BBQ Eats: RUB Barbecue

I recently stopped into RUB at 208 West 23rd Street(between 7th & 8th Avenues) New York, NY 10011, for a snack. I was joined on this visit by the ever affable Gary, from PigTrip and we had checked out Wildwood earlier in the day. I've been to RUB many times and I was in the mood to try something new.

So this visit's treats started with the barbecue chicken empanadas. This entirely in-house creation is a traditional empanada dough stuffed with barbecue chicken, chipotles and potatoes. The empanda was pretty good, but a little bland and dry. It's savior was the chipotle dipping sauce. It boosted the heat and added just the right amount of moisture.


Up next was 1/4lb of sliced brisket. As always RUB's brisket delivers. Smokey, flavorful and tender. RUB has the lowest price in town for brisket by the pound and un-like some other places, they don't nickel and dime you over the weight. It amazes me how uniformly sliced their brisket is. Every slice is just about the same thickness every time I visit. This time though, whomever was slicing didn't make it all the way through. Every slice was held together as a little block with just one corner connecting. However, it didn't stop my enjoyment; we ate it all.


And to finish off this little snack, some burnt ends. (A little snack he says? Empandas, brisket and burnt ends? Damn.) I have to admit, burnt ends are not my favorite form of barbecue. Many cooks feel that they're the ultimate test of the pitmaster's skill set, but to me they're usually just over smoked and fatty chunks of burnt brisket.

RUB's burnt ends were moist, a bit chewy, and smoked just right. RUB's burnt ends seem to have a much higher ratio of meat to fat than other places in town, which I like. I'd prefer some more sauce caramelized on them during cooking, but for it to be also wet and sticky when served, but that's just me. Most folks I know prefer the sauce on the side.

So to end this little post about a quick little visit for some snacks, I have to make a confession here; RUB is my favorite barbeque joint in the city. RUB is by far the most consistent and best of the top barbecue restaurants in the city. Andrew, Scottie, Celeste and Matt have got it down! You know what you're getting when you sit down at RUB. And what you're getting is "choice" as my grandmother used to say.

A big thank you to Gary from Pig Trip for the photographs. I think you may be seeing them soon on his site as well. You can check out Gary's reviews from his past visits to RUB here.