Dinosaur Bar-B-Que – Brooklyn, NY

November 2, 2015November 12, 2015 / Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Name: Dinosaur BBQ
Date: 10/9/15
Address: 604 Union St, Brooklyn, NY 11215
Order: Pork and brisket combo platter, Ribs and sausage combo platter (link to menu)
Price: ~$40 for Boomsauce, Free for the Barbecue Bros!

Speedy: When you have two Barbecue Bros in your wedding party, it’s required that the dinner the night before the wedding is at a barbecue joint. Seriously – it’s in the contract.

Dinosaur BBQ is a joint that I’ve heard about for several years now. Basically when anyone I meet who has lived in New York City at any point in their life hears that I enjoy barbecue, they say “dude – you’ve got to check out Dinosaur BBQ.” The fact that this was my first trip shows how seriously I took that advice, but now, here I am.

Monk: On a Friday night in Brooklyn, Dinosaur was packed. And you could tell they were interested in keeping folks moving in and out. As soon as our table finished up and checks were paid for, we started to get stares from the wait staff and bus boys as a means to get us to leave. Not the friendliest thing in the world but whatever, on to the barbecue.

Speedy: The first thing I dug into, as usual, was the pork. And it was actually pretty good! It was tender, pulled well, and had just a bit of smoke flavor. In Lexington, this pork would be average, but average Lexington pork is very good. So for New York, this was quite good.

Monk: The brisket was thinly sliced, pre-sauced, and generally was not up to snuff.

Speedy: Monk is being kind. The brisket was terrible. I should note that it’s very clear that we got the flat side of the brisket and it was super dry. Meat from the point may have been better, but I’ll never know, as I’d never order it again.

Monk: Speedy and I did later find out that the folks at the other table of our party who ordered family style got the point and it was apparently much better than we got. Lame. Would have been nice to be asked if we wanted fatty or moist, but as such we weren’t given the option.

Speedy: The ribs were my favorite part of the meal. They were St. Louis cut and lightly glazed. They were cooked well, allowing for a nice, clean bite. There was good flavor, with a nice rub, and the meat was the star, as it should be. I have no complaints about the ribs.

Monk: I don’t recall much about the sausage other than enjoying it, but my memory could be foggy from spending 9 days in New York eating and drinking my way through the city. As for the sides, as with many dishes I had that week, it was very heavy handed with the salt. Other than the salt, not much stood out.

Speedy: Overall, this meal was better than I expected. I think as long as you stay away from the brisket, you’ll be getting a solid, if not spectacular meal from Dinosaur BBQ.

Ratings:
Atmosphere – 1 hog
Pork – 3.5 hogs
Brisket – 1.5 hogs
Ribs – 4 hogs
Sausage – 3 hogs
Sides – 2.5 hog
Overall – 3.5 hogs

Arrogant Swine – Brooklyn, NY

October 26, 2015March 6, 2018 / Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Name: Arrogant Swine
Date: 10/6/15
Address: 173 Morgan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11237
Order: 1 lb East Carolina whole hog, 1 lb Western NC outside brown shoulder, 1 lb spare ribs, Tikka Masala Sausage, Greensboro Pitmaster Chicken Wings, red vinegar slaw, collards, mac and cheese (link)
Price: ~$120

Monk: Having followed for the past year Tyson Ho’s excellent blog series on Serious Eats on the opening of his barbecue restaurant in Brooklyn, Arrogant Swine was my number one priority while we were in New York for 9 days in early October. That plus the fact that he was doing eastern NC whole hog in the middle of Brooklyn and that his joint was also advertised as a beer hall made it an easy choice.

Speedy: And what a fantastic atmosphere it had! Contrary to every other place in NY, the restaurant was spacious and comfortable, and had a large outdoor seating area. We started our meal at the bar (Monk and crew had some beers and smoked wings while I dealt with a closed subway line) before ordering. A great beer (and whiskey) selection was a big help in allowing the group to wait for me. Anyhow, once I arrived, we put in our order.

