Craving BBQ in NYC

A few years ago my husband and I had this cute little apartment in the Upper East Side. We loved the area, we loved the space and my husband loved the big, wide fire escape landing outside our kitchen window.

When you are in the city, surrounded by concrete everything, it’s nice to have a space for a plant or two (though really, you’re not supposed to put anything on your fire escape so that you can escape freely…you know, in case of a fire). But my husband didn’t want plants. This Midwestern guy wanted a grill. Specifically a small Smoky Joe to grill the occasional burger or two, or anything else his meat-eating-BBQ-grilling-loving heart desired.

One day, on a weekend much like this one, where it was long and hot, he decided to celebrate like most America was, and surely his Middle America was, by grilling. So, he stocked up on coal, matches, and lighter fluid and worked on starting the little grill up on our fire escape.

At first I was laughing about the irony of it all, until I saw a big, tall flame coming out of the grill, followed by thick smoke.

My husband said it was just to get the little grill started, but I was nervous about the neighbors, especially the one upstairs.

Needless to say, just as my husband happily grilled his first few ribs and burgers, our doorbell rang. It was the management office.

Seems that an old lady from the building across the court yard from our little grilling-fest was alarmed and called the office, threatening to call the fire department.

My husband explained what he was doing and even offered the management representative a burger, which she refused but allowed us to continue to grill as long as we were careful.

I however was so nervous from the whole experience that we never grilled from our NYC fire escape again.

This is the tale of many New Yorkers, especially around this time of year, one of the very rare times we mourn not having the yard with the grill, next to the cooler supplying us with endless beverages.

So, what do you do if in NYC and looking for some great BBQ? Well, you can either crash a friend’s house in the burbs or even in Brooklyn or Queens (but it’s really only worth it to travel if they will feed you till you are about to burst) or you can check out the many fabulous BBQ joints in the city. There are tons, too many to list here, so I will just guide you to a few of our favorite places.

Dinosaur BBQ in Harlem is pretty delish. Located close to the river, and only steps from the pier off 125th street, it’s a great place to go, feed, and then take a stroll afterwards. Only downfall is that the lines are ridiculously long and the wait, even with a reservation, can be annoying if you are super hungry. Weekends are the worst, especially on holiday weekends, but if you make a reservation, and go with an open mind and a willingness to go with the flow, you’ll have amazing BBQ choices to reward yourself with after.

Blue Smoke in Gramercy is a Danny Myers success, and another place where you can enjoy your BBQ with some music, in this case, Jazz. Expensive, difficult to get in to, but worth the experience. My favorite dishes there are theirs are the sweet potato fries, fried chicken and rib samplers. The people watching is pretty awesome too if you’re into that sorta of thing, but I personally just really like the food and their specialty drinks.

Hill Country BBQ in Chelsea has the most massive orders I have ever seen. They have a pretty unique way of having you place your order – you fill out a menu card, then go to the counter and submit it – which I wasn’t a fan of  (because it’s a traditional way of doing it in Texas apparently, and I’m from Brooklyn, so there ya go) and let my husband handle, but the service is quick and the food is finger-licking-good! Their baked goods are not to be missed, and their pork chops a bit hard to come by, as it seems these are ordered plenty too (so give them a try). They also showcase live music shows, which is where their slogan “Music for Your Mouth” is based on. I haven’t caught a performance there yet, but their food sure makes me feel like singing!

Rub BBQ in Chelsea is not for those looking for celebrity-sightings, or musical entertainment. This is all about the food, and my favorite to order is the BBQ Meat Platters. How do I describe it other than to call it a massive serving of awesomeness. In short, it is the best BBQ that Rubb has to offer in once massive dish. Even my family of 5 could not finish it all (yay for left overs!). The BBQ Chicken also a favorite.

The list is short, I know, but really, these are my most memorable BBQ experiences not involving a wall of fire blazing on my fire escape. Hope you check them out.

And do tell, which are your favorite BBQ joints in the NY area?

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