The 22nd Annual Big Apple Barbecue Block Party

When: June 12th-13th, Noon 'til Six
Where: NYC, 26th b/w Park and Madison

Admission is free.
Drinks and Merchandise may be purchased with coupons.
The Proceeds Benefit the Madison Park Conservancy and VH1 Save The Music Foundation.

Who's Cooking?

Chris Lilly, Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Que, Decatur, AL
Otis Walker, Smoki O's Barbecue, St. Louis, MO
Paul Kirk, KC Baron of Barbecue, Kansas City, MO
Kenny Callaghan, Blue Smoke, New York, NY
Ed Mitchell, Mitchell's Ribs, Chicken, & BBQ, Wilson, NC
Mike Mills, Memphis Championship Barbecue, Las Vegas, NV and 17th Street Bar & Grill, Murphysboro, IL
Scott Roberts, The Salt Lick, Driftwood, TX

I was going to post on this. Looks like I picked a great weekend to go to NYC. Gary, I will take pictures... =)

If any Chicago Chowhounds will be in NYC this weekend, and would like to meet up for the BBQ Block Party, please let me know!

Char

Be sure to try Ed Mitchell's. he does an outrageously good eatern NC whole style Hog.

Some of you know that I work for a bank handling troubled loans. About ten years ago, i was doing the same for a bank down in North Carolina and ed was one of the customers that I was working with. At the time, he had a really small operation and was having trouble paying us.

The word came down that I had to do the evil deed: hop on an airplane and go shut Ed down because he couln't pay. I arrived on the little US Air puddle jumper one afternoon and went to meet with Ed. During the course of our dour meeting, he offered me lunch from his steam table.

After sampling that Marvelous Que, I promptly returned to Charlotte, reported to my boss that there was nothing of substance there to liquidate, so we took a write off.

Ed and his marvelous que stayed in business for many years. He's become a bit of an institution over the past five years and is recongized as one of NC's best barbequers of whole hog.

I guess that's the day i really figured out that I was a real chowhound.

Calling GWiv and other members of the Society for the Preservation of Traditional Southern Barbecue ---

I'd like to nominate YourPalWill for a special medal of honor!

Two days of craziness at the Barbecue Block Party. No noticeable crowd control devices on the first day contributed to basic mayhem. A crowd of more than a thousand queuing (yes, I know, the pun) into indefinite lines leading to unknown destinations. New Yorkers grumpier than usual, not a pretty sight. Second day was better with baricades, though lines quickly outgrew the snaking gates.

Saturday, I arrived just before 1pm. After waiting in a disorganized line for about 30 minutes, I made my way to a serving of Ed Mitchell's whole hog pulled pork. The smokiness and piggy-ness of the meat were both secondary to its sweentness. This was some of the sweetest pig I've had in a long while. The underlying pepperiness worked well as a background seasoning. The shards of near-mohogany skin were wonderfully chewy and packed with flavor. I also enjoyed the intermingled small globs of fat, not piggy at all. The mixture, however, was completely "room" temperature. I don't know how the dish is usually served, but I imagine a warm scoop of pulled and chopped pig would be even nicer. I also would not have minded a coarser mix. I enjoyed the bun (potato?) and the mildly tart coleslaw. Didn't try the sauce, so I can't comment.

I had planned to hit a second stand, but the lines had grown to unwieldy proportions by that time (just past 2pm).

I returned Sunday at 11:30am and got in the Memphis Championship line. I was looking forward to the ribs after reading glowing reports from another site (not Chowhound), but the serving I got on this day was on the dry side. The meat and smoke flavor were very good, but the texture and temperature of the ribs suggested that they had been off the heat for many hours. My portion originally only had three ribs and one of the kind women from Murphysboro added two meaty extras, a nice bonus. The barbecued beans (a mix of five kinds) were very good.

