The Big Apple Barbecue Block Party

June 16, 2009 4:38 pm

New York City is a place where you can get just about anything you want whenever you want it. Craving a juicy bacon cheeseburger at 3 a.m.? The local diner will deliver it in less than twenty minutes. Have a sudden urge to do laundry at midnight? Many Laundromats are open 24/7, and some will even match up your socks for you. However, if down-home, traditional, smoky barbecue is what you're yearning for on a Friday night, you may want to call your travel agent, because this can be challenge to find on the island.

Given the accommodations of New York City, one would figure that great BBQ would be somewhere on the list, but us New Yorkers seem to have more success with pizza and bagels than brisket. While there are BBQ eateries in the city, some of which receive great praise from local reviewers, they do not compare to the pulled pork found in Texas or South Carolina. Maybe it's the water, or the city air, but something prevents local pitmasters from flavoring their meat with the same moist, tender lovin' that the Southerners capture oh so well.

Enter the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party.

Last weekend about a dozen pitmasters from all over the country took up residency in Madison Square Park, offering up their smoked sausages for concrete masses, making New York the place to be for BBQ (for about 48 hours). In anticipation of this blessed event, I fasted the night before and called the only other person that would appreciate the ability to walk around the streets of New York with barbecue sauce all over the face, my cousin Mikey. Sunday afternoon we met on the corner of 23rd and 5th Avenue with empty bellies and comfortable shoes.

The Big Apple Barbecue Block Party lined the streets surrounding the park, making for a very congested few blocks. We made the rounds around the vendors before deciding where we wanted to start. Our first stop was at Pitmaster Ed Mitchell's stand for a sandwich with pulled whole hog and coleslaw. The lines were tremendous, so Mikey popped off for a moment to grab an Italian ice to tie him over until we reached the front of the line. By the time we were close enough to almost taste the barbecue sauce, smoke from the pits had blurred my vision, but my appetite was roaring and ready to go.

The pulled whole hog was nice and spicy, with hot pepper flakes visible within the heap of meat. I drizzled on a drop of peppery vinaigrette and a splash of "sweet and spicy" barbecue sauce. Under the warm sun, I took a manly bite of my meaty, barbecue sandwich; these are things I dream about: sunshine and pork. It was divine. The whole hog was spicy, which was to be expected from all the hot pepper flakes, but the sweetness of the barbecue sauce balanced out the heat so that the flavors were pleasant and not overwhelming.

Before Mikey had even bitten into his last forkful of coleslaw, he had a portion of smokin' hot beef brisket cooked with Texas oak in his other hand. Still busy nibbling at my pulled pork (I ate slowly to savor the flavor that will not be returning to New York until next summer), I opted out of the brisket and settled for a bite of Mikey's. The meat was incredibly tender and moist all on its own, but the sweet barbecue sauce highlighted the intense flavors and added even more delicious juiciness.

Having already eaten two lunches, one would assume that Mikey would have grown full by this point. Well, one would assume wrong, as we got in the longest line at the park for some Kansas City Ribs. We waited for 45 minutes in line, and although I am not the most patient person, the wait was definitely worthwhile. The charred coating of the ribs was crusty, but not too hard as to be challenging to eat. Tender meat fell right off the bone as the sauce wiggled its way further and further down my chin. The ribs came with a side of pickled okra that was mild and fresh, acting as the perfect complement to the intense flavors of the barbecue. While wiping his mush clean, Mikey announced that he was full...finally.

We may have skyscrapers, naked cowboys and the Yankees, but good BBQ is definitely something that New York is missing. However, this past weekend for only $8 a serving, New York really did have it all.

—Alexis Popov