motoeric's Profile
RUB comes to Long Island
A quick follow up: I was there again on Thursday and got some food to go. I had some ribs, some burnt ends and a pulled pork sandwich.
As expected, everything was fantastic.
If you like BBQ and you are in the area, it's well worth stopping by.
Eric
RUB comes to Long Island
Actually, the process of BBQ takes food that is almost too tough to chew and breaks down the collagen so that the protein approximates the texture of other, more palatable, proteins. It's not intended to render the meat mushy, fall off the bone or without texture.
On the other hand, people enjoy what they enjoy and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. If you prefer ribs that are fall off the bone, more power to you.
BBQ purists have certain ideals that they use for judging 'doneness' of ribs, but their level of specificity is a bit much outside of a competition.
If you like it and the people you are dining with like it, enjoy and have a great time.
Eric
RUB comes to Long Island
That is very strange. Their vending helped to raise over $5,000 for the Make a Wish Foundation. The lines were HUGE every time I stopped by.
Next time, stop by the Grill Scouts team and say 'hi'. We usually have plenty of extra food after turn-ins for the judges.
Eric
RUB comes to Long Island
Ribs shouldn't be falling off the bone, so that's actually a plus. Glad to hear that you enjoyed the food.
I'll probably stop by tomorrow night. I'm excited to have good BBQ on Long Island again!
Eric
RUB comes to Long Island
I'm confused. Did you see the food vended by RUB and chose not to try it or did you not see it?
They were almost directly across from the Ocean Spray people where the demos were taking place.
Eric
RUB comes to Long Island
RUB serves truly excellent BBQ. I've heard that they are opening in mid August.
If you'd like a preview, stop by the 5th Annual NY State BBQ Championships in Manorville. RUB is sponsoring the event and will be vending there. 8/6 and 8/7 at The Maples.
Andrew, the owner, will be on hand and there will be a number of demos all weekend.
www.bbqbattleli.com
Eric
Buying Pork Butt in Westchester
The 18" has lots of space and you can mod it to create even more. The 22" wsm is deceptively huge. I've done 2 full packers at about 14 lbs each and three large pork butts and had space for more. If I push it, I can get 13 racks of ribs on the 22".
I wish I had a Klose! You can feel free to bring it down to the competition and cook some briskets for me if you'd like. I know, generous offer, right?
Eric
Buying Pork Butt in Westchester
If you happen to have a business license, you can pick up bone in or bone out butts at Restaurant Depot.
Also, I believe that there's a butcher in Queens called Brothers Butchers that also has an adjunct BBQ place. I'm sure they sell pork butts.
BTW, you should come out to the NY State BBQ Championships on Long Island in August. www.bbqbattleli.com
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Restaurant Depot
650 S Columbus Ave, Mount Vernon, NY 10550
BBQ hounds! Need Catering Recommendations for a Texas BBQ Wedding in Long Island
They will definitely handle sides as well as the main dishes. There will be a number of competition teams that also do catering at WilliePallooza, a NY State Championship being held in April. Come down and talk to some of the teams. http://www.williepallooza.com
It's being held in Brentwood, right off the Southern State.
If you come on Sunday, teams will be done with their last turn-ins by about 1:45 and would be happy to talk. You might even snag a sample.
If you know BBQ and are interested in judging, fill out an application. There are still some slots available.
BTW, the event is named for Willie B who is mentioned above. He does catering out of a Lang 84 and is very experienced.
Eric
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Willie B's
413 Eagle Ave, West Hempstead, NY 11552
Long Island Catering - Western Suffolk
Thank you! I've been to La Famiglia before. Excellent food. I'll give them a yell.
Any other suggestions would be appreciated.
Eric
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La Famiglia
641 Old Country Rd Ste A, Plainview, NY 11803
Long Island Catering - Western Suffolk
Hi,
I'm looking for a restaurant that would cater a party of about 30 for about $30.00 or $35.00 pp on a Saturday (could be evening or midday).
Continental, Italian, German, Irish would all be fine.
Any recommendations would be appreciated.
Thanks!
Eric
Catered Pig Roast?
