A fifteen year odyssey across the backroads of America during the ultimate College Football roadtrip.

Tag: BBQ (Page 4 of 9)

Fette Sau Barbecue – BBQ Brooklyn Style

The second place that emerged on my barbecue research in New York was a place called Fette Sau BBQ, and came courtesy of Daniel again from Full Custom Gospel.Evidently his BBQ knowledge extends well beyond the confines of the Red River, because Fette Sau holds quite a reputation among Brooklynites.To verify its repute, I conferred with one of my closest friends and now Brooklyn resident Demetrios.No stranger to gut busting intestinal challenges, Demetrios and I share epic tales of dining hall conquests in our wild and intemperate youths, and I knew I could count on his final opinion.

 

“Dood, that place is awesome” he boomed into the phone, I needed little more confirmation and Sunday’s lunch was quickly decided.

After being greeted by an encouraging wood pile at the entrance, I crept inside Fette Sau and was relieved to find it nearly empty on an early Sunday.Apparently the place can be a bit of a logjam, but I strolled effortlessly up to the glass case and peered eagerly at the plethora of smoked meats tucked delicately beneath.I ordered up the usual three wiseman (brisket, sausage and ribs) and for good measure added a slab of beef rib onto the scale that had also caught my eye.

The sausage was not your typical BBQ fare, it was a much coarser grind with heavy Italian seasoning. Though untraditional, it was still tasty. The ribs were perfectly cooked with a deep pinkish smoke ring and well developed lightly seasoned crust. They were probably my favorite dish on the day. The brisket was smoky and tender with a thick charred crust to it, but had dried out a bit from sitting in the warming tray. The beef rib was similarly dry, and was served sliced off the bone (rather than bone in), though it too shared a wonderfully deep charred crust and robust smoke profile.

As if the meat weren’t enough, we stayed for a couple of hours chatting and working our way down the extensive row of beer taps lining the wall. Featuring an impressive selection of Brooklyn Ales, the bartender was cautious to pull on the wooden handles of the imposing cleavers perched on the taps. This was a clever detail for a barbecue joint, and I almost considered pulling up a tractor seat for a couple of hours to finish off the selection of well crafted brews.

In the end there isn’t much else to say about Fette Sau. They have excellent barbecue, an equally impressive array of beer taps, and I shared an increasingly rare couple of hours with a close friend. Fette Sau is well worth a trip across the bridge for that, and don’t let the Brooklyn part scare you.

 

http://www.fettesaubbq.com/
Thanks to my friend Demetrios for joining me, it’s always great to catch up and we need to do it more often. Now let’s get you down to Texas for the real thing, and bring your girlish appetite with you.

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Hill Country Barbecue – Texas BBQ in the Big Apple

Shortly after dropping my bags at Dylan’s apartment, my lifelong friend and host for the weekend, we started running down the extensive list of dinner options. To his sheer dumbfounded amazement, I informed him that despite traveling all the way from Texas, I wanted barbecue for the first meal of the trip. Mockingly bemused, Dylan agreed, and to the subway we went. Nothing whets the appetite quite like the effervescent aroma of dank subway platform.

Though it may seem strange while in New York I wanted to get barbecue, if only for comparison sake. I wanted to see if a city that, perhaps arrogantly, claimed mastery of all forms of cooking, could match the muster of the Texas barbecue joints I have come to love so much. Hill Country Barbecue would prove the most apt choice for my trial, as they modeled themselves (quite literally) after the infamous Kreuz Market in Lockhart, Texas, and claimed to proffer genuine Texas Barbecue.

You can read up on my previous visit to Kreuz Market here:

 

http://www.pigskinpursuit.com/2009/11/kreuz-control.html

In short, I wanted to hate Hill Country NYC. I wanted to scoff mockingly at New York and their brash arrogance for thinking they could even attempt to pull off proper Texas Barbecue. I wanted to laugh haughtily at the pit master, kick his dog, and tell him there were gas stations in Texas that could smoke circles around him.

 

But then I tried it. And to my astonishment, it was actually pretty good. Not only passable, but actually decent by Texas standards. You can’t imagine how difficult those words are to type.

 

I’ll apologize in advance here for the picture quality. I forgot my usual camera on Thursday night and had to resort to the Iphone for documentation.

 

To be clear, it’s still not as good as the “Best” places in Texas, and I would still gladly prefer the floor scraps at the real Kreuz Market in Lockhart. From an experiential standpoint, there is no comparison to the open smokers and charred brick wall charm of small town Texas meat markets. But the fact that Hill Country was actually decent was far more than I had expected.

 

The sausage, which they claimed was actually flown in from Kreuz market in Lockhart, proved to be the genuine article. Naturally I opted for the jalapeno cheese variety, and while not quite as smoky, it was otherwise indistinguishable from what you find at Kreuz (pure sausage delight). The ribs were probably the most disappointing of the meal, as they lacked much smokiness and chewed a little hard for me. I don’t think they had spent enough time in the smoker. Finally, the brisket was excellent. It had a generous smoke ring, and a well formed bark. It could have been a bit smokier throughout, but still had notes of smoke and well rendered fat which told me that Hill Country pays more than lip service to proper smoking.

