Big Apple Barbecue Block Party 2008

[kathryn]

1.

Ed Mitchell

The Pit

Raleigh, NC

Whole Hog & Coleslaw

2.

Mike Mills

17th Street Bar & Grill

Memphis Championship Barbecue

Murphysboro, IL

and Las Vegas, NV

Baby Back Ribs & Beans

3. (if you still have room)

Chris Lilly

Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q

Decatur, AL

Pulled Pork Shoulder & Beans

OR altneratively

Michael Rodriguez

The Salt Lick BBQ

Driftwood, TX

Beef Brisket, Sausage & Coleslaw (if you need a break from all that pork, if getting brisket, ask for some from the deckle)

[Fat Guy]

I agree with that ranking, save for Salt Lick which I wouldn't include on the short list. Unfortunately, as I understand it, Southside Market has a conflicting commitment this year. That would have been the fourth on my short list.

The thing to bear in mind, though, is that most everybody's short list includes Mitchell, Mills and Lilly -- at least to the extent people have bothered to research the matter. That means, usually, those are the three longest lines. So if you want to hit those three in any reasonable amount of time you need to do some preparation: come with a group and split the group so you're covering several lines simultaneously; get there before noon on Saturday to stake out a place on line. Of course, a Fastpass is even better.

And, if you don't have the capacity to do the three most popular lines, you can always pursue a contrarian strategy. There's a lot of really good barbecue being served by the New York places (like Hill Country) and the less popular out-of-towners (I'm looking forward to trying Mr. Cecil's), not to mention whatever item Tabla decides to sell out front.

[kathryn]

Yeah, I put Salt Lick on there if only for a brisket alternative. Agreed that Southside is much better and their awesome sausage definitely puts them over the top.

There's a whole lotta pork and beef ribs on this year's menu, and not much else. I'm a little skeptical of these CA and CT newbies, but who knows?

You know, I've never really seen a long line for Mitchell's BBQ. I think the longest lines are always for Salt Lick (they do have a brand name) and Mike Mills (baby back ribs are always crowd-friendly).

Edited May 27, 2008 by kathryn (log)

[juuceman]

You know, I've never really seen a long line for Mitchell's BBQ. I think the longest lines are always for Salt Lick (they do have a brand name) and Mike Mills (baby back ribs are always crowd-friendly).

←

It's often down the block, from his mid-Madison Avenue vantage point, to the corner, where it doubles back, then doubles back again, and again. Often the longest line at the BBQ.

I've said this before, if you plan on going with more than two people, you're insane to not commit to purchasing $100 worth of BBQ and getting a fast pass now. The lines are out of control, and with a fast pass I've never waited more than 10 minutes for anything, and even that is the rarity. Also, in prior years due to FastPass breakdowns, I've gotten plenty of free food.

[zEli173]

I'm going give some differing advice.

First, last year the wait at Ed Mitchell's was little to none. At least I can say that was the case in the fast pass at the times when I was there (which was both days during peak hours). That hadn't been true in past years, but it was my experience during quite a few visits I made last year. Ed Mitchell is my favorite of the pit masters.

Next, I really disagree about Mike Mills. I do not understand the love. I've tried his ribs three different years and I've always found them mushy and salty. His beans, however, are sensational.

Chris Lilly is number two on my list. His pulled pork is pretty sensational.

Salt Lick is my definite number three. If Southside were coming back I'd call it a toss up between these two. Seems like the majority of EG'ers prefer Southside to Salt Lick, but I think they are equal (although different). In the past I was much more excited about Southside and Salt Lick, but now that we have Hill Country 365 days a year it is less of a special occasion. I've had much better brisket at Hill Country than I've ever gotten from Salt Lick or Southside. And yes, I've tried asking for the deckle.

I'm excited to try the guy from LA. I have a good feeling about him. I'm curious about the dude from CT. I think this is the guy that the Sterns once put in their top 10 BBQ places in the country (a claim I'm very skeptical of).

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Finally, is it my imagination, or have prices gone up this year? I thought BBQ plates used to be $6.