Then I tried KC Baron's beef brisket. Their setup was nice because you could see the prep process during the wait in line. Each time they trimmed the fat, I suppressed a yelp. Luckily my serving came with nice bits of fat still attached to the brisket. I have little experience with barbequed brisket, but what I tasted was very good. I thought the smokiness was more prominent compared to the above two. The fact that this serving had residual warmth, unlike the other two, also helped to bring out the flavors, I imagine. Did not try the sauce here either.

Against my better judgment, I also tried the pig snoot from Smoki O's. When I asked them how many snouts it took to make a snoot sandwich, they laughed, but didn't have an answer. The fuscia snootology flyer also did not provide an answer. The thoroughly deep-fried snout was a disappointment for me. I guess I was expecting cracklings, only better. I can't get enough of my own fresh duck cracklings after a rendering, so I imagined that a professional version could only be better. First, the snout did not taste freshly fried. It wasn't stale by any means, but it tasted as though it had been fried more than 24 hours ago. I wouldn't be surprised if they were fried in St. Louis on Friday morning and flown in that day. Second, the snout had no discernable seasoning on its own. Given prior reports of sauce-soaked snout and seeing the oversauced messes being served in front of me, I asked for the sauce on the side. I tried the snout with and without sauce, neither really hit the spot. More a novelty than anything else. Finally, I found the texture unappealing. Maybe this is an unfair comment since I don't know the culinary limitations/possibilities of snout, but I was hoping for somthing more than overfried animal protein. The fattiness was largely rendered out of the "nose chips" I was eating, as was any unique textures (cartilage-y crunchiness maybe?) I'm not particularly glad that I tried the dish, but I suppose I can now say that I have.

Happy Eating,
Mumon

Logistical notes: As noted in Erik M's initial post, food is purchased with $1-denominated "cue-pons" available onsite. BBQ servings were 6 cue-pons, while drinks and desserts ranged from 1 to 4. Infuriated with the wait, people were selling their cue-pons at a discount as they stormed out. The inaugural event last year was reportedly on a regular Manhattan side street. This year's event was held adjacent to Madison Square Park. Given the overwhelming response, I imagine organizers may look for a larger venue next year.

MumonA, the chopped barbeque that you had from Mitchell's is pretty representative of what you'll find in most North Carolina barbeque places in terms of texture. The thing that I always loved about Ed's barbeque was the way that he chops up the skin and mixes it in his chopped pork. It gives his meat a certain richness that others in the area don't achieve,

After sampling that Marvelous Que, I promptly returned to Charlotte, reported to my boss that there was nothing of substance there to liquidate, so we took a write off.

Ed and his marvelous que stayed in business for many years. He's become a bit of an institution over the past five years and is recongized as one of NC's best barbequers of whole hog.

I guess that's the day i really figured out that I was a real chowhound.

Ed's judgement day passed on the basis of good 'cue. How much angel dust do you carry? Another finely executed mitzvah.

I'm always impressed by your underlying goodness as well as taste in food. (When are you reporting on the hamburger on West Irving Park??)

Regards,
Cathy2

Extensive pictures of the event on eGullet:

http://forums.egullet.com/index.php?showtopic=44987

BTW, this was the second, not twenty-second BABBP.

Jason Perlow wrote:Extensive pictures of the event on eGullet:

Jason,

Nice series of pictures, though now I am craving BBQ at 8am. Actually, for me, craving BBQ at 8am is not all that unusual.

Enjoy,
Gary

Amata wrote:Calling GWiv and other members of the Society for the Preservation of Traditional Southern Barbecue ---

I'd like to nominate YourPalWill for a special medal of honor!

Amata,

Great idea! Let's come up with an appropriate title to place under Will's LthForum user name, preferably something to do with BBQ and 'award' Will for his efforts.

Enjoy,
Gary

Jason Perlow wrote:Extensive pictures of the event on eGullet:

http://forums.egullet.com/index.php?showtopic=44987

Jason, what a spectacular event. I don't know if I've seen more great regional BBQ in the same place at the same time, made the right way, and there for all to enjoy (as opposed to a competition).

