Stickey's BBQ (Teaneck) CLOSED

[ghostrider]

Mmmmm, sounds like my kind of place. I know the Loop area! If I get there I'll certainly report back. Thanks for the (rib) tips!

[emilymarie]

D'oh. i should have known you'd know the loop area. have fun, whenever you get there.

[ghostrider]

Well I didn't totally know the area since I didn't know about Mama's Coal Pot!

Last I was there, about 2 yrs ago, they were having some kind of street fest & it was really hard to see the storefronts.

[ahr]

I stopped in the other day for lunch. Pork ribs were tasty and nicely smoky, though those at the very short end were quite tough; I also found the half-order a little stingy. An enormous beef rib was beautiful: meaty, smoke ring without, pink still within at the core. The sauce went well, though both meats -- aside from the aforementioned pork toughness -- were good enough to eat dry, Texas-style. Cole slaw and greens were nicely made, but a bit bland. Service was excellent, though to be fair, the place was nearly empty when I visited.

Aside to Jason: The menu separately listed both brisket and smoked roast beef.

I'll certainly return.

Edit: Clarification of within/without business.

Edited August 1, 2004 by ahr (log)

[wfnugent]

The family went to Stickey's last night after an appt in Englewood. Service was great - very quick, friendly and attentive. My daughter loved her ribs and said "Dad, this macaroni salad is the best." It was good.

Both Larry and his wife came over for a long chat - get that guy going about the merits of mesquite versus white oak sometime. Didn't matter that I couldn't get a word in edgewise as I just kept grunting for some more beef and pork. They really could not have been more pleasant. My 5 yo son asked Larry "Are you Stickey?" to which he answered "Only on occasion."

The pork ribs were great - my fave but a little dry. The beef ribs were very good. Coleslaw and mac salad very tasty. The service was excellent.

For reasons that astound me, the kids did not want to try the deep fried oreas Larry sent out. That just meant more for my wife and I.

[dknyc1]

Just wanted to put in my review.....

Myself, wife, daughter (3 years old) & in laws all met at Stickeys Friday night around 6:15 pm.

Place was almost empty when we got there.

Me & inlaws shared 2 1/2 racks pork ribs. They were perfect..... really well prepared. We had a few ribs left over we couldnt finish. Also has a few cole slaw sides - very good slaw.

Daughter had mac & cheese - her favorite & loved it - good for me - now I have another place I like that she will also eat something at.

She also had the deep fried oreo's for desert & was in heaven - I tasted one & it was pretty great.... kind of like an oreo stuffed inside a zepole or funnel cake, with the powdered sugar on top.... whats not to like.

My wife - very resticted diet - just had some mashed potatoes & corn bread - she seemed happy enough.

Owner or mgr, a nice woman, came over & asked how we heard about it - I told her egullet - she was really nice & made sure we were happy.

Crowd had picked up by the time we left - but still not very crowded.

Service was very good & attentive.

I will definitely be back.

[ahr]

I stopped in the other day for lunch.  Pork ribs were tasty and nicely smoky, though those at the very short end were quite tough; I also found the half-order a little stingy.  An enormous beef rib was beautiful: meaty, smoke ring without, pink still within at the core.  The sauce went well, though both meats -- aside from the aforementioned pork toughness -- were good enough to eat dry, Texas-style.  Cole slaw and greens were nicely made, but a bit bland.  Service was excellent, though to be fair, the place was nearly empty when I visited.

Aside to Jason: The menu separately listed both brisket and smoked roast beef.

I'll certainly return.

Edit: Clarification of within/without business.

Another dental appointment on the wrong side of the Hudson, another visit to Stickey's.

The food was even better this time. The pork and beef ribs were just as tasty, just one pork rib was tough, and only at the tip (disclosure: I prefer ribs with a bit of toothsome snap; mushy and falling-off-the-bone texturelessness are not for me), and the sides were much better. Today's minor complaint was some oversaucing, easily remedied.

The lunch hour remains an uncrowded time to visit. A good sign: the local gendarmerie stopping in for takeout. (Yes, they paid. I think.)

[TongoRad]

My wife and I got takeout from Stickey's last Saturday (first time) and definitely think it showed real promise. We got a half order of pork ribs, chili, pulled pork sandwich, and a roast beef sandwich. I thought the best thing was the pulled pork and my wife went crazy for the roast beef (I, of course, managed to snag a bite or two and definitely found it to be a winner.) The pork was tender and had a great flavor on its own, but the sauce was fantastic.

