Mac and Cheese at The Waterfront Ale House

I still have a lot to talk about with our meal from The Waterfront Ale House, but today I'm going to skip around a little in our menu and talk about what was probably the most controversial dish of the night - the Macaroni and Cheese. Que scary stabbing music now.

Yes folks, the macaroni and cheese was the most talked about dish on the menu at the Ale House. "Why?" You ask. Simply because it wasn't your traditional orange powder cheese sauce. As mac and cheese go, this is a very light version which works perfectly as a side dish. Its flavors won't overwhelm the main entree.

Sam and Ralph's Macaroni and Cheese is a home made version using Adams Reserve New York Extra Sharp Cheddar and elbow noodles. This ain't nothing like what you get out of that blue box and it ain't nothing like your mama used to make. Hence the controversy. Either you love this or you hate it.

But you know what? This mac and cheese is exactly like MY momma used to make. And my wife still makes it this way. I love it. It's nowhere near as gooey or chessey as what you get from the box, it doesn't involve a bechamel sauce and it comes together relatively quickly.

Here's what you do - dump one pound of cooked elbow macaroni into a buttered baking dish. Stir in one can of Campbell's condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup. Stir in one teaspoon dried mustard. Add in one pound of shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese. Add up to one half pound of an additional easy melting cheese - use whatever you have on hand. Mix thoroughly. Top with flavored bread crumbs. Arrange pats of butter on top and bake until bubbly.

Now I don't think that's Sam and Ralph's recipe, but it sure is a good copy. Enjoy.

March Madness at the Waterfront Ale House

On Monday night, March Madness woke like a lion with an outstanding meal at The Waterfront Ale House with the New York BBQ Lover's Meetup Group. Sam Barbieri and his cook Ralph really put out an incredible feast for us. Going to the Waterfront Ale House was a bit of a departure for the group as we usually focus on "BBQ joints" and Sam describes the Ale House as a "restaurant that serves food with a small selection of barbecue."

First up was chicken bacon poppers. Jalapeno peppers filled with cheese, wrapped by thin chicken breast and encased in house smoked bacon and glazed with barbecue sauce. How could you go wrong?

These were just fantastic. I could have eaten a dozen of these, but unfortunately I had to share with my other group members.

I don't know if it's just me, but jalapenos don't seem to have the heat they used to. Most of these jalapenos were very mild, so much so that some of the folks at the table thought the "green stuff" was spinach.

Up next were some house double smoked bacon BLTs and margarita buffalo shrimp. Now I was in heaven. The margarita buffalo shrimp is marinated in Sam's own house made hot sauce. Now that is some good stuff. These shrimp were huge, spicy and sweet at the same time. Again, I didn't want to share. I wonder if Sam will share this recipe.

The BLT's were a bit a of a miss. The dominant flavor in this sandwich was the bun. A great bun that it is, I still prefer the fillings to dominate the flavor of my sandwiches.

The filling that were there were tasty, but the bacon was overcooked. I really liked the sauce, but I didn't get a chance to really explore it. Was it a home made Russian dressing or more of a tarter sauce? Maybe one of the other members of the group can tell me.

This was followed by barbecue bologna sandwiches. Sam and Ralph take Boar's Head bologna and smoke it in house.

I have to admit that I approached these sandwiches a bit cautiously. It's been a long time since I've had bologna and the last time someone gave me a "smoked bologna" sandwich it made me gag. Childhood memories don't help when it comes to my relationship with bologna. It was always the "loser" sandwich as I was growing up.

Not that it happened here! The smoked bologna was flavorful and moist. I really enjoyed these, although in this case, I would have preferred to lose one layer of meat. Sometimes the texture of bologna is a little tough for me to take.

This post is getting a bit long and I'm still not done with the appetizers. More tomorrow. While you're waiting, get your butt over to the Waterfront Ale House, either in Brooklyn or on Second Avenue in Manhattan. Trust me you'll be glad you did.

Dinner at RUB: We're Done

Let's finish up our dinner at RUB. There's "Q"ing to do!

Deep Fried Oreos - nothing like the greasy state fair staple. At RUB they rock.
The recipe for this is available in Paul Kirk and Ardie Davis' new book; America's Best BBQ.
It's right there on page 177!

Next up was Bacon Chocolate Chip cookies. These were interesting and the bacon provides a saltiness to counteract the sweetness of the chocolate, but if I didn't know there was bacon in them I would never have guessed it.

