BBQ Spot Named for Prohibition-Era Evangelist Opens, Serves Beer

Brooklyn legend has it that when one Jim Mamary neighborhood restaurant closes, another opens in a gentrifying neighborhood somewhere else. As is lore, Smith Street’s “pioneer restaurant” Patois closed January 11 [or did it?]; last week, Billy Sunday’s BBQ opened for business in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens. Named for this guy, the restaurant’s dark interior is all cozy booths and dim lights; walls are covered with splinter-friendly wood, and the smokehouse vibe calms neighborhood families. Last night, both Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and inaugural CNN played side-by-side on bar TVs. Blogger Hawthorne Street has been the de facto NORAD for the BBQ spot, and has the lowdown on Billy Sunday’s menu, which includes $4 Genessee cans and smoked meat by the half pound ($7-$9) served on butcher paper.