Monk: As a nod to cracklins, or crispy hog skin chopped into whole hog, Arrogant Swine serves their chopped pork with a layer of pork rinds. Which is a little bit of a curious choice if you ask me and it took me a minute to realize the pork was underneath it. Once I waded through the pork rinds, I found the vinegary chopped pork to be a decent version of NC whole hog but not quite as good as I had hoped or expected.

Speedy: The western style outside brown was also a little different than you’d find in NC. It came chopped, though I’d consider it more cubed. The pork almost looked more like burnt ends. The flavor was pretty OK, but the cubes made it seem a bit less tender than typical. Overall, I think this really missed the mark. Sorry, Tyson.

Monk: The tikka misala sausage was made in house and was definitely one of the favorites of our group, though there isn’t much of a link to NC either in the sausage or the fact that its Indian spiced.

Speedy: The spare rib was big, meaty, and smoked well. They weren’t over cooked, so you could get a good bit, and the seasoning and sauce was a good compliment to, but did not overpower, the meat. Overall, I think this was better than the pork, which is odd for an NC ‘cue joint. If I were to return, I’d focus on the sausage and the ribs.

Monk: The Greensboro Pit Master wings are a nod to the Vietnamese pitmasters who do much of the smoking in the Piedmont joints that still smoke over wood – notably Stamey’s in Greensboro. While a nice tip of the hat, the sticky and sweet sauce on the wings isn’t really reminiscent of anything related to NC barbecue traditions. In any case, a nice idea and decently executed wing.

Speedy: I thought they were well smoked, but I didn’t love the sauce – a little sweet on my end. In terms of sides, I think I only had the slaw, which I enjoyed, even though there were raisins in there for some reason, which I can’t figure out.

Monk: Oh yeah! Even after we got an explanation from Tyson that just chopped cabbage and carrots in vinegar wouldn’t cut it in NYC, raisins still didn’t make sense to me. Another curious choice. Shout out to the waffle mac and cheese served with a side of queso, though.

Speedy: While eating, we did chat with Tyson a good bit and he was very cool. We talked about some of the differences between his joint and what we typically see in NC, and he was very aware of that. As he put it, he wanted to take the unique pieces on NC ‘cue and amplify them, which I think he did. While doing that, I think it lost some of the things I love about NC ‘cue, but it’s still better than most of the “barbecue” I’ve eaten in the city.

Monk: As an experience, Arrogant Swine was definitely worth trekking it out to Bushwick and I only wish we had been able to go a little earlier to hang on the outdoor patio and drink more of their great selection of beers. As a barbecue restaurant, Arrogant Swine was a little more of a mixed bag with some items more successful than others. In any case, I would definitely go back to Arrogant Swine again and will continue to follow its development, since a joint that cooks whole hog over wood (particularly in NYC) is a rarity these days.

Ratings:
Atmosphere – 4 hogs
Pork (eastern) – 3 hogs
Pork (western) – 2 hogs
RIbs – 3.5 hogs
Sausage – 3.5 hogs
Wings – 2.5 hogs
Sides – 2.5 hogs
Overall – 3 hogs

Henry’s Smokehouse – Greenville, SC

October 12, 2015October 13, 2015 / Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Name: Henry’s Smokehouse
Date: 9/26/15
Address: 1842 Woodruff Rd, Greenville, SC 29607
Order: Pulled pork and rib combo, fries (link to menu)
Price: $10

Speedy: Long ago, in my pre-Barbecue Bros days, I used to do quite a bit of work in Greenville, SC – a very fine city. One of my go-to lunch spots was Henry’s Smokehouse on Wade Hampton Blvd. Despite being a classic SC joint, I remembered it fondly, so when I stumbled upon the Woodruff Road location, I knew I had to try it.

Monk: Like Speedy, I too had spent a fair amount of my pre-Barbecue Bros days in Greenville but sadly had not checked out Henry’s. I’m sure I was never very far from either location, since I spent a lot of time on or near both Wade Hampton and Woodruff Road.

Speedy: This location looks quite different than the Wade Hampton locale. And by that I mean it looks clean and modern. Maybe that takes away some of the mystique for some but overall, I liked this location better.

I remember loving Henry’s ribs while not being too enamored with the pork, but a $10 combo meal made the choice to get both pretty easy. And because I didn’t feel like even pretending to be healthy, I just went with a double portion of fries.