The ribs were perhaps a bit too leathery, the short end ones definitely were, and too smoked for my taste. I felt like I was eating wood itself. I'll definitely give them another shot because I'm not sure how much of an exact science this is; definite points for effort in my book. The chili was of the ground beef with beans variety and quite good on its own terms.

I'm glad I found this board and will try some of the other recs next time, particularly the beef rib.

[Rosie]

Welcome to eGullet TongoRad. We look forward to your reports.

[TongoRad]

Thanks Rosie. It's great to find a fairly active board dedicated to New Jersey eatin'.

[ahr]

Very early (11:30) lunch again today after dental followup. Both pork and beef ribs on the tough side (yesterday's?), but good enough. Sides fine. Good iced tea.

[NJRay]

Well the Friday Night Food Club and the JAPW Crew made its way out to Stickys last week and all I have to say is.....Thank You Larry for such a great place and great food. Stickys was so good we actually did the unthinkable and went back Saturday with a new crew from JAPW who were all ready to eat.

Friday night we made our way out to Stickys, after reading all the positive posts and seeing the pictures, which really left an impression and a huge craving for BBQ. As much as i enjoy Big Eds and Famous Daves, I was ready to step it up and enjoy some "real" BBQ and now Stickys is my "ATF" or All Time Favorite right now.

Special thanks to Larry and his wife who made us feel like family, making sure everything was good, and even showing us his smokers and discussing his cooking techniques. It was a great experience and the owners as well as staff treated us great. We went after 8:00 both nights so it wasn't to crowded and the service was excellent despite some other posts, but I think that was the opening blues.

We tried a variety of foods, everything was great, the sides were amazing, collard greens were great, some of the best I had, the baked beans and mashed potatoes were awesome as well, cole slaw was crisp and creamy, all of the sides had a home made feel to them all.

The pork ribs were great, smoked to perfection and not overpowering, the brisket might be my favorite, the pulled pork was awesome as well, had to get extra bed to make sandwiches with the cole slaw. The sauces were also awesome, I was dipping everything into the Mo Jo 79 sauce, I wanted to dip the fried snickers into it cause it was so good.

All in all Stickys is a special place and I hope everyone gets to try them out, Larry and his wife are great and go the extra mile. We will definetly be returning in the very near future. JAPW is planning on going after one of our events and sharing this great BBQ with all of our staff and wrestlers, it will be one hell of an after party.

We took tons of pictures and will be posting them soon.

Here is owner Larry with the JAPW Heavyweight Championship Belt, but on that night the BBQ Championship Belt !!!

Edited August 28, 2004 by NJRay (log)

[allie]

My boyfriend Chris & I finally had a chance to try Stickey's tonight, so I wanted to post a little ditty (although most of you had almost *exact* reactions to some of the food as we did) about our experience.

First off, I give these guys an A+ for atmosphere; our server not only knew *everything* about the food on the menu, but he was very excited about the food- you could tell he was really psyched to work there AND eat there, always a good sign. On top of this, the restaurant is bright, they have a fireplace and all sorts of cute little pig trinkets all over the place. The sign is so cute too! On appearance/atmosphere alone, I'd go back in a heartbeat.

There weren't that many people there, although when I mentioned I'd read about Stickey's on eGullet, they mentioned Jason was in there this week and an article was soon to follow, which they hoped would bring in more business. Now, onto the food!

Chris is a BBQ connisseur, he's tried it from many different regions in the country, so I knew I could count on him for "brutal honesty" as he puts it. He was actually a bit bummed to find out that Stickey's focused on Texas/KC BBQ, as these are his 2 least favorite styles. We ordered the "Texas combo", which was 3 different meats and 3 large sides. I'll rank them as follows:

Beef ribs: we both agreed that these would be EPIC if they cooked these for longer, but apparently Texas/KC BBQ is more about the sauce than the uber slow cook? (help me out here BBQ freaks ) Big portion though, I would order these again, but I don't think Chris would. Rating: B+

Pork ribs: a little tough, they reminded Chris of the ribs from Pearson's BBQ in the city, focusing more on the sauce than the taste of the meat. Rating: B-

Pulled pork: As others have stated previously, too much sauce and not enough smoky flavor. Chris was almost convinced they used a meat slicer rather than pulling the pork! Please somebody confirm this is not true! Rating: C

