Gothamist: Gothamist Gorges at the 3rd Annual Big Apple BBQ Block Party

chef 'em out

Fri, 17 Jun 2005 09:48:39 -0500

I love it! True passionate discussion, no holds bared, no punches pulled.

BBQ Snob

Tue, 14 Jun 2005 11:52:19 -0500

Again, you may get some real BBQ to visit for a weekend, but even then, it is nowhere near the same thing as enjoying their full menu in the native, leisurely setting. At best, you are all BBQ tourists gawking down on the real thing from a double-decker bus. Your expertise comes from a total tourist trap, and you are doing the analog of someone from Arkansas staring up at the big buildings in Midtown. Real BBQ is not to be had in NYC at any price at any time. (and no one who knows real BBQ calls it "cue") Get over it. If you are a native New Yorker, you have never experienced real BBQ and are way way way out of your league. Yer chumped. Go suck a bone.

Shlt Kicker

Mon, 13 Jun 2005 19:37:30 -0500

BBQ in NYC has made it and is here to stay. The snobs need to unclog the water from holding their nose so high and smell the barbecue, haha! Too bad they can't enjoy a decent meal because they're so stuck up. Losers! Great event. Long lines but hey at least it wasn't a bum rush. Fun was had by all (except the snobs, they're always miserable, you can't change those people, they're not that smart). De-ricious. Can't wait till next year.

Jack

Mon, 13 Jun 2005 19:08:08 -0500

I've been going to street fairs and events around this city for years and have no idea why people are complaining about this one. It was actually one of the most organized street events I've ever seen in NYC. The worst part was the wait in the line. But that was to be expected. Outside of that, I was shocked at how clean the whole area was. The streets after an event like that are just grease soaked and filled with junk. Not in this case. And it was amazing to see beer lines and dessert lines simply breeze through. I waited longer for service at an East Village bar later in the evening than I did for the BBQ at this thing. And outside of NYC events, back when I lived in Madison, WI the street fairs that would surround the capitol Square were WAAAAY more crowded and disorganized and STUNK (literally) than this BBQ fest. People really need to get some perspective. This was really good.

Sim City

Mon, 13 Jun 2005 17:38:01 -0500

agreed. food good. event planning bad.

Ramie

Mon, 13 Jun 2005 17:35:47 -0500

What promise, what a disaster! This was the most poorly executed event I have ever witnessed in NYC. It wasn't even close. There was at LEAST a 45 minute wait for every BBQ vendor. It took me two conversations with the sparsely placed worker on the periphery of the park to finally get the info that there was no all inclusive entrance fee. Then I found out upon leaving about the all inclusive Bubba's bracelet or whatever it was called. That enabled you to cut the lines. The event staff hardly utilized the interior of Madison Square Park instead relegating the people in line to the hot unshaded pavement of the periphery. A better idea would have been to have the lines in the park, in the shade, WHERE THEY CAN BUY BEER (make them money), and enjoy the music. I would also have doubled the vendor tents. With two of them for each vendor so that you need not spend 6 hours there to sample six different kinds of BBQ. I LOVE BBQ and was pretty amped for it so our crew just walked over to Blue Smoke. But I must say that I was mghtily disappointed by the clusterfuck that was this event. Horrible job by the people who put it on.

sp

Mon, 13 Jun 2005 17:20:46 -0500

I call BULLSHIT on the BBQ Snobs. I went to the BBQ Block party with some friends from Texas and from North Carolina. They were exstatic to be getting some authentic cue and when we finally got our food, they assured us that it was just as good as what they have back home. NO SHIT, the pitmasters who were there were the best ones from their states. I had the Saltlick brisket, which was my favorite. Also had the NC pulled pork with pepper vinegar, the other Texas brisket and the Alabama pork sandwich. I dont need to be from a backwater sister-humping KKK state to know that it tasted awesome. They all have mail order catalogs, so we can get as much BBQ as we want year round here in NYC. So shove it.

The Alabamist

Mon, 13 Jun 2005 16:44:36 -0500

pastoralia - That was dumb. Regards, Bamaist

KeithS

Mon, 13 Jun 2005 16:32:25 -0500

pastoralia, please check the above. I'm not the one slinging about disdain for NYC.

pastoralia

Mon, 13 Jun 2005 16:21:01 -0500

Gosh KeithS-maybe you should be reading the Alabamaist...oh wait they don't have computers.

BBQ Snob

Mon, 13 Jun 2005 15:30:26 -0500

Watching New Yorkers eat & discuss BBQ is like watching Alabamans discuss Matzo Ball Soup...a total joke. Good BBQ is not available in this city at any cost, not even at ribfests. I know this is hard to swallow, but there are things New Yorkers know nothing about. In fact, when it comes to America, it is about 95% of the culture.

KeithS

Mon, 13 Jun 2005 14:15:11 -0500

I had leftover Mitchell's pulled pork for lunch today. Lucky me. I also thought the Whole Hog ribs were best in class. Just amazingly succulent and rich. Not sure which day Gothamist attended, but Sunday struck me as only slightly better organized than last year's Soviet BBQ Breadline experience. Even with a VIP wristband and Bubba Passes to spare, confusion was rampant. - Why were there no signs on the backside of the tents so you could tell what was what? - Failing that, why were there no maps showing the location of each vendor? - Why could you swipe your card at some vendors and not at others, where you had to pre-buy a 'receipt'? - Why weren't there more signs explaining who could enter the Bubba Pass areas, so that the security gaurds didn't have to repel wave after wave of stubborn people? I guess the huge crowds render this event a success on some counts, but for the second year in a row this event struck me as well-intentioned but haphazardly executed.

Laren

Mon, 13 Jun 2005 13:42:23 -0500

I think you mean Biscuit, in Brooklyn, although I'm pretty sure that Blue Smoke does a pig roast too.

Rocknrope

Mon, 13 Jun 2005 13:40:26 -0500

What's the name of the restaurant that has a monthly pig roast where you have to sign up in advance?

Jen

Mon, 13 Jun 2005 13:16:35 -0500

Oh, the Salt Lick! If only there could be a Salt Lick stand at every airport, as there is in Austin. And what did you drink as you made your way through the steamy crowds?