Grilling In The Big Apple

With the Fourth of July rapidly approaching and the barbecue season about to hit the high water mark, it's time to answer that age old question, "Where can I barbecue in New York City?" And the answer is, "Lots of places." NYC has over 30 parks where grilling is legal.

Some of my favorite spots in Brooklyn include:

• Manhattan Beach, which has two grilling locations, Oriental Boulevard & Hastings Street and Northeast of Promenade, median adjacent to parking lot (no amplified sound permitted)
• Red Hook Park, Bay Street near Columbia Street
• Prospect Park, which tops all the Brooklyn parks with six locations, but my favorite is by the band shell

In the Bronx, I recommend:

• Crotona Park, Crotona Park East & Charlotte Street (Indian Lake)
• Ferry Point Park, at both the north and south ends of the park
• Van Cortlandt Park, with two locations, my favorite being In front of the pool, Broadway and 242 Street

In Manhattan check out:

• East River Park, Along FDR Drive at East 10th Street but a special permit is required, but I've never seen it enforced.
• Wards Island Park, East River & Hell Gate (near the children's playground)

In Queens pay a visit to Alley Pond Park, Winchester Boulevard & Grand Central Parkway and in Staten Island I frequent Franklin D. Roosevelt Boardwalk and Beach at Midland Avenue and Lincoln Avenue

Of course these are just some recommendations, you can check out the entire list of grilling spots in New York City at the Park's Department webpage.

Remember; barbecuing or grilling is allowed in designated areas ONLY. No barbecuing permitted under trees. All coals and litter must be disposed in trash receptacles. Please remember to extinguish all coals before dumping them into a trash can. No extra fires please. And if you're going with a group of 20 people or more, the city requires that you get a $25 permit 21 days in advance.

Wintermarket NYC

Sorry for the late notice, but this sounds like a great place to go on Sunday before you head over to the Manhattan Chili Take Down. This evetn alert came to me from NonsenseNYC.

Wintermarket

New York's first gathering of all sustainable food purveyors from this region. There will be foragers, beekeepers, bakers, farmers, butchers, cheese mongers, fishmongers, and chefs. The chefs are offering free tastings of dishes made with all sustainable
ingredients and are supplying recipes so you can make the dish at home.

If we can do this in the middle of December, it proves that New Yorkers can eat food produced sustainably from this region (within 500 miles of NYC) year-round!

You can find out a lot more about Wintermarket by clicking here.

New Market Building
South Street, between Beekman Street, in the South Street Seaport,
Manhattan
11am-4pm free to the public although there is a $5 suggested donation

BBQ Restaurants

This just in to my mailbox... (Even if it is a bit of old news, it's great news! Congratulations Andrew and Paul)

RUB BBQ Set to Spice Up Las Vegas This Fall With First Location Outside of New York City

RUB to Preview Cuisine at All-Star Charity Tournament on July 5 During the World Series of Poker® at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino®

LAS VEGAS (July 2, 2007) New York City's highly-acclaimed RUB BBQ will add some extra heat to Las Vegas early this fall with its new location inside the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino. This will be the restaurant's second and only venue outside of the New York original.

The 9,000-square-foot RUB BBQ at the Rio will feature championship level barbecue created by Paul Kirk, aka The Kansas City Baron of Barbecue and The Ambassador of Barbecue. The original RUB BBQ in New York opened to much praise and immediate popularity in 2005 and has remained ahead of the growing trend in barbecue restaurants cropping up in major cities across the country.

We're excited to introduce the RUB BBQ concept to Las Vegas and to the West Coast, as the demand for high-quality barbecue continues to grow throughout the country, said Andrew Fischel, owner and creator of RUB BBQ. When we looked at where we would open our next location outside of New York, Las Vegas was a no-brainer. With the sheer amount of visitors the city sees every day, combined with the lack of traditional barbecue on or near The Strip, the Rio was clearly the perfect home for us.

The menu at RUB BBQ will satisfy any level of a barbecue connoisseur's taste buds, with standard dishes such as Barbequed Ribs prepared St. Louis-style, Barbequed Sausage and Pastrami prepared the old-fashioned way, slow-cooked over wood in pits for 14 hours. Specialty menu items include Burnt Ends, smoked twice until crispy and lightly sauced; Szechwan Smoked Duck; and a The Taste of the Baron that includes a tasting of beef, pork, ham, pastrami, turkey, chicken, sausage and is topped off with a quarter rack of ribs. All selections are prepared fresh daily so once they’re gone, they're gone.