[kathryn]

I think Southside's sausage is significantly more tasty than the Salt Lick's sausage. The brisket was only marginally better, if I remember last year's sampling.

It was $8 a plate in 2007, $7 a plate in 2006.

[docsconz]

I'll be in town with my son for this event. Anyone want to meet there please PM me.

[juuceman]

I'm going give some differing advice.

First, last year the wait at Ed Mitchell's was little to none.  At least I can say that was the case in the fast pass at the times when I was there (which was both days during peak hours).  That hadn't been true in past years, but it was my experience during quite a few visits I made last year.  Ed Mitchell is my favorite of the pit masters.

←

Lines in the Fast Pass area vary widely, and are very different from those in the general line. 100,000+ people attended last year. Less than 3% had Fast Passes. You do the math.

[Mayhaw Man]

If you can find wherever they are putting John Currence and his Smoked Crawfish and OKRA hushpuppies, well, you can find me. Apparently I will be a frymaster for the weekend-probably up to my elbows in cornmeal, crawfish, OKRA and grease for 12 hours or so. Yikes! But, really, they are awesome little spheres of cornmeal delight made by dedicated, highly trained, overeducated rednecks. I highly recommend them.

Does anyone else have issues with saying no? Even to their best friends?

More importantly, what kind of liquid refreshments do they have at this thing?

[Fat Guy]

The individual pit concessions have soft drinks. There's always a ton of Snapple around everywhere; Snapple is the named sponsor of the event. In the park there's a beer and wine concession with a good selection, though I believe you're supposed to consume alcoholic beverages within the boundaries of that concession area. Also most of the pit concessions have garbage pails full of iced beverages for their workers.

[docsconz]

The individual pit concessions have soft drinks. There's always a ton of Snapple around everywhere; Snapple is the named sponsor of the event. In the park there's a beer and wine concession with a good selection, though I believe you're supposed to consume alcoholic beverages within the boundaries of that concession area. Also most of the pit concessions have garbage pails full of iced beverages for their workers.

←

Those iced beverages will likely come in handy as the weather is supposed to be hot and humid.

[Steve R.]

Unless something's changed in the last week or two, the folks at Eleven Madison Park told me that they intended to have Van Winkle bourbon drinks again in their courtyard. Last year, I spent as much time there as anywhere.

[Dryden]

Looking forward to seeing everyone there, as usual.

[docsconz]

Is it me or is the website not working properly today?

[Fat Guy]

Doc, I've also had trouble connecting to the BABBP website, since last night.

Steve, the world of what's available at the surrounding USHG restaurants is something that a lot of folks overlook. Both food- and beverage-wise, however, there's a lot to be said for a pit-stop at Tabla or Eleven Madison Park. Tabla, in particular, usually has some very nice food items. Over the years, Floyd and his team have done soft-shell crab sandwiches, brisked with Indian spices, sausages and various other things. Of course it's understandable that most foodies want to sample the 'cue from the visiting pitmasters, but if relaxation is the goal then Tabla and EMP are oases.

[docsconz]

The website appears to be working now. There is a pdf map available there.

[docsconz]

If you can find wherever they are putting John Currence  and his  Smoked Crawfish and OKRA hushpuppies, well, you can find me. Apparently I will be a frymaster for the weekend-probably up to my elbows in cornmeal, crawfish, OKRA and grease for 12 hours or so. Yikes! But, really, they are awesome little spheres of cornmeal delight made by dedicated, highly trained, overeducated rednecks. I highly recommend them.

Does anyone else have issues with saying no? Even to their best friends?

More importantly, what kind of liquid refreshments do they have at this thing?

←

You would be sitting on Madison Ave. & 24th St. between Mike Mills and his 17th St. Bar & Grill baby back ribs and The Bourbon Bar. Sounds good to me!

[ulterior epicure]

Walked through Madison Square Park an hour ago and the preparation and set up is well under way. Let's hope the weather people are lying about the predicted 90 degree heat.

[Fat Guy]

Actually the prediction is for 97.

