Big Apple BBQ Block Party

Last weekend, I attended the Big Apple BBQ Block Party at Madison Square Park. Man oh man almighty! Boy did I miss barbecue! I sampled from NYC's Blue Smoke and Hill Country. Of course, I had to get some Texas barbecue, so I stopped at Southside Market & BBQ (Elgin, TX) and The Salt Lick (could NOT pass this up).

Blue Smoke served up barbecued chicken. I had high expectations for this because I'm a huge admirer of Danny Meyer and his restaurants. Unfortunately the chicken tasted a little generic. While it was moist, there was nothing spectacular about this dish. I think I'll reserve judgement on Blue Smoke for now, until I can visit the restaurant and sample what else they have to offer.

Hill Country had ribs on the menu today. For those of you who don't know, this is a New York restaurant started by Marc Glosserman, who spent some of his youth visiting relatives in Central Texas. I didn't really enjoy their ribs. Maybe it was the particular piece I was served, but it was just a mediocre attempt at recreating Texas barbecue. But I do give them props for serving Big Red soda and Blue Bell ice cream at their restaurant. At least something is authentic Texan.

Southside Market served up beef brisket. Mel and I tried this booth with Elaine because by the time she arrived, Salt Lick had sold out and it would be another 20 minutes before the next batch was served. Yes, twenty minutes isn't a long time, but we wanted to get beer so we opted for the shortest line. It must have been short for a reason. The meat was very dry. I liked the level of smokiness and the sauce, but the dryness was a disappointment.

SALT LICK. The best I had that day. Period. Like Southside, Salt Lick served beef brisket as well (pictured above). But what a difference between the two. Salt Lick's was so incredibly moist, perfectly tender. Their sauce had a tinge of spice, which kept things interesting. Next time I head out to Austin, I am definitely going to stop by Salt Lick.

Tried Brooklyn Brewery's beer for the first time. For this summer day, the Summer Ale was perfect. I also had Brooklyn Brewery's Lager and Heineken Light. The Heineken Light was a nice change up to the regular version. And the Lager, while yummy, was not as well-suited to the weather and BBQ as the Summer Ale.