The Big Apple BBQwas this past weekend in Madison Square Park. This is consistently one of my favorite events in NYC, which also conveniently seems to fall on my birthday weekend each year making it like a party-in-a-box for me.

This year we kicked off with a stop at Baker’s Ribs to give the appropriate nod to my Texan heritage. Sadly the Saltlick crew had to call in injured after a team member broke his leg, but Baker’s properly represented with the best ribs I found at the festival - being a fan of dry ribs myself.

Next it was off to Udon’s, a crowd pleaser pulled pork sandwich. Upon being handed our sandwiches Scottimmediately started to bite his, only to hear”No, no! Stop!”. We turned around to find Reggie of the Udon crew on the bench behind us who showed us how to properly enjoy the sandwich - slaw on top, extra sauce (which he pulled out of his back pocket). Reggie was even kind enough to “pop off his leg” long enough for a group photo. Here is a shot of the sandwich compiled “correctly” and above is the picture of Reggie, his leg, and the crew.

Next it was time for some pork comparison so I stood in line at The Pit, while my companions ventured over to Martins. A direct taste test left the group dead split for a favorite. Here is a great shot of Ed Mitchell showing off his pigs. When asked to open the pit he said “If you’re looking, you’re not cooking”, but luckily gave us a peek.

When I had just about enough for the day I made a quick stop at Jim & Nick’s for some sausage, pimento cheese, and saltine crackers. I never exactly crave pimento cheese, but with a spicy bit of sausage it just hits the spot and Jim & Nick’s knows how to do it right.

After round 1 of BBQ it was time to digest at Eleven Madison Park with Pappy Van Winkle bourbon cocktails and great bluegrass music. As usual the crowd, drinks, and music were all spectacular. We tried all three specialty cocktails, with the Old Fashioned winning out as my favorite, although nothing can go wrong with Van Winkle bourbon involved.

Sunday was more of a mission than a tasting - a mission for Big Bob Gibson’s pulled pork sandwich. On Saturday the lines had been a solid hour long, but the threat of rain kept them shorter on Sunday. But it would have been worth every minute of the wait - I didn’t know pulled pork could taste this good! Here is a picture of the sandwich, which only lasted a few short moments before we devoured it.

We did have one other important stop to make on Sunday - Hill Country BBQ for a care package. Elizabeth Karmel (@grillgirl), the chef at Hill Country, had graciously offered to make a to-go pack of brisket for me to send to Texas for a taste teste. We’ll have to wait until I have room for a smoker in NYC to do a true comparison, but this was a great start!