I've been a big fan of the original 17th Street Bar and Grill in Murphysboro for a long time. Here's the first thing I wrote on the LTHForum:

http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=16&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=15

Anyway, thanks for the heads up.[url][/url][url][/url]

MumonA wrote:... I made my way to a serving of Ed Mitchell's whole hog pulled pork. .... Didn't try the sauce, so I can't comment.

Just a recommendation for any future tastings of eastern NC Q -- I think the sauce, whether the proprietor's own mixture or a store bought sauce like Texas Pete (a Carolina product despite the name), is a key element of the Q and shouldn't be passed over. When I've served NC bbq at parties (as I did last March) I've had a hard time getting people to include a splash of sauce atop the meat.

Here's a link to Texas Pete, just for y'all's amusement (or if you're looking to buy 200 1.9 oz botttles of hot sauce (wedding favors??)):
http://www.texaspete.com/

All:

I just want to clarify that my good deed was far more attributable to my own selfishness that some act of do-goodery.

Amata wrote:I'd like to nominate YourPalWill for a special medal of honor!

G Wiv wrote:Let's come up with an appropriate title to place under Will's LthForum user name, preferably something to do with BBQ...

Quaestor of Q?

Don Q-xote?

Lord Protector of the Que?

A

MumonA wrote:I made my way to a serving of Ed Mitchell's whole hog pulled pork. .... Didn't try the sauce, so I can't comment.

Amata wrote:Just a recommendation for any future tastings of eastern NC Q -- I think the sauce... is a key element of the Q and shouldn't be passed over.

Thanks for the tip. What is the prototypical eastern NC sauce? Is this the vinegar-based version mentioned by others who had tried the Mitchell's pulled/chopped pork? Next time around, I'll get two servings and try it both ways. The textures and flavors still linger three days later...

Happy Eating,
Mumon

MumonA wrote:What is the prototypical eastern NC sauce? Is this the vinegar-based version mentioned by others who had tried the Mitchell's pulled/chopped pork?

Mumon,

I've had the pleasure of attending Hoof to Head, which could best be described as Barbecue Fantasy Camp, not unlike what professional baseball and football teams offer. We started with a live pig, chickens, and a recently deceased goat, and ended the long weekend with new knowledge of Barbecue, butchery and wood chopping.

The Dip we used with the whole pig/pulled pork, they tend to call sauce dip in the Carolinas and Georgia, was a simple, yet perfectly suited, vinegar mix.

Bob in Georgia's Dip (Eastern North Carolina Style)

2 cups vinegar
2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
(Black pepper also if you desire)

Gary's Note: when I was at Bob's he used organic unfiltered vinegar and whole dried cayenne or Tabasco type peppers.

Here's a link to both Eastern and Western North Carolina barbecue sauce The recipes reside on Dave Lineback's exceptionally interesting Lexington Collection

Whole pig at Bob in Georgia's


'Gary' the Goat on the pit slathered with my (Gary's) chili oil and layered with bacon.


Enjoy,
Gary

MumonA wrote: What is the prototypical eastern NC sauce? Is this the vinegar-based version mentioned by others who had tried the Mitchell's pulled/chopped pork?

Yes, the sauce is always vinegar based, often very simple as in the recipe Gary gives.

Antonius and I had some NC bbq last night, from our freezer. After all this discussion and looking at the pictures from NYC, I couldn't stand it, I had to have some too! Plus it seemed the perfect thing to eat while we cheered on the team with two ex-Tar Heels (Rasheed Wallace, Larry Brown) as they beat the team with one ex-Tar Heel (Rick Fox). Sorry; basketball and barbecue are the twin obsessions of native North Carolinians.

