This bear smokes

Lance Briggs, Elk Grove High School alumnus turned professional football player with the Chicago Bears, is opening a new smokehouse on Monday, September 1. Double Nickel Smokehouse is located at 3443 Laguna Boulevard, Suite 150 in Elk Grove, in what a press release refers to as the “Elk Grove Sports Center Complex”—a shopping plaza that already features a Pins N Strikes bowling alley, Surf Xtreme and a California Family Fitness gym. Some of the Double Nickel's entrees will include smoked brisket, short ribs, salmon, and shrimp and grits. It will also offer sides such as braised vegetables, coleslaw and a green-bean casserole. Local beer, wine and cocktails round out the menu. Briggs said that he's sampled some of the best smokehouses in the nation throughout his football career and always wanted to open a barbecue spot with a Southern flair. “I couldn't be more excited to realize that dream in my hometown,” said the linebacker. Find the restaurant online at www.smokehouse55.com.