Located on the second level of the Masquerade Village inside the Rio, RUB BBQ will serve lunch and dinner seven days a week and will feature live bands on the weekends, from a variety of musical genres.

It is with great pleasure that we welcome the deliciously famous RUB BBQ to the variety of restaurant favorites at the Rio, said Marilyn Winn, president of the Rio All-Suite Hotel Casino. "We truly believe RUB will offer our guests the best in BBQ cuisine with an unforgettable atmosphere."

In addition to frequent appearances by Chef Paul Kirk, Chef Walter "Skip" Steele will be the resident "pitmaster" at the new Las Vegas location. Steele comes to Las Vegas from St. Louis where he co-owned the popular Super Smokers BBQ restaurant chain. Steele has spent years perfecting his barbecue craft and has scores of accolades to show for it including numerous awards from the Illinois State Championship and the Award of Excellence from the National Barbecue Association. Steele has also competed and placed in the famous Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Contest for more than 10 years.

Introducing its cuisine to Las Vegas for the very first time, RUB BBQ will cater the celebrity/VIP room for the World Series of Poker's Ante Up for Africa All-Star Benefit taking place at the Rio on July 5. Ante Up For Africa is being held to raise awareness and funds for the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. The event is slated to include some of the biggest names in poker and entertainment including Don Cheadle, Annie Duke, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and many more. The Ante Up For Africa poker tournament kicks off at 4pm. In addition to catering the All-Star Benefit, RUB BBQ will also tempt the palates of media by filling the press room with its signature dishes.

"What better place to introduce our award-winning barbecue to Las Vegas than at the Rio during the World Series of Poker? It just doesn't get any better than this", Fischel said.

RUB BBQ was designed by Nevada-based Cypress Architecture and Design. The 230-seat restaurant, which includes a 30-seat bar area, will be a modern take on the industrial loft look allowing guests to enjoy their barbecue favorites (as well as some mouth-watering RUB originals) in an open, high-energy atmosphere. Wall accents of deep, fiery reds will contrast with the weathered metals and will be set near aged brick and warm rustic wood floors and ceiling beams. Combined these elements will create a sophisticated, yet relaxed environment to experience a taste of Americana.

An exact opening date for RUB BBQ will be announced later this summer.

BBQ Events: The Big Apple BBQ Block Party

One word for this year's event: GO!

They've fixed the crowd problems. Oh sure the lines are long, but the wait is worth it. The Bubba pass, if it's still available, gets you behind the tables and into the rarefied world of the express line. There's more than enough food. The bands are great.

It's a unique experience, you'll never be able to taste so much world class barbecue in one place at one time. This year, it's worth the trip.

Be sure to check out Ubon's pulled pork, Hill Country's beef ribs and my new friend Chiles from the Proclamation Stew Crew and their outstanding Brunswick Stew.

Photo of WhiteTrash BBQ cutting beef ribs courtesy of my friend Matt over at The Hampton Smoker.

How to Pig Out at the Big Apple BBQ

Here's the game plan. There's no need to rewrite it, just read it on Grub Street.

OK. I should be there already. I'll be in the Hill Country booth. See you later.

BBQ Legends: Garry Roark

Here's a story from The Clarion Ledger of Mississippi about Garry Roark. You'll have the opportunity to meet Gary at the Big Apple BBQ Block party over the weekend.

Trafficking barbecue in the Big Apple: Pitmaster relishes opportunity

By Sherry Lucas
slucas@clarionledger.com

Yazoo City pitmaster Garry Roark has been bottling Ubon's "The Champion's Choice" barbecue sauce since the late 1980s and has had the restaurant Ubon's in Yazoo City for three years. Meanwhile though, his tasty flavors are spreading much farther afield than the closest Boston butt. And that's partly how he learned his never-say-never lesson.

"I said a few years ago, really, I would never drive in New York. ... I always wanted to go but I said, I'm not going to drive. And my first experience was pulling 16-foot barbecue trailer in all that traffic.

"I tell you what, you talk about country come to town - man! It scared the puddin' outta me."

