"Live" from the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party '04

[JosephB]

I see that Donna and I have missed out on lots of exciting stuff while we've been away in Texas. Right now we're in Austin.

Well, things have been pretty exciting down in the Lone Star State as well. We'll be back in NYC on Saturday with our newly-adopted baby girl. Her name is Sara Lilly. She starting her 6th day of life today, and she's already been to a couple of Mexican restaurants, a good steakhouse, and a few BBQ joints.

In honor of Sara's arrival into the world, we're going to travel to Lockhart to sample some of the reputed best BBQ in Texas. Sara wants to start working on her eG credentials right away.

At the risk of being presumptuous, I ask ya'll not to use this thread to offer any congratulations on Sara's arrival. One of these days I'll start a bio thread for these sort of things. In anticipation of your warm wishes, Donna and I thank you kindly in advance.

Now back to BBQ . . .

[Dryden]

This may be the funniest thread I've ever read on here. Maybe you could have Mr. Trillin encapsulate it in his next book. Urbane NY folks going off the deep end for what is considered "everyday fare" in the parts of the US where it originates from.

I've always found this interesting with regard to Sunday brunch in New York, especially as a native NYer... So many of the chic popular places (Friend of a Farmer comes to mind) serve what amounts to Southern or Midwestern diner food, charge 3 to 5 times what you'd pay in those places, and people stand on line to eat it...

Mystifying. But for barbecue, well, great barbecue is worth anything.

[slkinsey]

Dryden, I think you'll find that just about everything on average is substantially more expensive here than it is in the South and Midwest. We are able to pay those prices because people here tend to earn substantially more than people in the South and Midwest on average. It all balances out in the end. The nice thing for us is that when we travel our of town it seems like everything is on sale.

[picaman]

Of course, all of you realize you could catch a $99.00 flight to any of these locales and ,(at least in KC), get Wonder bread & fresh cut fries with your meal,+boulevard beer to boot!

The difference is that we had a relatively wide geographic variety of all of that excellent food in one place, priced not-too-badly considering that proceeds went to charity.

To paraphrase what [Varmint?] said earlier in this thread, comparable experiences are not commonly available even in regions where barbecue is practically a religion. Not even at the large barbecue contests, which are geared toward judging rather than feeding crowds. I feel rather lucky to have had this experience.

Jamie

[snausages2000]

Many thanks to Fat Guy and all the Saturday posters for their intrepid reporting. If I hadn't read your guys' live reports, I wouldn't have arrived early enough on Sunday to avoid the crowds and probably would have (foolishly) skipped Blue Smoke's ribs.

My trifecta:

Mitchell's - Finally, I 'get' the NC whole hog experience. Why do NorthEast places serving pulled pork so often leave out the vinegar? Such a simple and effective way to complement the meat. Upon request, they threw in a slab of ribs, some with significant meat still attached. The crackly, charred ribs were a highlight.

KC Brisket - Had it once at noon and again at about 1:30. The first cut was sensational. Smoky and fatty (right at, but not past, that delightful brink of being too fatty). The second cut, later in the day, still tasted great, but the meat was a bit leaner and not quite as melty as the first.

Blue Smoke - Great ribs.

Where was the 17th St. stand on Sunday? For some reason I didn't see it.

[JosephB]

Dryden, I think you'll find that just about everything on average is substantially more expensive here than it is in the South and Midwest.  We are able to pay those prices because people here tend to earn substantially more than people in the South and Midwest on average.  It all balances out in the end.  The nice thing for us is that when we travel our of town it seems like everything is on sale.

You ain't kdding. Down here in Texas it seems like they use a different currency. It's also about local sensibilities. Not only do you get a quart-size glas of ice tea for a buck, refills are included. What's a Texan to do with a highball glass of ice tea (mostly ice) for $2.50, and no refills That's just not neighborly.

[Rachel Perlow]

Where was the 17th St. stand on Sunday? For some reason I didn't see it.

On Saturday, that stand was the very first one closest to the intersection of 5th and 26th. It is also known as Memphis Championship and Mike Mills. I wasn't there Sunday, but I think it should have been in the same spot.

[juuceman]

Where was the 17th St. stand on Sunday?  For some reason I didn't see it.

On Saturday, that stand was the very first one closest to the intersection of 5th and 26th. It is also known as Memphis Championship and Mike Mills. I wasn't there Sunday, but I think it should have been in the same spot.

all the booths were in the same places on sunday as saturday..

[alacarte]

More reactions to the BABBQ on The Food Section, including links back to this thread!

There's no misspelling in the title of this post -- the event attracted such huge crowds and the lines were so outrageously long that we didn't taste anything.

My sentiments exactly. It sure did smell good, but I had no intention of waiting on line for 'cue-pons and then waiting on lines AGAIN. The event organizers were 'not ready for prime time,' and I don't think I'll be tempted to return next year.

I had fun chatting with some eG folks at the BBQ panel, though.

