Best BBQ in New York City?

The Zagat survey is out for 2011 and as usual it has some surprising conclusions. Brooklyn's restaurants have stepped up in a big way, but none so surprising, is that Fette Sau has been crowned the best barbecue in NYC. I am shocked. It's been awhile since I've been out to Fette Sau, but to me, it barely squeaked in to the top ten. Looks like a road trip is due.

Some other interesting items from this year's Zagat...

• The Health Department’s new letter-grading system is popular, with 83% of our surveyors approving of it. (New York recently switched to a letter graded system for the cleanliness of restaurants instead of the old numbers based ratings)
• 42% of surveyors think that the government should require restaurants to reduce the amount of salt in their dishes, but 49% oppose a tax on sugary drinks. (the Bloomberg administration has toyed with requiring restaurants to lower the amount of salt in their food and the Governor's office floated a tax on sugary drinks this year.)
• 81% of surveyors feel it’s acceptable to take pictures of their food, but 64% say it’s “rude and inappropriate” to text, e-mail, tweet or talk on a mobile phone at a restaurant. (FANTASTIC NEWS! I always feel uncomfortable taking pictures of food in restaurants. Now I know it's OK and I'm not bothering the other diners. Whew!)
• Surveyors rated overall hospitality in the dining scene a 17, up from 15 during pre-recession times.
• The average cost of a meal in New York is $41.76, a marginal decrease from $41.81 last year. That’s the first decrease since the post–September 11 slump in 2002. (I don't see this at all. Maybe food costs are down in the upper echelon, but in the restaurants I visit prices have been creeping up steadily.)

Photograph of a Fette Sau platter courtesy of Pig Trip - Your guide to BBQ joints in Boston New York and everywhere in between. Not used with permission but I hope Pig Trip won't mind.

The RUB Rapid Fire Challenge

A couple of days before the event, our sponsor RUB BBQ with Pat LaFrieda Meats put together a new challenge for the teams; The Rub Rapid Fire Challenge. At the last turn in for Grilin' On The Bay, the chef's choice category, the cooks were given a mystery protein to cook and submit to a new team of judges.

It was indeed a challenge as our cooks were presented with an untrimmed prime hangar steak for the protein and judged by Andrew Fischel, Scott Smith, both of RUB BBQ, Nick Solares of Serious Eats and Gary Goldblatt of Pigtrip.

The Rub Rapid Fire Challenge Top 10 Results:
10. Josh Ozersky
9. Ma's Cue Crew
8. Smoke On The Water
7. Eat A Donut
6. Ribs Within
5. Purple Turtle Caterers
4. Wildwood BBQ
3. Porkaholics
2. Smoke In Da Eye
1. iQue

This Pig Can Fly

From your buddy BrooklynQ aka WhiteTrash BBQ: This is appearing in today's Boston Herald and was written by Kerry J. Byrne. It's a nice plug for fellow Get Your Grill On author, KCBS Certified Barbecue Judge and friend Garry Goldblatt and his outstanding website, PigTrip.net.

This Pig Can Fly

Barbecue aficionado Gary Goldblatt has logged a lot of miles - and calories - since launching PigTrip.net last summer.

The Web site offers Goldblatt’s review of virtually every barbecue joint in the Northeast, 111 locations to date, with about four added each month. If a restaurant’s not on his site yet, it probably will be soon.

The site began as a “labor of love” because “I couldn’t find a comprehensive guide to local barbecue,” said Goldblatt, a technical writer by day and Kansas City Barbecue Society certified judge. In addition to reviews, PigTrip.net offers a barbecue blog, news and Goldblatt’s “ramblings” about the best and worst of Northeastern barbecue.

Where’s the region’s best BBQ? Goldblatt, a Framingham resident and lifelong Boston sports fan, laments that it’s found not here in the Hub, but at Rub in New York City.