Schedule in a few seminars as a way to cool off. The tent provides nice shade.

There are also lots of nice trees in the park.

Bring plenty of water.

And on a typical summer day in New York City the hottest part of the day is around 3pm -- not noon -- so come early to beat the heat.

[kathryn]

The heat was brutal, lines were long for non-Fast Pass holders, but luckily the heat seemed to break a bit around 3pm. It was still crowded, loud, and humid.

The Pit - Great as usual. Ed looked very relaxed and happy. Make sure you get some of their vinegary, spicy sauce on the pork. It's really tender, melt-in-your-mouth good, but more on the subtle side in comparison to others. The slaw went well with the sauced pork, too. Really great pork flavor. Note that the register here is very close to the FastPass entrance, so it creates a little bit of a bottleneck in that corner of the park. I'll probably have another sandwich from here tomorrow. Line was about 10 minutes around 1pm.

Big Bob Gibson - Also delicious but a very different style. I love their Championship red sauce. Meaty, nice as finely chopped as The Pit, but the flavor is more assertive, in order to stand up to the sauce. A great pulled pork sandwich. Nice big chunks, and it is a treat to see the Lilly brothers chopping up pork in front of your eyes. I could eat at least two more of these before the weekend is up. Line was about 10 minutes around 1:30pm but got longer as the day went on.

Dinosaur BBQ - they ran out of beans for about ten minutes but we didn't care and they took $2 off. The pulled pork was nice but not as good as the others. Probably some of the best in NYC though. Line was very short around 2pm. Went here because the fiance wanted more pulled pork.

17th Street Baby Back Ribs - great, well sauced, delicious, tender, meaty, juicy. I got BBQ sauce all over my face eating these! Super messy but worth the effort. Fatty and delicious. Some of my favorite BBQ ever. The baked beans were good but I was saving room so only had a little bit. The line was pretty long around 2pm but died down around 3pm. Grab some wet naps.

Checkered Pig - similar to Ed Mitchell's but not as good. A newcomer to BABBQ, and a friend told us it was the best thing he'd eaten that day. It was very tender, soft, silky pork, with a bit of sweetness to it. Nearly melt in your mouth but not as much as the whole hog from The Pit. I did like it, though, it just had a hard time standing up to The Pit and Big Bob. It was worth trying just because they were new, though.

Walked past Salt Lick, skipped eating there since I've been to the Dripping Springs TX location already, but the line was long. Tried to get into the hush puppies line but the line was just as long! They looked really good and smelled amazing, though. I'll try again tomorrow.

Eleven Madison Park beverage stand - I wanted some lemonade but they closed up shop early! They were also selling sweet tea. This is the stand outside the Bourbon Bar. They closed up around 4:30pm even though the Bourbon Bar was still going strong. Lame.

Tabla beverage / food stand - really nice limeade with seltzer water and pomegranate syrup in it, $5, non-Fast Pass unfortunately. A friend tried their tea infused with a bunch of stuff, wasn't too impressed.

Blue Smoke - good brownie but they were out of PB&J cupcakes! Boo. The root beer floats looked nice too.

Shake Shack - FAILURE, both the B-line and the regular line were down just past the sand a bit, I thought I'd stop by the B-line to grab some custard (flavor of the day was Chocolate Bourbon Butterscotch), we waited about 20 minutes, the line moved about 2 people. Very, very slow. A friend thought they might be training new employees -- why, on one of the busiest days of the year?! I don't think some of the people around me even understood the B line's purpose as they were talking about ordering burgers and shakes.

After sweating it out for 4 hours, I headed home. Tomorrow: hush puppies, the new brisket vendor from CT, maybe Big Bob and The Pit again, PB&J cupcakes.

It was nice to meet docsconz and his son, as well!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kathryn/sets/72157605486182960/

Edited June 8, 2008 by kathryn (log)

[Fat Guy]

The brutal heat defined the day for most humans (and canines) in attendance. I'm actually amazed at how much Kathryn accomplished in four hours. I felt that, in order to insure my survival, I had to adopt a very slow pace.