[snausages2000]

As delicious as the cue was, did anyone else suffer from a meat hangover?

At about 4pm on Sunday, a couple hours after leaving the action, I got incredibly tired

and literally had to run home to go to sleep, instantly passing out from beef & pork fatigue.

I'm only starting to shake off the drowsiness now, and have been eating nothing but fruits and vegetables since (not because I want to, as much as my body just kinda flinches when I see meat). I even ate some cottage cheese today, a personal low-point.

[picaman]

meat hangover

Never had one, not even after eating a steak to end 10 years of vegetarian/vegan-ism. Sometimes I want a nap, but that's after any heavy meal, not just one involving large amounts of meat. Such as my Sunday BABBP meal.

Jamie

[Fat Guy]

I actually developed a really strong craving for more and more meat. In deciding where to go out to dinner on Monday night I kept thinking, "You know, maybe I should go to Blue Smoke . . ." It was crazy. I still am craving meat. I'm thinking about steak tonight.

[hathor]

As delicious as the cue was, did anyone else suffer from a meat hangover?

At about 4pm on Sunday, a couple hours after leaving the action, I got incredibly tired

and literally had to run home to go to sleep, instantly passing out from beef & pork fatigue.

I'm only starting to shake off the drowsiness now, and have been eating nothing but fruits and vegetables since (not because I want to, as much as my body just kinda flinches when I see meat). I even ate some cottage cheese today, a personal low-point.

Meat hangovers...or meat comas really DO exist! See this about the restaurant Carnivore.

[snausages2000]

Yeah, meat intake usually begets meat appetite for me as well. There's nothing I want more after a good steak than...more steak. I entered a sort of 3-month meat vortex this spring, bouncing deliriously between beef, pork, lamb and duck, culminating in a final orgy of consumption at the BABBP and I think my body is begging for mercy, demanding at least a token gesture of leafy green.

(Ultimately, I think I had a Cue Hangover, from all the smoke and grilling, more than a Meat Hangover. Apologies to Meat for the unfair attribution of ill-effects...)

[Jason Perlow]

I actually developed a really strong craving for more and more meat. In deciding where to go out to dinner on Monday night I kept thinking, "You know, maybe I should go to Blue Smoke . . ." It was crazy. I still am craving meat. I'm thinking about steak tonight.

I hear you. I had leftover Ed Mitchell's for lunch yesterday and we had a rack of Mike Mills baby back ribs for dinner last night, accompanied by Tater Tots and Memphis Championship BBQ baked beans. And tonight I'm thinking about more meat as well.

[jhlurie]

NYC Eats expresses some appreciation of Fat Guy at the bottom of this article.

Also, the NY Post waxes on about the BABBP--highlighting Paul Kirk because of his coming restaurant.

Interestingly enough, Mr. Kirk's menu is set to include Pastrami. I think Fat Guy's pastrami-related question at the BBQ conference must have gotten back to Paul. Duck (we have to assume smoked as well) is in the works too.

EDIT - Okay, I've made a new topic for Mr. Kirk's coming restaurant.

Edited June 16, 2004 by jhlurie (log)

[Pan]

You all might be interested in wcmckinney's post, Do New Yorkers get BBQ? in the Southeast Forum.

[ahr]

This real-time report just in… spent several hours at BABBP Saturday starting at 12:30… failed to locate FG on his quiet, private bench by the statue… may have spotted Bux in a cap of a color seen only on the golf course and in the ghetto, but not sure… may have sighted Jason’s distinctive form at a distance, but didn’t recognize anyone else… enjoyed seminars... waited 20 minutes to buy meal tickets… waited a while in Ed Mitchell’s line, checked at front when it didn't move, learned that food was no longer available… chose Salt Lick next because its line looked the shortest, discovered 45 minutes later that there were two parallel lines, not one, and brisket had sold out, but kielbasa pretty good… waited 45 minutes for Mike Mills... sick of standing in line and frottage-sated, cashed in all remaining tix for ribs, some very good, others dry… begged fatty brown brisket snippet from R.U.B., really good… tried Blue Smoke rib sampler a few days later, some very good, very similar to Mills’s in color, texture, taste, others dry and stringy… killer blueberry pie.

Would I attend again? Most everything about the event -- the park, the seminars, the music, the custard stand – was fine, except for the mad press of humanity in the confined space where actual barbecue was sometimes for sale. So, in a word, no – not if it resembles my Saturday experience, at least not without special eGullet line-jumping privileges. I found it way oversold, in the multifarious meanings of the word.

Edit: General neatening, of the sort that should be performed before, not after, posting.

Edited June 19, 2004 by ahr (log)

[Al_Dente]

I just went through and read this whole thread.

Note to self: Be there next year!

[Dryden]

Someone has stolen Paul Kirk's grill.

Read about it here.

[Dryden]

Paul Kirk's grill has, evidently, been found.

Here.