‘Best little smokehouse’ Old Mill Eatery known for succulent brisket, mega-meal challenges
North State devotees of smoked meats might be surprised to learn that a restaurant able to satisfy their craving can be found right in their backyard.
The Old Mill Eatery & Smokehouse at 4132 Shasta Dam Blvd. in Shasta Lake is an American diner with breakfast, lunch and dinner fare. But what stands out are its smoked meats that take up two menu pages.
“We do a lot of barbecue smoked meats — prime rib, brisket, tri-tip, sausage,” says owner Fernando Perez.
A quick look at Old Mill’s menu also reveals several serious food challenges for those who want to test their mettle. How about devouring a 12-egg omelet and fixings under 16 minutes? Or successfully chomping down a 56-ounce prime rib and sides?
Perez has been serving customers inside the log-cabin style building since 2015, but he also has clientele who buy cuts of his succulent smoked meat through online ordering at omesmokehouse.com.
“We ship a lot of meat all over the country,” Perez said. “They go ahead and order pretty much anything.”
Just recently, Perez overnighted a 5-pound prime rib to a Sacramento customer who had been to his restaurant previously.
In addition to the locals who savor the Old Mill, Perez says visitors on their way to Lake Shasta, Shasta Dam or Lake Shasta Caverns will stop by. He also has regulars from Oregon to San Diego. Tourists on Interstate 5 will take the 685 exit, which is promoted as the “smokin’ exit” on the front page of the eatery’s menu.
Perez said he’s always wanted to own his own restaurant.
“I just enjoy food,” he said. “I like to try different foods and try different things.”
Old Mill survived restaurant restrictions in place during the pandemic with a reliance on takeout. “During Covid, it got so busy we couldn’t handle deliveries anymore," he said. "We had to go to DoorDash.”
His most popular orders are the bacon-mushroom Swiss burger for $12.95, the Smokehouse breakfast for $15.95 and a half-pound piece of pulled pork for $18.95 that comes with a dinner salad and a choice of two sides.
From engineer to pitmaster
The role of restaurant pitmaster is a leap from Perez’s previous occupation as a design engineer in the military, aerospace and consumer electronics fields.
Raised in Pacifica, Perez’s earlier career took him to circuit-board manufacturing plants in San Jose, Guadalajara and Singapore.
He says he’s sampled barbecue wherever he travels, including the famed Arthur Bryant’s Barbeque in Kansas City. “We’ve been pretty much all over Texas,” Perez said.
Perez’s pride and joy is his full-wood smoker that sits on the patio outside the eatery building and can be towed for catering events. The smoker has a rotisserie and a hot box that can be used to smoke cheeses and pastas.
Just as pitmasters use hardwoods from trees that grow in their region — such as hickory, mesquite and oak — Perez uses live oak for his fires. His low-and-slow method is perfect for brisket, known as a tough cut of beef that becomes a mouth-watering delicacy through prolonged smoking.
Part of Shasta Lake history
Last year, Perez undertook the remodeling of the restaurant’s exterior. Now, one can’t miss the unique building at the corner of Shasta Dam Boulevard and Ashby Road with the bust of an eagle peering out front.
“We redid the whole entire outside. We replaced a lot of the logs that were damaged. They hadn’t been done in almost 20 years. We also went ahead and added a server station,” Perez said.
The log motif dominates the interior style, as diners can admire a wall-sized mural as they sit at wooden tables.
The Old Mill site dates back to the 1960s, when Barbara and Cameron Cathey owned a neighborhood variety store from 1965 to 1999, according to a history posted online.
A rebuilt building in 2004 housed the Dam Deli, which turned into the Old Mill Eatery in 2006 as a breakfast and lunch establishment known for its large portions and fresh ingredients, the history says.
Perez took over new ownership in 2015 and added dinner, beer, wine and the smoked barbecue.
According to their history page, “This had led us to quickly becoming the best little smokehouse in the North State."
Customer testimonials too
Dennis Dahl of Blue Springs, Missouri, was a recent customer. Dahl, an engineer working for nearby Knauf Insulation on a plant rebuild, had nothing but compliments.
He enjoyed a pork chop special with two eggs and sides.
“It was more than I could eat. It became breakfast, lunch and dinner for me,” Dahl said. “What I had was wonderful. It (the pork chop) was pan-seared and it was just delightfully good. I ate every bit of the pork chop but I saved some of the hash browns and biscuits and gravy for later.”
Dahl was back several days later for another sit-down meal but also ordered chili to go.
Amy Ruggiero was Dahl’s server on that recent weekday. Ruggiero has been an employee for over a year while manager Kat Points has been there since Old Mill opened.
The chili that Perez makes is something he’s passionate about. His brisket chili is smoky, a little spicy and award winning. Certificates hang on the wall from competitions he’s entered in Sacramento, Shasta Lake and the Rolling Hills Casino in Corning.
Up for an eating challenge?
The 16-minute Big One omelet challenge was featured in a YouTube video (https://youtu.be/wN1SGTl0V6c) by Abraham Reynaga on his ShastaFood channel. Winners can either get a free T-shirt or the $28.95 meal for free.
“The record was eight minutes since 2015. And, yeah, this guy (Reynaga) destroyed it. If you watch the video, it’s amazing,” Perez said.
Reynaga, who’s also a Redding real estate agent, says the omelet contest was the first food challenge he attempted about six years ago and he succeeded. He returned in November 2022 with fellow YouTuber Scott Watkins from Canada for another successful visit.
He heaps praise on his approximately 5-pound omelet that included Monterey Jack, Swiss and cheddar cheeses, smoked ham, Applewood smoked bacon, sausage, mushrooms, bell pepper and onions. His sides were hash browns and toast. The other options are sides of country potatoes or fruit.
He said: “It was a very delicious challenge. I mean, I’ll be honest, sometimes like when you do the food challenges, the food ends up not being as tasty toward the end because you get so tired of it."
“But everything, like every part of it, didn’t get bland. My favorite part was the cheese,” Reynaga said. “Another thing that I really loved about the challenge was the hash browns that came with it. The hash browns were super crispy on the outside … it was just super good,” Reynaga said.
Meanwhile, four sizes of smoked prime rib and sides comprise the Pit Masters Challenge. There’s no clock for the meals that range from the 24-ounce Trucker ($54.95) to the 56-ounce Big Haus ($109.95).
“There’s no time limit on this. You just got to finish everything on your plate,” Perez said. “Finish it and you can rename it.”
One diner on his way north to Oregon tried and failed the 32-ounce prime rib challenge on a Friday, but then he came back over the weekend "and nailed it,” Perez said. The man got to rename the challenge as the Diggity Damien.
“On Monday morning I get a text. I get an order online from him for a 10-pounder,” Perez said, laughing.
What to know if you go
Cost: Breakfast items start at $10.95 for a two-egg breakfast. Slow smoked meats include tri-tip at $19.95 for a half-pound. A half smoked chicken is $15.95.
Hours: Open Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday from 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday from 7 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Closed Monday.
Where: Old Mill Eatery & Smokehouse, 4132 Shasta Dam Blvd., Shasta Lake.
Phone: 530-275-0515
Website: https://omesmokehouse.com/
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Shasta Lake eatery known for succulent brisket, mega-meal challenges