This week, he'll do it again, for the third time taking Mississippi barbecue to New York.

He's part of the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party Saturday and Sunday at Madison Square Park. More than 120,000 New Yorkers queue up for 'cue.

The party offers a taste of America's barbecue from more than a dozen of the country's top pitmasters. Among others, they hail from Texas, the Carolinas, New York, Memphis, Boston, Decatur, Ala., and of course, Yazoo City.

Roark's 3,500 pounds of pulled pork and 1,500 pounds of cole slaw will convert scores to Mississippi barbecue. As Roark says, "We cook some hawg."

ROCK STARS

Third time may be a charm in some circles but to hear tell, that first trip to the festival had some kind of halo on it.

At the cooks' meeting that night at Blue Smoke in New York, during the team introductions Roark shared his first impressions, too: "I come from a town that doesn't have but 13,000 people in it. And I said, I saw more cars than that on the way in this morning."

He told a reporter the next day and that and a picture in his signature straw hat went into papers across the country, including this one.

There was no shortage of support from the "home team" either. The first one in line for barbecue was a boy from Yazoo City. Folks in line would holler out "I'm from Wesson" and "I'm from Vicksburg," Roark's daughter, Leslie Roark Scott said.

"The first year we went, we felt like we were rock stars," Scott said. The glow followed them to dinner at a restaurant in Greenwich Village where they were so wrapped up in their own cool quotient it wasn't until the entree they noticed Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker at the next table.

PLACE AN ORDER

"You know, in your hometown, you're not treated like a celebrity. You're just an ol' boy from around the corner," Roark said.

"Go to New York," Scott said, "and they're asking for Dad's autograph."

Not only that. If traveling in the area, say within 50 or 100 miles, they've detoured to Yazoo City to say hi. And place an order, of course.

Photo of Garry at the Big Apple Block Party courtesy of Gothamist.

BBQ Events: The Big Apple BBQ Block Party

What are you doing this weekend? Me, I'm helping out the fine folks over at Hill Country BBQ as they make their debut on the New York barbecue scene at the 5th Annual Big Apple BBQ Block Party.

The Big Apple BBQ Block Party will be on June 9 and 10 from Noon to 6:00 pm each day. You'll be able to feast on barbecue from some of the greatest Pit Masters in the United States. Bryan Bracewell, Rob Richter, Gary Roark, Chris Lilly, Mike Mills, Joe Duncan and a bunch of the other masters of the Que will be cooking for your enjoyment.

This is an incredible event held each year to raise money to benefit the Madison Square Park Conservancy.

This event is a lot like Times Square on New Year's Eve. It will be packed. A word to the wise - get there EARLY! You can pre-purchase your food tickets on-line, but be prepared to wait for the food. You'll be glad you did.

A Taste of Chinatown

A couple of weekends ago, Chinatown New York, played host to its annual Taste of Chinatown party. For $1 or $2 a plate, depending on the restaurant, you were given a sample of the foods that make Chinatown great.

The vast majority of participating restaurants were located on Mott Street with a few scattered about the side streets. The best food was closer to Canal Street. The closer you got to Chatham Square, the food offerings became more and more mundane, almost mall like with samples of sweet and sour chicken, general Tso's chicken, pork lomein etc.

This was a great culinary adventure. Dim Sum, Chow Fun, Peking Duck, Pork Buns, all sorts of noodles, meats, fishes and poultry. It was all there for the taking. I tried all sorts of foods without even knowing what some of them were. I didn't care. I was here to eat. I even tried fish balls. Yup, they were as awful as the name suggests. I did however draw the line at vegetarian duck. That just sounds nasty. I just don't want to know what goes into vegetarian duck!

The best food, IMHO, was found at 70 Mott Street. They had some shrimp chive dumplings that were out of this world. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures. Another great food option was the Peking duck at another place just off Canal. Damn, it was good. I should have paid attention to the names of the restaurants, but the crowds made that near impossible. And I was too busy eating!

It had been a while since I'd been to Chinatown and I forgot how good and cheap the food could be. I've got to get down there more often. But even Chinatown has it's share of lousy restaurants. Here's one that tries to fit into the neighborhood, but it's just another tourist trap. Thank God my kids have learned to stay away from places like that.