After dinner Celeste gave tours of the kitchen. Here some folks check out the action.

Take a look at the inside of the holding pit. Meat is cooked in one of the 3 other J&R Pits and transferred to another J&R Pit for holding before it is sliced and served to the guests. One thing I learned during this tour is that everything at RUB is sliced, pulled or chopped to order. There's no pre-portioned baggies of pulled pork or chicken. That's a lot of chopping!

And I leave you with a picture of the point, or deckle or the fatty upper muscle of the brisket. This sumptuous meat will be cubed, re-seasoned and re-smoked to become burnt ends.

Dinner at RUB; Part 2

Let's talk about dinner. I think we had everything on the menu except for the duck.

The Pickled Pig made the trip with us to visit RUB

In-house Pastrami, in-house Sausage and Pulled Pork.

The sausage is very similar to Kreuz, but better. The pastrami could give Katz a run for its money and the pulled pork was simply fantastic.

Turkey, Brisket and Ham.

I love ham anytime and this didn't disappoint. The turkey was moist and flavorful and a vast improvement from the last time I had it. It has inspired me. I'm smoking a turkey this weekend. And what can I say about the brisket? As I've said a few times in the blog, brisket is not my favorite meat. A long time friend and former chef once told me that if you don't like something, you've never had it cooked properly. Well, I like brisket now.

Ribs - Sorry but I don't have any pictures of the chicken.

What can I say about the ribs - perfect as presented. No sauce. Moist, tender and flavorful. As Eric Johnson from Mr. Bobo’s Traveling BBQ All Stars says,"These ribs would take any competition."

Sides: Collard Greens, Cornbread, Onion Strings fried in lard, Potato Salad and Baked Beans.

The onion strings are fried in lard and totally addictive. Sweet, salty and crispy; how can you go wrong? I didn't get any cornbread, but my wife and a long time friend raved about how it was more cake like than the traditional gritty bread. Celeste, manager and hostess for the evening, told us that she sometimes uses it for French Toast. The potato salad was one of the best I've had in a restaurant. I even liked the collard greens.

I tell you folks, you gotta get to RUB soon. Everything was so good.

Dinner at RUB

Another great meet up with the New York BBQ Lovers Meetup Group at RUB. Great bunch of people. Great fun and fantastic food. If you're looking to learn about NY BBQ, join us.

Owner Andrew Fischel and Pitmaster Scott address the group explaining what we're going to be eating and how it's prepared. It was a great start to the night.

I can't tell you how good this meal was. Andrew, Scott, Matt, Celeste, Molly and all the rest of the staff outdid themselves the other night. You have to get to RUB. Trust me.

Let's start with the appetizers..

Frito Pie or WhiteTrash Nachos


Burnt Ends - By FAR the best in the city

And some chicken wings. A great start to an auspicious meal.

Photos used in this post are used by permission of Kevin Lincoln, founder NY BBQ Lovers Meetup Group

Dinner at RUB

OK, boys and girls, tonight we feast! MY wife and I are heading into Manhattan to meet up with members of the NY BBQ Lover's Meetup Group for a night of bacchanalian revelry at RUB BBQ!

Look at this menu which will be shared family style...

Appetizers:

• BBQ Chicken Wings
• Bacon Chunks; house cured and triple smoked Berkshire black pork belly bacon
• Frito Pie
• Burnt Ends

Dinner:

• The Taste Of The Baron; tasting of beef, pork, ham, pastrami, turkey, chicken, sausage and topped with racks of ribs.
• Onion Strings
• Beans
• Greens
• Potato Salad
• Corn Bread

Desserts:

• Deep Fried Oreos
• Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies

Photgraph of RUB courtesy of Pigtrip. Used with permission.

New York BBQ Lovers

Click here to check out
The New York BBQ Lovers Meetup Group!

Astute readers of this blog may have noticed a few changes in the links on the side of the page. I've removed a few dead links and added two new BBQ forums for your enjoyment.

One link that I want to bring to your attention is The New York BBQ Lovers Meet Up Group. This group is run by a great guy Kevin Lincoln who introduced himself to me and Matt Fisher at the Big Apple BBQ Block Party. This group is a very friendly bunch who are working hard to enjoy and explore the NY barbecue scene. Check them out.