Mashed potatoes & gravy: UNBELIEVABLE mashed potatoes. I am a mashers/gravy freak, so I am very picky and I was blown away. They were creamy, and the gravy wasn't your standard watery brown gravy. They actually use a few herbs, and it resembled almost a holiday gravy due to the thickness! Rating: A+

Mac & Cheese: Definitely on the drier side, but the cheese flavor was very pronounced, so I didn't mind the absence of cream. Rating: A-

Baked Beans: These highly resembled Bush's baked beans and didn't have much flavor. As stated before, they could throw in some pork or bacon chunks to add some flavor. Definitely my least favorite item. Rating: D

Last but not least, Tammie insisted we try their batter dipped, deep fried oreos on the house and I couldn't resist, even though I was stuffed!! These were FANTASTIC! I'd seriously go back just for these. Rating: A+

The total of our meal was just under $35 including 2 sodas, so a ton of food for a decent price. Like I said above, the atmosphere & service were fantastic. I will definitely return, to try different items. I think I'll try their Texas wings & chili next time, and will absolutely save room for the Oreos

[jwjojo]

We went to Stickeys a couple of weeks ago. We ordered the chicken, fries, slaw, and cornbread. I know this is against the grain.....completely unremarkable. Just okay. Would not go back again. Missing Finks! Perhaps the meat dishes are better here, as the chicken really was not great.

[Rachel Perlow]

Their gravy is excellent. Larry makes it from beef stock he makes himself. And, I agree with you about the baked beans, they're kind of boring. But I love their mac & cheese. Next time ask for sauce on the side (esp the Mojo if you like it a little spicy), I agree they tend to oversauce.

[pbrodsky]

I'm surprised to hear that about the chicken. I have had the chicken twice and thought it was excellent both times.

[allie]

Their gravy is excellent. Larry makes it from beef stock he makes himself. And, I agree with you about the baked beans, they're kind of boring. But I love their mac & cheese. Next time ask for sauce on the side (esp the Mojo if you like it a little spicy), I agree they tend to oversauce.

←

Yes, the gravy was so great! Its what I would expect for a Thanksgiving dinner, or even when my mom used to cook roast pork or roast beef when I was a kid. I read a post earlier to keep the mac & cheese away from you, and I can see why. Although I am normally a creamy mac & cheese fan, I thought they did a great job with this at Stickey's. And, we did do the sampler of sauces pre-meal, and I agree that the Mojo was awesome- honestly, I usually don't eat much sauce on my BBQ, so next time I would order sauce on the side for sure.

Ironically, the pulled pork tastes much better the day after than it did while hot

[wfnugent]

Another nod to Jason - His review of Stickey's will be in the NY Times tomorrow.

It isn't often that another man makes me salivate at 6:45 in the morning but Jason's eloquent words did just that. <Sing-Song> Guess where we are going for dinner...Guess where we are going for dinner...

[Rosie]

Jason's article is in the NJ section p. 24. Great article, Jason.

[Jason Perlow]

Some new Stickey's shots:

Pork and Beef (center) ribs

White Cheddar Mac and Cheese, Cole Slaw

Ribs and Mashed New Potatoes with Beef Gravy

Bread Pudding

[schmooty]

I finally made it to Stickey's last night, and enjoyed the food immensely. I had planned on taking food home with me, but when I found out Tuesday is all-you-can-eat rib night, I quickly changed my mind. My waiter's name was Rich, and he couldn't have been any nicer. When even your waiter is passionate about the food he or she serves, you can only imagine how passionate the owner and general managers are.

The AYCE ribs are $19.95. They start you out with either a full rack of pork, 2 MONSTER beef ribs or half and half. I started with half and half. I told Chris, the GM, I really wanted to try the brisket so he sent some out on a piece of white bread just to wet my appetite. The brisket was pretty good, but sliced a bit thin for my tastes. The rib special does not include sides, so I ordered cole slaw and mashed potatoes with gravy. The slaw was fresh, crispy, and litely dressed. The potatoes where red-skinned mashed with a nice thick gravy on top.

The beef rib was awesome. Big, meaty, and perfectly smoked. It was one of the finest beef ribs I have ever eaten. The BBQ sauce was very good, and I asked for a side of mojo sauce which had a nice kick. The pork ribs are more like spareribs. They had a nice pink ring and were smoked perfectly. My only complaint is that the amount of meat on each rib was very little.

The restaurant was pretty quiet, so my waiter gave me a tour of the smokers. A very impressive set-up. They have a total of 3 smokers. Some prep workers were wrapping bacon around skewered shrimp which looked great.