The cue we had last night had suffered a bit from 3 months in the freezer -- the flavors were a bit damped down. But it was still good! This was cue I had ordered from King's BBQ in Kinston, which has a web site, www.kingsbbq.com. The King's Delight sauce which comes with the order is a little more complex than some, and I like their version too. Here are the ingredients as listed on the bottle:

"vinegar, salt, red pepper, sugar, corn syrup, molasses, raisin paste, tomato paste, soybeans, wheat, spices and herbs, lemon, grapefruit and orange concentrates, dried garlic and onion, anchovies, xanthan gum, caramel color and natural flavors."

Amata wrote:Sorry; basketball and barbecue are the twin obsessions of native North Carolinians.

I thought it was NASCAR and textiles

stevez wrote:

Amata wrote:Sorry; basketball and barbecue are the twin obsessions of native North Carolinians.

I thought it was NASCAR and textiles

Hey now, you can't eat a towel no matter how much Texas Pete you dump on top.

Here's a picture of the pulled pig with vinegar sauce in background.



The pimaster basking in his glory.



The rest of the story:

[url]http://www.sptsb.com/HTH.htm[/url]

Bruce wrote:The pimaster basking in his glory.

LthForum,

I'd like to make it clear the pitmaster picture is not G Wiv but Bruce 'Brisket' Cook. I'm ugly, but not that ugly.

By the way, the pig Bruce cooked was delicious!

Enjoy,
Gary

G Wiv wrote:

Bruce wrote:The pimaster basking in his glory.

LthForum,

By the way, the pig Bruce cooked was delicious!

Enjoy,
Gary

As was the goat Gary cooked. I wish I still had the picture of Gary cutting off the goat's tail after cooking. After the snip, I never saw it again. I wonder what happened to it......

The 3rd Annual Big Apple Barbecue Block Party

June 11-12, 2005, Noon-6pm
NYC, Madison Square Park and on Madison Ave btw 23rd and 26th Streets
A plate of ‘Cue with a side will cost $7. Proceeds from the event benefit the Madison Square Park Conservancy.

Pitmasters:
Bryan Bracewell, Southside Market & BBQ, Elgin, TX -- Brisket with Sausage and Beans
Ken Callaghan, Blue Smoke, New York, NY-- Kansas City Spare Ribs with Dill Pickles
Mike “Sarge” Davis, Whole Hog Café, Little Rock, AR-- St. Louis Spareribs with Coleslaw
Chris Lilly, Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Que, Decatur, AL-- Whole Pork Shoulder with Beans
Mike Mills, 17th Street Bar & Grill, Murphysboro, IL-- Baby Back Ribs with Beans
Ed Mitchell, Mitchell’s BBQ, Wilson, NC-- Whole Hog with Coleslaw
Garry Roark, Ubon’s “Champion’s Choice,” Yazoo, MS-- Pork Shoulder with Coleslaw
Michael Rodriguez, The Salt Lick BBQ, Driftwood, TX-- Beef Brisket, Sausage & Coleslaw
John Stage, Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, New York, NY-- Pork Shoulder with Beans
Otis Walker, Smoki O’s, St. Louis, MO-- Pig Snoots

As mentioned upthread, last year I tried the offerings form Mike Mills, Ed Mitchell, Paul Kirk (not in this year’s lineup, but he opened RUB - Righteous Urban BBQ in NYC earlier this year) and Otis Walker. I plan to pass on Blue Smoke and Dinosaur Bar-B-Que given that the restaurants are in the city. I’ll definitely try Mitchell’s again, but are there any recommendations among the others?

Happy eating,
Mumon

Mumon,

The Big Apple BBQ, one of these days I'm going to have to get to NY for the festivities.

Of the places you list I've only been to two Southside Market and Salt Lick.

Southside Market has terrific mutton, though they are not offering it at the NY bash, and damn good sausage, or Hot Guts, as they are called in Texas. Salt Lick has all around good to very good BBQ but the best thing at Salt Lick, according to my wife, is the cole slaw.