The atmosphere inside is modeled after, and eerily similar to Kreuz Market in Lockhart. Evidently the owner had spent some time in Lockhart, and wanted to recreate that experience for patrons in New York City. The ordering process is the same, as you order your meat at the “smoker” by the pound wrapped up in butcher paper, and then scurry over to another counter for your drinks and sides. They even offer Big Red and Shiner Beer. Finally, there are pictures of the actual Kreuz Market staff adorning the walls of Hill Country, along with old pictures of the Lockhart High School Football team tacked up in the walls of the restrooms.

In the end, it was interesting to fly halfway across the country and find the unique experience of rural Texas Barbecue in a metropolis like New York. While it certainly isn’t quite the same, the juxtaposition of a BBQ joint in a world metropolis is both interesting and tasty to say the least. It’s further proof of the old adage that “you can find anything in the world in New York”.

 

And I think it was just good enough to convince Dylan to make another pilgrimage down to the promised land to sample the real Kreuz Market first hand…

 

http://www.hillcountryny.com/

 

Thanks to my friend Dylan for putting up with my strange barbecue habits even in New York.

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Michna’s Barbecue

Michna’s BBQ came high on the list of BBQ joints recommended in Waco, and given it’s proximity to Floyd Casey Stadium, from a logistical standpoint it made for the perfect pre game meal. While Waco isn’t far enough South on I-35 to get into the renown barbecue triangle of Texas, Michna’s was purported to know their way around a smoker and I was eager to give it a shot.

The barbecue here is served on a buffet if you so choose, which normally raises a red flag for me.However, they also hand slice your order if you prefer, and naturally I bellied up to the counter to get some freshly sliced slabs of brisket, ribs and sausage.Upon request, the lady at counter also carved me off a prized end slice of the alluringly charred briskets and I gleefully scurried over to a table with my prize.

The sausage was a pretty standard affair, it was well spiced and reminiscent of a kielbasa type of seasoning and snap.Both the ribs and brisket though, were heartbreaking for a true barbecue lover.Both were incredibly well cooked, offering deep pinkish smoke rings, well developed crusts and had a robust smoky flavor that had penetrated deep into the meat.I could tell from experience that a deft hand had prepared the protein here, and there is substantial pride in the smoke room at Michna’s.Unfortunately, both meats had spent way too long in the warming box, and were past their prime.They were served at nearly room temperature, and had lost the tender juiciness of fresh barbecue.

In the end I was torn on Michna’s. The barbecue I was served was cold and disappointing. Perhaps it was a function of increased gameday traffic, or simply related to their buffet style of service. Ordinarily, I just wouldn’t return. However, I could tell that this was proficiently smoked fare, and as such I’m inclined to give it another shot. Michna’s has had scores of other highly positive reviews as well, so if you find yourself passing through Waco, it would certainly be worth a pit stop.

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New Zion Missionary Baptist Church BBQ

I had to be in Houston on Friday, and while Houston is nowhere close to Baylor, I naturally stopped in for a couple of Barbecue meals and thought they were deserving of review. Since my reviews thus far have eluded the Houston area, I wanted to include them on the blog should you find yourself in the area with an appetite for some barbecue. This was the second joint I hit.

Also known as the “Church of the Holy Smoke”, New Zion Baptist BBQ has earned a famous reputation among Texas barbecue joints given its unique combination of dishing out both religion and smoked meats. Located about an hour north of Houston on I-45 in Huntsville, Texas, the church raises money for their parish by serving BBQ from Thursday through Sunday. Though I had heard mixed reviews about the sheer quality of the cue’, given the compelling story behind the place, I had to pull in for a first hand tasting.

Initially, New Zion Baptist Barbecue held considerable promise. As I approached the ramshackle outbuilding, I was encouraged by a heavy waft of smoke in the air. The black iron barrel smoker is proudly displayed in front of the entrance, with coals visibly glowing away in the fire box. The approach certainly wets the appetite, and I strolled across the creaky floors of the shack eager for a smoky surprise.

Unfortunately, after placing my order and minutes later hearing an audible *DING* from a microwave prior to being served my meal, my expectations quickly dropped. I still don’t know which meat came from the microwave, but it didn’t really matter because they all proved mediocre. The ribs were undercooked and a bit on the chewy side, while the sausage was standard grocery store variety. Neither had the slightest hint of smoke. The brisket was lifeless and gray, and similarly lacked any smokiness that you would have expected from the barrel smoker outside. I was starting to think the smoker was mere ornament, and I was glad to have filled up at Virgie’s and hour earlier.


In the end, you want to love a place like New Zion Baptist. It’s a great story, and certainly one of the more unique venues you could hope to frequent for BBQ. I also salute them as a church for earning income by serving something other than boring spaghetti dinners and pancake breakfasts. As heartwarming as the story is, however, the quality of barbecue is decidedly underwhelming. If you want to pull off the highway, support the church, and enjoy some barbecue in a unique environment, by all means stop in. But temper your expectations for the quality of the meal accordingly.

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