Blue Smoke is overlooked by many as a barbecue option, as are many of the local places, but each year I find that for pure joy of eating Blue Smoke's offerings hold up when placed alongside the out-of-town barbecue. Blue Smoke's Kansas City ribs were great, and the pickled okra served with them was one of the best bites of the day. Later, just to recalibrate, I circled around for seconds from Blue Smoke and remained impressed.

Mike Mills's ribs were terrific, as were his beans. These ribs have, over the years I've sampled them at the Big Apple Barbecue, become my reference standard for baby-back ribs.

I sort of randomly tried Ubon's pulled pork shoulder and was very happy with it.

I also gave Salt Lick another try this year and was unimpressed by both the brisket and sausage.

By the time I made it around to Ed Mitchell's pit, he had sold out of everything. So that's my first stop tomorrow.

The banana pudding from Wildwood was excellent.

I too failed to get hold of any of those fantastic-looking hushpuppies. The line was long and slow-moving all day long. Maybe tomorrow.

The Wild Magnolias lived up to their reputation as one of the great bands, though all the music was good today.

Last year the event organizers paid a ridiculous sum of money to air condition the seminar tent, and the weather was mild -- it was in the 60s. So this year they didn't opt for air conditioning. Woops.

Tomorrow at 1:30 there's a terrific short film being shown in one of the seminar tents, "Mutton: The Movie," by Joe York. I'll be introducing the film and interviewing Joe afterwards, which some of you might find amusing.

Also at 3:00 there's a rib demo with Fred Thompson. I'll also be MCing that.

[zEli173]

Wait, did anyone try Baker's Ribs? They look good in Kathryn's photos. It's about time one of the out of town vendors did spare ribs.

Only had time for two stops today so I did a hit and run on Bob Gibsons and The Pit. Both were great as in the past and as has been reported here already. I don't really like the Pit's slaw (onions), but whatever.

I'm definitely going to make a run at Baker's and Blue Smoke tomorrow. Fat guy has convinced me on the latter one. I'm still sad I skipped the chicken they were doing last year.

[SobaAddict70]

I'll have a bunch of pix on my blog uploaded in about 30 minutes.

Brisket from Wilson's = amazing. Almost as good as Katz's.

No hushpuppies unfortunately. Banana pudding ran out when I got to Wildwood.

[zEli173]

Day Two:

Hill Country was outstanding. Pretty much exactly like what they serve at the restaurant, which is outstanding. My Dad was in town and I really wanted him to try HC. He was pretty blown away.

Bakers Ribs was very, very good. Spare ribs had a terrific crispy bark surrounding luscious meat. The simple salt and pepper rub worked perfectly. Also loved their sauce which had good heat as well as the peppery slaw. One of my favorites this year.

Mr. Cecils was bad. I liked the asian style flavors on the beef ribs, but the texture was more akin to braised meat than barbecued. The Cajun hot link was also not to my liking, the interior has a mushy texture and the exterior had no snap. I'm not that familiar with Cajun hot links, maybe that's how they're supposed to be, but I didn't care for it. I thought I'd at least dig the cucumber and pickled tomato salad, but it was way too oily. I'll be hoping someone takes their place next year.

Ubons was very solid. Dad wanted a pulled pork sandwich so I tired hard to steer him to Gibson's. But after walking by the Ubons' pit master as he was dissecting a butt, my father had his mind made up. It was fine by me since I had a go at Bob Gibson yesterday, but I was sad in inside for my Dad. Ubons is not as good as Gibson, but they do make a very fine pulled pork. I really enjoyed this plate.

Blue Smoke was alright. Some bites were better than others, but even at it's best they don't get the texture results that Baker's does. Their spice rub is a little assertive for my taste. Pickled okra was pretty damn good.

Salt lick was its usual self. I like it more than most on this board. We did a straight plate of sausage since I've been routinely disappointed by the brisket. It was good, but after a year of eating Kreitz's sausage at HC my taste has veered in that direction.

