Mmm... Big Apple BBQ Block Party
Big Apple Block Party BBQ 2010
Those gorgeous ribs you see above were actually split with James of The Eaten Path. He's written some BBQ articles for Serious Eats and we met up for some ribs. He was at Memphis in May this year and said that Rack-n-Soul won for ribs. The only catch was that the ribs at the Big Apple BBQ weren't the same ones at Memphis In May. Those crazy BBQ folks... changing it up for the judges. No complaints really, the ribs were tasty. They're quite different from the ribs at 17th st Grill with Mike Mills, which I didn't officially sample this year. I say officially because since I hung out with James, I was able to get a free rib from them. Ah... press. I've bought 17th Street ribs in past BABBQ's and they've always been spectacular.
I also got to try Ed Mitchel's whole hog sandwich. They BBQ whole pigs and chop 'em up for sandwiches. It's served on a soft potato bun and man... it's good stuff. It's good barbeque when it's awesome without the sauce and not dry at all. They usually run out by the middle of the afternoon because they're popular. Their lines move plenty fast compared to some of the other places that get insanely long lines.
The last thing that I had was the mutton (wikipedia). I had to wikipedia this but mutton is sheep. But older sheep... lamb is younger sheep. Depending on whether the term is used in Australia or New Zealand, it's different. Like in New Zealand, it can only be a mutton if it's a female sheep older than 12 months or a castrated male sheep. A little confusing if you ask me. Anyway, speaking of castration, if you have time you should check out this TED video. It's by Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs and there's a good one about castration...
I've never had sheep bbq until yesterday and I liked it. It was interesting and had a much different flavor than what you get with beef or pork (obviously). Pork is probably milder and takes better to the smoke while the mutton will still have that wonderful lamby flavor. You know, because lambs inherently have their own special flavor. The best part was that they served the sandwich with some burgoo. I had never heard of it before... but it's like a wonderful mixed meat stew. Imagine a wonderful meaty stew that's so good you'd have it for breakfast... mm... It'd go super nicely with a bowl of rice.
The conclusion from the Big Apple Block Party BBQ is that you do get some good BBQ. Yes, maybe the portion sizes are on the small side. Each tasting portion is $8 and you need 3 to feel somewhat full. I asked James about the portion size and cost and why people talk about other states so much... and he told me it's not that other states give you insane portions... it's that the portions they give are cheap as hell. Living in NY skews my perception about food costs and eating a whole hog sandwich from a dude in NC is way cheaper than flying to NC... For some, the cost outweighs the experience. For me it's still worth trying, but I'm not going to do 5 to 6 hours a day for both days. What I should do though, is eat more BBQ in New York.
To make it more confusing, in some parts of India mutton can also refer to goat.
bionicgrrrl
June 18, 2010 11:21 am
@bionicgrrrl,
They just can't make it easy for me huh? Goats are ok too though, I'll eat goats if they're not too goaty.
Danny
June 18, 2010 1:22 pm
@Nicholas,
Just like what James said abt Brunswick stew... it's totally acceptable for breakfast!
@James,
Yea I can't imagine what the competition cue is like but the one we tried was plenty good. Definitely different from 17th street. I like both though.
Danny
June 15, 2010 11:00 am
"Imagine a wonderful meaty stew that's so good you'd have it for breakfast... mm... It'd go super nicely with a bowl of rice."
I didn't think it was possible to make post on BBQ somehow Asian (aside from 叉燒), but this statement does it. Good job :).
Nicholas
June 14, 2010 10:12 pm
Quick note on John Wheeler's ribs - while competition Q definitely is different from what competing crews serves at their own restaurants, Rack and Soul actually has another layer of distance from the ribs Wheeler served at Memphis in May. His team, the Natural Born Grillers, predates Rack and Soul and isn't exactly the same staff.
Still, the basic formula is the same, and it is one tasty rib. One of my favorite parts of last weekend was having Wheeler's rib and Mike Mill's rib back to back and truly appreciating what a different direction you can take with the meat if you put your soul into it.
And, man, when I was in Georgia I totally ate Brunswick stew for breakfast. Didn't even have any rice. Burgoo and Brunswick stew are the kings of barbecue side dishes.
James
June 14, 2010 11:24 pm