Saveur's Second Annual Summer BBQ in NYC - June 27, 2011

I had the good fortune of getting invited to Saveur's Summer BBQ last week at The Frying Pan in NYC.  The weather was perfect for being boatside on the Hudson enjoying a bounty of grilled meats from some of New York's top toques and refreshing drinks courtesy of Ommegang Brewery and Grey Goose Vodka.

Things started out favorably with glazed pork belly sandwiches from Marc Murphy of Landmarc and Ditch Plains.

The lamb burger with basil mayonnaise from Sean Rembold of Marlow & Sons was a highlight for me.

 No BBQ is complete without some grilled corn. Hill Country did a very nice job with theirs.

While grilled sausages are also a summer BBQ mainstay, Missy Robbins of A Voce upped it a notch with her grilled lamb sausages. These reminded me to add A Voce to my list of restaurants I would like to try.

Geoffrey Zakarian served up a pretty standard plate of saucy ribs from his new restaurant, The National.  While the ribs were low on the excitement spectrum, they were still pretty high on the taste spectrum.

John DeLucie's (The Lion, Waverly Inn)  lamb ribs were a bit too fatty for me, but it may have just been that I was too full by the time I got to them.

Unfortunately, I was much too full before I spotted Marco Canora's smoked lamb ribs.  I am sad that I did not try one of my favorite chefs' dishes, especially one that looked this good.

Marcus Samuelsson and his crew from Red Rooster were there cooking a fabulous blackened catfish with fried caper slaw, a dish I was pleased to have once again after enjoying it only a week ago at his restaurant.  I have been told by some that the photo of Chef Samuellson is equally satisfying as his catfish.

Alex Guarnaschelli served some nicely cooked—but too sweet for me—BBQ shrimp.

Dan Kluger of ABC Kitchen prepared some massive brisket sandwiches topped with potato chips.  Although one of these guys made me too full for much of anything else, it was a lot of a very good thing.

If only food served on boats could always be this good!  Kudos to Saveur for an outstanding event.

Meatopia

Although I am still suffering the ill effects of a meat hangover, this weekend's Meatopia on Governors Island proved to be all that I had hoped.  An outdoor event on a beautiful day that brings together some of the city's top meat-centric restaurants, locally raised meats, bluegrass music, and one of my favorite breweries (Brooklyn's Sixpoint) is sure to please me, but the event beat my expectations.  Not to say that the event was flawless-- most vendors ran out of food well before the event's close and the organizers gave up on their futile attempt to force anyone drinking beer to stay in a segregated area away from any of the food vendors-- but assuming that you arrived on the Governors Island well before the food ran out, you easily got your money's worth on some excellent food. 

NYC favorite Hill Country brought their trailer onto the ferry to Governors Island: 

More importantly, Hill Country also brought some of their brisket:

Porterhouse NY made skirt steak sandwiches:

The soon to open Hurricane Club brought some succulent honey-glazed baby back ribs with Thai basil and mint:

After those three courses, it was time to sit back and listen to some music:

And also drink some of that Sixpoint Beer (this wasn't my personal consumption):

Then it was back to the meat.  This time, I went with I-Que BBQ's pork shoulder.  Not bad for bbq from some Boston boys:

As if I needed more meat, look at what Smokin' Joe's True-Blue Texas Barbecue had on offer:

Sue Torres of Suenos dished up some duck tacos, a nice change of pace from the beef and pork:

Brooklyn's The Smoke Joint grilled some chicken sausages:

Finally, every good Meatopia needs some meatballs (even if they are chicken meatballs, ahem).  And who better to bring some than Manhattan's Meatball Shop:

A Preview of Fatty 'Cue at Epicurious Entertains

On October 4, I attended Fatty Sunday, an event from "Epicurious Entertains" catered by Zak Pelaccio and the rest of his crew to taste dishes from the long-delayed and much-anticipated Fatty 'Cue. Set in a Union Square loft and offering attendees the opportunity to sample Chef Pelaccio's food while watching the day's football games, the 7-hour event brought out an interesting mix of foodies and jocks. With several flat screen TVs on each wall, an open bar, and a never-ending supply of smoked meats, no one could leave disappointed.

The event began with a gracious welcome from Epicurious Editor-in-Chief Tanya Wenman, who proclaimed that of all the week's "Epicurious Entertains" events, which included a multi-course event cooked by Daniel Boulud, Fatty Sunday's food was going to be the best. She then encouraged everyone to get in line to the kitchen, where Chef Pelaccio and his staff were serving the food buffet style.

Here is the menu of what we ate:

Smoked Brisket Bao with Sweet Cilantro Sauce
House Smoked Bacon and Clams with Dragon Pullman Bread
BBQ Lamb Shoulder with Goat Yogurt
Pork Spare Ribs with Palm Sugar Fish Sauce
Charred Turnips and Bitter Greens with Red Curry
Cucumber Salad
Nasi Ulam
Banh Mi

The lamb shoulder was the standout. Smoked for 14 hours by the Fatty 'Cue crew with a smoker on loan from Wildwood Barbeque (the Fatty 'Cue smokers are not yet ready), the meat was brimming with woodsy (applewood?) flavor. The goat yogurt, spicy and cool at the same time, was the perfect match for the intense smoke of the meat.

The spare ribs, smoked for a paltry four hours, were not far behind. Beautifully caramelized and cut into bite-size riblets, I could not resist helping myself to two platefuls. The fish sauce and palm sugar mixture that had been rubbed onto the succulent ribs was all the succulent meat needed.

The other foods were delicious in their own rite. What I love about Zak Pelaccio's cooking is that his riffs on Southeast Asian cuisine bring out the authentic flavors of the region without dumbing them down with sweet, gloppy sauces that seem to go hand in hand with the Asian-fusion moniker. The curry sauce on the turnips was properly spicy and the clams and bacon dish contained enough fish sauce to make P.F. Chang run back to the suburbs. The only disappointment of the night was the brisket bao, or steamed bun; the brisket was fatty and not very flavorful and the bun was much too dense.

For $50 a person, all of which went to the Taste of the NFL Charity for hunger, the full day event was a wonderful value. While I ate more smoked meat than I have eaten in the last year, I left excited for Fatty 'Cue to finally open. When would that be, I asked Chef Pelaccio. "By the end of the year?" He replied somewhat hopelessly. Oh well, I guess "Epicurious Entertains" has only added to the anticipation.
Pictures of the event

Chef Pelaccio with Epicurious Editor-in-Chief Tanya Wenman:
The beautiful smoked lamb shoulder:
Red curry turnips and bitter greens:
Clams with house-smoked bacon:


My first plate of food (don't judge):

Spare ribs with palm sugar fish sauce:


Chef Zak Pelaccio:

The Big Apple Barbecue Block Party

I took a brief break from my Greenmarket Challenge yesterday to attend the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party, a two-day festival that brings some of the country's top barbecue joints to Manhattan's Madison Square Park each year. As has always been the case with the festival, the lines at all of the best establishments were long, but the long waits were worth it to sample some topnotch barbecue.

I was lucky enough to have a friend who lives right next to Madison Square Park. We brought up loads of food from the festival to his apartment and enjoyed our barbecue on the balcony while watching the crowds of people below:


Despite the comforts of my friend's apartment, I did escape for a bit to enjoy the festival below:


Despite eating twice my weight in barbecue yesterday, I am still contemplating a return to the festival today as it was just that much fun.