I met Zac "Meaty" Johnson and his son Kane at Cowgirls Inc. early on a Friday afternoon. The bar was dark—the windows are partly covered by a curtain of brassieres—and smelled of Bud Light residue. Kane said, "Did you know I'm 4?" Asked when he turned 4, he replied, "On my fourth birthday." He played among Cowgirls' plastic cacti and ornamental logs while Zac told me how Meaty Johnson's found its home, um, inside Cowgirls Inc.

Zac, former president of local hiphop label Stuck Under the Needle, owns Steady Productions, a company that produces club nights and events. It was the latter that brought Zac and his meat into contact with Cowgirls owner David Tran. Zac was barbecuing once a week on the roof deck of the War Room (which is now 95 Slide), and David offered Meaty Johnson's permanent residence at Cowgirls.

The most memorable thing Zac has seen at Cowgirls is overenthusiastic patrons flying off the saddles-on-springs that serve as bar stools. When asked if he's tried the mechanical bull, he said, "No, it's one of those things I'll probably keep off of," causing me to wonder what the others might be. Zac recently purchased a 14-foot trailer-smoker, which can supply enough barbecue for 1,000 people. A lucky few Seattle-area parties are about to become far meatier.