Try Will Breakstone. He's a competition pitmaster and was the owner of Willie B's BBQ in Bayshore (well reviewed by Newsday). He's now doing BBQ at Lilly Flanagan's.
http://www.williebsbbq.com/
Eric
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Willie B's
413 Eagle Ave, West Hempstead, NY 11552
Source for Global, Shun, high-end knives on Long Island?
This is an interesting thread. Thanks for all the great recommendations. What are your favorite brand of knives?
Lilly Flanagan's BBQ & Burgers
Sorry, I should have included the address:
528 Main Street
Islip, NY 11751-3556
(631) 581-1550
Yeah, the lack of brisket saddens me. The corned beef and pastrami are both excellent though.
Eric
Lilly Flanagan's BBQ & Burgers
So, I returned to Lilly Flangan's with a couple of BBQ aficionados with the sole purpose of trying a bit of everything.
For those that aren't aware, Will Breakstone, the former owner of Willie B's BBQ and competition pitmaster is now offering his BBQ here.
In an odd turn of events, it almost feels that Will is more free to experiment here than he was at his own BBQ joint. Either that, or in the time since Willie B's closing Will has pushed the envelope a bit. Either way, the foodie benefits.
Traditional BBQ is less of a focus here than it was at Willie B's. You won't find brisket (in it's traditional form), collards or other staples.
We had the following:
Pulled pork sandwich
Ribs
Corned beef
Pastrami
Turkey sandwich w/ spicy aioli
Cheesesteak
Ribs
Everything was at least good and a lot was great. Will's deft hand could be seen everywhere. The choice of accompaniments, the seasoning, etc.
We also enjoyed a burger, which is the focus of their Wednesday specials. From noon on, you can get an 8oz angus burger with chips and a side salad for $4.99. Extra items on the burger are fifty cents each.
It was a little dark and the chairs were a bit rickety, so ambiance isn't king here. If you are looking for frills and decor, keep looking. If, on the other hand, you are looking for great food at great prices, this is the place for you.
Eric
Port Royal - BBQ
Yes, absolutely. I was hoping that the return of Willie to the BBQ scene might usher in a new stretch of good BBQ on Long Island. Then I tried Port Royal and realized that my hopes were for naught.
Eric
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Port Royal Restaurant
144 Nassau Rd, Roosevelt, NY 11575
Port Royal - BBQ
I think it's ignorance coupled with the ease of use of a mechanical slicer.
It was sort of sad. It would have been great to have the return of Willie B be the start of something good.
I still need to hit that place near JFK. Hopefully that will be better.
Eric
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Willie B's
413 Eagle Ave, West Hempstead, NY 11552
Port Royal - BBQ
So, this is going to be short and not so sweet.
You might remember Port Royal from a Man vs. Food show last summer. They have a nautical/pirate theme and (I believe) specialize in seafood.
That they don't specialize in BBQ is a very, very good thing.
They have the normal compliment of BBQ choices. Brisket, ribs, pulled pork, chicken (1/2 and pulled) all make an appearance.
We tried the chili and the 4 meat combo. The combo had the ribs, brisket, pulled pork and sausage. The two sides were baked beans and mac & cheese.
The Positive: The portions were great for the price. The potato chips served at the tables (similar to bread at other restaurants) were a bit salty, but very good. The baked beans were very good. The staff was friendly and the service was fine.
The Indifferent: The mac and cheese was pretty average. Not good, but not bad.
The Bad: Everything else. The best of the bad was the chili. It was one note and didn't seem to have any cumin, chipotle, aleppo or anything interesting at all. The sausage was overcooked, fatty and non-descript. It seemed like an ill prepared below average Italian sausage from Pathmark.
The pulled pork was bland and without either a smoked or pork flavor. Of the trio of traditional meats, it was the best. The brisket was sliced paper thin, cut improperly (grain wise and thickness), had minimal if any smoke ring and tasted like a subpar pot roast. Comments about the ribs included a consistent querying of 'what is that flavor' and 'why doesn't this taste like pork'? There was a distinct lack of rub and they seemed overcooked. Of everything ordered, the ribs were the worst.
