishes.

Garrison said, "We are going for big bold American style flavors. We're going to do a variety of cuts of meat. We're doing pork cheeks, turkey legs and a lot of different kinds of smoked vegetables."

There will be some gluten free options too.

"Everything we do is made from scratch. There's not a lot of weird ingredients in them," explained Garrison.

The prices range up to the low $20 for dinner with apps and snacks closer to the $8 price.

Lady Jaye is a full cocktail bar too of course with ten beers on tap a cider and unique craft cocktails that reflect the unique tastes of the owners. The wine list  is limited but select. An emphasis on local suppliers for all liquors, wines and beers is part of the plan. "All of our beers are Seattle beers except maybe one." They have even created their own signature barrel of Makers Mark Whisky that will arrive sometime in February. It's not a whisky bar per se said Garrison it's "brown spirits and agave spirits that make up the focus but we have everything."

What kind of music will they have playing? "Probably not classical," he said laughing," but everything else."

The name Lady Jaye comes from the female character in the G.I. Joe toy line and if you look carefully in their outdoor window boxes, you might spot a few toy army characters keeping an eye on things.

They will have a happy hour, "certain things out of the smoker like a brisket night or rib night" said Garrison but that's still in the planning stage.

Lady Jaye is open 3pm to Midnight seven days a week with service stopping at 11:30pm.

They employ 12 people beyond the owners.

The unique menu, drink list and decor certainly set Lady Jaye apart and as Garrison explained, "I don't think anything we're doing is like something you'd find elsewhere. We're trying to do a different twist on everything,"