Thurman Roberts and his wife Hisako, who was (she is deceased) Japanese, opened the Salt Lick in 1969 and many of the recipes show a slight Asian influence, none more so than the cole salw. I have tried, to no avail, to reverse engineer Salt Lick's slaw, which has sesame oil, sesame seeds, green onion and shredded carrot, to name just a few ingredients, with little luck. I highly recommend an order of Salt Lick slaw.

I've heard good things about Chris Lilly/Big Bob Gibson's, pork shoulder and frequently make their Alabama White BBQ sauce, though I like the White BBQ sauce (mayo based) on chicken, not pork. Smoki O’s Pig Snoots would be high on my must-try list and it's been said Mike Mill's has a nice touch with ribs.

I'd highly recommend Ed Mitchell, but it seems he lost his business in a poker game so I doubt he will be there.

No matter what you eat, I'm sure it will be fun. Hope to join you next year.

Enjoy,
Gary

Mumon,

Slight correction. I was just reading a BBQ listserv I'm on and it seems Ed Mitchell, or at least Ed Mitchell's BBQ, is at the Big Apple BBQ.

Their comment on Ed Mitchell's was "I tried their whole hog and it was amazing."

Enjoy,
Gary

I actually had Ed Mitchell and Norma Dardin (of Spoonbread Cafe in NYC) cater my wedding a couple of years back - and the food as you might expect was just amazing.

Now I'm trying to contact Ed again to have him do another catering job for me and can't find the e-mail he gave me. I know its on his truck which he took to the NYC Q party and I'm hoping either than someone here got the E- or a photo of the truck where it is displayed.

Thanks for any help you guys might have.

DocNY wrote:I actually had Ed Mitchell and Norma Dardin (of Spoonbread Cafe in NYC) cater my wedding a couple of years back - and the food as you might expect was just amazing.

Now I'm trying to contact Ed again to have him do another catering job for me and can't find the e-mail he gave me. I know its on his truck which he took to the NYC Q party and I'm hoping either than someone here got the E- or a photo of the truck where it is displayed.

Thanks for any help you guys might have.

Well, a google search on "Mitchell's Ribs wilson north carolina" (without the quotes) turns up

Mitchell's Chicken Bar B Q Ribs: Catering
6228 Ward Blvd
Wilson, NC 27893
(252) 291-3808

Mitchell's Chicken & Bar-B-Q
252-291-9189
6228 Ward Blvd., Wilson

http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/pit ... -road-trip

etc, etc, etc.

Now, that's a damn catering duo there, Doc. Norma Jean is one of the finest southern cooks in New York City as well as one of the nicest and most gracious people I have ever met. And, Ed, well, Ed's a pit legend though he ain't much of a business legend.

I had quite a bit of experience with Ed 10-12 years ago. But, I don't have any current contact info for him. I bet Norma Jean could help you out.

Thanks everyone.. almost all of Ed's contact info is way out of date. Norma Dardin came through though.. and wow can she still run a kitchen..

unfortunately the web info isn't actually for Ed anymore.. but someone who apparently took over Mitchell's after Ed lost it. Now to see if they can still fit me in for my B'day.

leek wrote:

DocNY wrote:I actually had Ed Mitchell and Norma Dardin (of Spoonbread Cafe in NYC) cater my wedding a couple of years back - and the food as you might expect was just amazing.

Now I'm trying to contact Ed again to have him do another catering job for me and can't find the e-mail he gave me. I know its on his truck which he took to the NYC Q party and I'm hoping either than someone here got the E- or a photo of the truck where it is displayed.

Thanks for any help you guys might have.

Well, a google search on "Mitchell's Ribs wilson north carolina" (without the quotes) turns up

Mitchell's Chicken Bar B Q Ribs: Catering
6228 Ward Blvd
Wilson, NC 27893
(252) 291-3808

Mitchell's Chicken & Bar-B-Q
252-291-9189
6228 Ward Blvd., Wilson

http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/pit ... -road-trip

etc, etc, etc.

Thanks!