I also got a chance to talk to the GM Chris for a while. He told me that they don't use a dry rub for ANY of their meats, not even salt/pepper. The meat goes into the smoker completely unadorned. I don't think I have ever been to a BBQ joint that doesn't use a rub. I think this is why the beef rib was so good. It had such a nice smoky beefy flavor. Chris is very passionate at what he does. In fact, he may be the most passionate food person I have ever met.

I really hope this place succeeds and definitely plan on returning to try other things on the menu.

[Rachel Perlow]

I wanted to bump this up with a note that Stickey's is a great place to go with a group, especially with kids. We went last week with our friends (three couples and two kids). We ordered the Ultimate Combo with some extra sides. The UC comes with 3 whole orders of your choice of meat (you can split this up into half orders), we got 1/2 a chicken, 1/2 pulled pork, 1/2 pulled chicken, and 1 1/2 racks of pork ribs. It comes with 4 sides, and we ordered an extra 4, so we got most of the sides covered (doubling up on the mac & cheese). With drinks and a couple of desserts, it was plenty of food for the whole table to share family style. Cost, with tax & tip, was $30 per couple.

[TMus1111]

I went to Stickey's yesterday after seeing all the beautiful pictures and dreaming about barbecue for the past few nights. I thought the atmosphere was even better in person. I had the pulled chicken and my companion had the pork ribs with sides of baked beans, rice and cornbread. The pulled chicken was good. I think I would have enjoyed it more if the sauce was mixed in better, but I know that not everyone is a sauce fanatic, as I see some posts said there was too much sauce. To me there is no such thing as too much if the sauce is good. My friend really enjoyed his ribs, and of course I had to taste them. They were great, and when I go back that is exactly what I will be having. The beans I thought were a good balance, not to sweet and not to bland. And the cornbread was fantastic. For dessert we shared the bread pudding. My mother makes bread pudding often and it is usually lumpy and you can see the pieces of bread, Stickey's was so smooth, I wondered how they got it to that texture. The taste was good, but I think the texture threw me off a little. I should have tried the oreos. Oh well, there's always next time, and there will surely be a next time. Very easy to find and the service was very good.

[schmooty]

I went back to Stickey's last week for a buddy's birthday and the food was very inconsistent. We started with 10 wings which were okay, but nothing special. For $8, we would have been better off with a 1/2 BBQ chicken instead.

We ordered the ultimate combo to share between the 4 of us. The sides were solid, but the problem arose with the meat. I tried their pulled pork for the first time, and was not impressed. If anyone from Stickey's is reading, PLEASE let Fink show you how to make awesome pulled pork. His was far superior to Stickey's. Fink's brisket was also head and shoulder's above Stickey's.

We also ordered pork and beef ribs. One of the beef ribs was big and meaty, but the other one looked like it had already been eaten. There was virtually no meat on it. The same inconsistency could be found in the pork ribs. 1/2 rack was meaty, tender, and delicious. The other half of rack was barely edible. The ribs were tiny and hard as a rock.

I am not sure what can account for this. I hope this was a fluke because I really want to continue eating here. I also hope they utilize Fink to the fullest. The combination of Stickey's and Fink could turn this place into the best BBQ joint around.

[TongoRad]

I finally made it to the AYCE Ribs yesterday (Tuesdays). My previous visits have all been for lunch. We've been meaning to do it for a while but what with the logistics of getting over the GWB at a reasonable hour and getting a sitter and all that, it has been on my radar for far too long. I must say that I enjoyed myself and left quite satisfied, but my future self should have found a way to tell my past self to "forget about AYCE, just go!"

I got the beef ribs while my wife stuck with the pork. We both loved the beef- like others have mentioned they are huge, subtly smoky, nicely charred, pink and tender- and would go back for those alone. I had a few of the pork as well and they're still not doing it for me, though my wife enjoyed them enough to get an additional half rack. I still think they're too smoky, and kind of tough and lean as well. In all we each got 1 1/2 racks, and went home absolutely stuffed, but the full rack is a large enough portion that it would not leave me wanting more (the AYCE special is about $1 more than just ordering a full rack on any other night.)

The place was about half-full when we were there and I didn't notice anybody else ordering the AYCE, for what it's worth. Ironically I can remember at least four occasions in the past few months when my wife and I considered going to Stickey's for dinner but put it off until we could make a Tuesday work for us (isn't the point of having a special like this to get people in the door? ). Anyway- just go. And get the beef ribs.