Finally, we got some to go orders from Rack and Soul for my sis. She likes the sweet stuff. I was stuffed, but I threw down one rib for posterity. The style is all out sweet and sticky, and they do a very good job with it.

I really wanted to try Wilsons and the Checkered Pig today, but I filled up on too many local vendors at my Dad's urging. That's OK because the NYC vendors aren't local to him so I was glad he got to try them, but I'll be kicking myself at some point this winter.

My top four for 2008:

1. Hill Country (I tried hard to deny this because I can have it any day of the year, but the fact is they served the most delicious plate of food).

2. The Pit.

3. Bob Gibsons

4. Bakers Ribs.

[kathryn]

Day two with the FastPass:

City Grocery - smoked crawfish-okra hush puppies. These were great! Spicy and warm, crispy exteriors, and a nice spicy and tangy dipping sauce. The folks manning the station were super nice too and working quickly. Line was basically nonexistent at 12:15pm. Ran into weinoo, johnder, and donbert, briefly, yay!

Passed by Salt Lick, huge line, skipped it. The 17th St. line was okay but got longer the more you watched. Decided to spend some time in the shade of 26th Street.

Ubon's - I still think I like the assertive nature of Big Bob's pulled pork better. Ubon's has more melt in your mouth quality but the flavor wasn't as good as The Pit. There was also something missing from the mouth feel - felt like it got a bit mushy by the end. Very good but not my favorite. I always wonder why the line isn't as long here. Very few people around 12:30pm.

Big Bob's - this time with the habanero sauce. Delicious, smoky, porky, and a delicious sweet BBQ sauce. They sold out of their bottles of sauce yesterday, the nice lady told me. Line was pretty short around 1pm.

Don walked by and offered us some rib scraps from The Pit that they'd asked Ed Mitchell for. (It's the leftover parts, I guess, that they don't use in chopping up the hog). Basically very fatty, big pieces of skin. Thanks, Don!

Thought about brisket from Wilson's (CT) but multiple people told us (including weinoo) it was terrible yesterday, so we skipped it.

Hill Country - the guy chopping beef ribs in the back was giving away the less pretty ones. Giant caveman style beef rib. Salty, spicy, and dry. Nice jalapeno sausage from Kreuz Market. My mouth was on fire towards the end, and I really wanted a drink. This was around 1:30pm.

Passed by the Wildwood Barbecue stand - they had cold banana pudding in pre-packed cups on ice. Looked refreshing. Smores looked good too but I was craving something cold.

Blue Smoke - they ran out of root beer floats ONE PERSON ahead of me. Damn. It was "temporary" they said -- probably ran out of the ice cream part or something, but I didn't feel like waiting. Yesterday the line was HUGE here but the line was much shorter, and a big faster today. They broke out the registers into two sections: FastPass vs. Cash only. The PB&J cupcakes were excellent though. Soft fluffy cupcake, intensely creamy and nutty frosting, and a delicious jelly injection in the center. Awesome.

Eleven Madison Park Bourbon Bar - Met up with johnder, don, and mitch again. Some nice bourbons (my fiance partook of some rare, hard to buy bourbons but I did not) and very sweet lemonade. Ginger lemonade, I think, even though it looked like iced tea's color. It was overly sweet but nice and cold. Got better after the ice melted a bit. The bourbon bar was packed and standing room only. Johnder, mitch, and their ladies went home but myself and don and my fiance hung out until about 2pm when we couldn't stand the crowds and the heat any more.

Seemed like there were MUCH fewer people in the park today even though it was just as hot. I actually think it was nicer today due to the breeze. Weinoo thought maybe everybody was at the Porto Rican day parade? Anyway, we were almost done but for one last stop...

The Pit - one last taste of Ed Mitchell's BBQ. Great with a splash of sauce, and extra skin. Grabbed some fatty pieces of crackling from a tray by the sauce. So good, tender, great mouthfeel! I felt like pork fat was coming out of my pores by this part. Excellent.

Left the park around 2:30pm. DONE and FULL.