Well, turns out the pork was even better than I remembered. Tender with nice spots bits of brown thrown in, I did add a little bit of sauce for flavor (they have both mustard and a spicy vinegar/tomato sauce; I obviously went with the latter). I was definitely glad I ordered it again, and would recommend it. It’s not the best I’ve ever had but it was good, especially for South Carolina (burn).

Monk: …sick burn. So the pork was dry with optional table sauces? How does the spicy vinegar tomato compare to a NC sauce?

Speedy: Not dry really – I just wanted a little more flavor. And the sauce is a little spicier and sweeter, but lacks the tang that I like.

The ribs were what I thought they were, which is a good thing. Meaty and perfectly seasoned. My only complaint is that this batch was a tad overdone, but not so much as to ruin them – the bone did not fall out. They’re served wet, but not overly sauced. Henry’s is definitely a great place for ribs.

Monk: Speedy, Mrs. Monk, and I almost went to Henry’s on our way back from Atlanta a few months ago before ultimately deciding not to. Based on Speedy’s review, I hope to make it to either location next time.

Speedy: Overall, Henry’s Smokehouse is a solid old-timey joint. You pretty much know what you’re getting coming in and I’d recommend it to anyone passing through.

Ratings:
Atmosphere – 3 hogs
Pork – 3 hogs
Ribs – 3.5 hogs
Sides – N/A
Overall – 3.5 hogs

McCall’s Bar-B-Q and Seafood – Goldsboro, NC

September 21, 2015September 21, 2015 / Barbecue Bros / 1 Comment

Name: McCall’s Bar-B-Que & Seafood
Date: 9/4/15
Address: 139 Millers Chapel Rd, Goldsboro, NC 27534
Order: Pork barbecue sandwich with slaw on top, hush puppies, and drink (link to menu)
Price: $7.59

Monk: A little over two years ago on our way to Atlantic Beach on NC’s Crystal Coast, I had my first and only experience at Wilber’s Barbecue in Goldsboro. Looking back on that meal, I could have probably rated it a little higher than I did back then at 4 hogs. As much as I would have loved to revisit Wilber’s on a return trip back to Atlantic Beach this past Labor Day, there were a couple other barbecue joints on highway 70 that I decided to try instead. McCall’s BBQ & Seafood was the choice on the drive out this time, just a half mile past Wilber’s in a huge white barn.

Speedy: Monk – before you go any further, I just want to interject. Is there ever a case when you have a hankering for good ole ‘cue and the solution is going to a place that says, “& Seafood” in the name?

Monk: You know, that’s probably a fair point. But even if its not explicitly in the name, several places down east serve seafood along with barbecue. Fuller’s Old Fashion BBQ in Lumberton was another example that turned out pretty well for me.

We were in between lunch and dinner, so I went with a snack of just a pork sandwich and hush puppies. When going eastern style, I prefer to have the mayo slaw served on my sandwiches. And I don’t expect to have a lot of smoke or bark since its coming from a whole hog with the different cuts mixed together. The sandwich was very moist and flavorful and even though I wasn’t exactly hungry, I ate it up very quickly. A minor quibble would have been the lack of spice, since I didn’t grab any Texas Pete packets on my way out.

The hush puppies weren’t as sweet as I liked but were hot out of the fryer. I had no major complaints.

You’ll see soon that I tried another place down the road in Kinston later on this trip, which I will spoil slightly and say that I enjoyed a little more than this sandwich from McCall’s BBQ & Seafood which was by no means bad. However, next time I’m on the highway 70 corridor passing through Goldsboro or Kinston, I’ll likely opt for Wilber’s over both.

Ratings:
Atmosphere – N/A
Pork – 3 hogs
Sides – 2 hogs
Overall – 2.5 hogs

Barbecue Bros

Barbecue Travels in NC & Beyond

Speedy

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que – Brooklyn, NY

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Arrogant Swine – Brooklyn, NY

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Henry’s Smokehouse – Greenville, SC

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McCall’s Bar-B-Q and Seafood – Goldsboro, NC

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