One of my most anticipated annual events is the Big Apple BBQ Block Party in Madison Square Park. For me, it’s like Christmas in June! Actually, I might look forward to it more than Christmas! Like many Americans, I love BBQ and this event is a BBQ lover’s dream. This year was the 8th annual Block Party, our 5th time attending, and the BBQ continues to get better each year. This year’s BBQ featured 18 of the nation’s top pitmasters, with five New York City establishments represented. This event attracts over 100,000 BBQ enthusiasts and in typical New York fashion people watchers can observe everything from Jimmy Choo’s to flip flops – proving that there isn’t any cuisine more quintessentially American than BBQ.
Before I give you my rundown of the food that we sampled, I have to acknowledge the venue. Simply put, Madison Square Park is an oasis located in the heart of the Flatiron District. Not only does it contain a beautiful green space that has everything from a playground to a dog run, but it also happens to be framed by some of the city’s most spectacular architecture. The east side of the park is lined by the Met Life Tower and New York Life Building and the southwest corner is anchored by the Flatiron Building. And if you’re sitting on the lawn and take a peek to the northwest, through the trees, you can see the top of the Empire State Building. There may not be a more spectacular view of one of our country’s most recognizable landmarks. I’m not a city boy by any stretch, but being in Madison Square Park, even when it’s host a crowd of over one hundred thousand, brings me such appreciation for the unique beauty of the Big Apple.
Now to the food…this year we managed to sample 7 different pitmasters. Now, I pride myself on being a good eater and I would consider 2 plates of food to be a pretty substantial meal for most people, so I feel good about the fact that my wife and I shared 8 plates (we hit Big Bob Gibson’s twice). Each plate, which consists of a meat and a side, cost $8. Here are my reviews:
Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q (Alabama) – Pulled Pork Shoulder and Slaw: This was a great plate of food! It was everything you hoped a pulled pork sandwich would be and the slaw with a mustard based dressing was terrific. It’s no wonder that they’re a perennial favorite on the competition circuit and we were lucky that Chris Lilly was in the house!!! The fact that we came here twice says a lot.
Jack’s Old South (Georgia) – Beef Brisket: Unfortunately, Myron Mixon was not in the house. My wife compared the brisket to her Nan’s pot roast…not good! This had to be the thickest cut brisket I’ve had and the flavor just wasn’t that good. However, the side of beans were very tasty.
Baker’s Rib (Texas) – St. Louis Style Ribs & Jalapeño Cold Slaw: The ribs were perfectly cooked, but they lacked a little flavor. In fact, the slaw lacked a little flavor too. The ribs also could have used a little more smoke. I don’t mind ribs that are light on the rub or sauce as long as they have a great smoky flavor that accentuates the taste of the pork. These ribs fell just short.
Blue Smoke (New York) – Texas Salt and Pepper Beef Ribs: When beefs ribs are done right, I mean really right, they might be my favorite. Blue Smoke’s beef ribs delivered the flavor, but unfortunately, I found one of my three ribs too be excessively tough and fatty (and I like fatty!). This was still a good plate of food.
Hill Country (New York) – Beef Brisket & Cool as a Cucumber Salad: This brisket was pretty good. It had a nice bark, but I thought the sauce was overly sweet. However, I found the cucumber salad to be very refreshing.
Pappy Smokehouse (Missouri) – St. Louis Style Ribs: The ribs were tough…there’s just really no excuse for that. The beans that came as a side were really spicy, which I dug. I’m not sure that most people wouldn’t have found the beans to be too spicy, but they were fine by me.
Jim ‘n Nicks Bar-B-Q (Alabama) – Homemade Smoked Sausage with Pimento Cheese and Saltines: Great! The homemade sausage was so tasty and spicy. It seemed like most people were really into the Pimento Cheese, which I thought was just ok. I don’t think I would have like the cheese alone, but the entire package (sausage/cheese/saltines) was fabulous. This was right up there with Big Bob Gibson’s.
In addition to the food, there was a beer garden in the park serving microbrews from Heartland Brewery – the two I sampled were delicious. There was also live music throughout the day. Between 2:45PM and 4:00PM I happened to catch Carolyn Wonderland doing I nice cover of Los Lobos’s Cumbia Raza. How much do you want to bet that not more than 3 of the 100,000 attendees caught that one!
This was a great day of eating, celebrating New York City, celebrating our nation’s most unique cuisine, and spending time with family. It truly doesn’t get any better than the Big Apple BBQ!