From this one visit, Port Royal's BBQ is slightly better than White Castle's pulled pork slider and the McRib. It's a bit worse than Zorn's or Fireside deli. Of restaurants on Long Island that sell BBQ as a mainstay, it's the worst that I've been to.
Eric
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Port Royal Restaurant
144 Nassau Rd, Roosevelt, NY 11575
Great BBQ Returns to Long Island
I'm heading back to Lilly Flanagan's tomorrow for a late lunch. I'm looking forward to some great BBQ. I'll let post and let everyone know how it was.
Great BBQ Returns to Long Island
I don't have much info, sorry. I do know that they have ribs (I believe baby backs), pork, chicken, (brined and smoked by the pitmaster) pastrami and corned beef. I believe that they will eventually have brisket. They also do burgers and dogs for the football games.
If you stop by on a Sunday, Will has the smoker and grill there going all afternoon.
Joan Reminick from Newsday had some nice things to say in today's review:
http://www.exploreli.com/restaurants/feed-me-1.812004/bbq-bulletin-willie-b-at-lily-f-in-islip-1.2320734
Eric
Great BBQ Returns to Long Island
So, I stopped by this afternoon during the Giants game and got some food to take home for the Jets game.
I didn't feel like going with the standards (ribs, pork or chicken), so I brought home some of the corned beef and pastrami. The flavor of both was spot on. The pastrami was a little saltier and had more 'kick', the corned beef was milder but still flavorful. Both had a great outer crust and the tell tale reddish color.
I wonder how it would have been if I had it there instead of driving home and having it later. I'm sure that it would have been different straight out of the smoker.
(heh, the rib picture came out upside down)
I spoke with Willie and got some photos of ribs on the smoker and a 1/4 chicken. I'll probably get a sampler platter next time and try both. I'll post again after I try more.
Eric
BobbyQ´s in Westport
What was it that you liked? What did you order? What wasn't so good?
Eric
Great BBQ Returns to Long Island
BBQ is a bizarre roller coaster on Long Island. The only consistent bright spot over the course of the past five years or so has been Swingbelly's.
For a while, we had a contender to rival Swingbelly's with Willie B's in Bay Shore. When Willie closed the restaurant, it seemed as though Long Island went through a weird stage where a bunch of new places opened and took their shot, but none were anywhere near as good. Some were decent, some were average and a bunch were horrible.
We've lost Fatty Beltbuckles (two of them), Seconds, Big Apple BBQ, that place out off of Sound Ave on the north fork, that place on Hempstead Turnpike and a bunch of others.
Thankfully, we have something new to look forward to. Willie B is back and is smoking up some ribs, chicken, pork, pastrami and corned beef at Lilly Flanagans in Islip. He's there 11 to 5 from Tuesday to Sunday. There are daily specials and a football special on Sunday.
I'm going to try to get down there to try some food over the next few days and I'm going to probably be there with some friends for the Jets game on Oct. 3rd. I'll post again and let everyone know how the food is.
If the the food rivals what he put out at Willie B's, we will be in good hands.
Eric
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Willie B's
413 Eagle Ave, West Hempstead, NY 11552
Hudson Valley Rib Fest questions...
The day that you go shouldn't be influenced by when food is being judged. You won't be able to try the food that is judged anyway. The teams are not allowed to sell food to the public (Dept. of Health).
If you are interested in how the judging procedure works, go Sunday. They have stadium seating in the judging building and you can take as much or as little time as you would like to see it in progress.
They usually have about 4 BBQ vendors and a number of other vendors selling food items. I would assume that for about $10.00 you would get something akin to a pulled pork sandwich and two sides. Maybe a soda. Pretty reasonable for what you get, especially considering the quality (which is much better than most BBQ restaurants).
They have a beer garden, live music and lots of other stuff going on. Should be a good time.
Eric
Seconds BBQ in Amityville: closed (I think)
Well, that's too bad. They weren't great BBQ, but I considered them pretty good soul food.
Let's hope they are just on vacation.
Eric
Looking for Baby Suckling Pigs
I'll see if I can dig up the name, but there's a farm a bit east of Riverhead on Sound Avenue that sells pigs, goats and cows. They grow them and slaughter them onsite.
If you drive east on sound avenue, its on the north side of the road with a large, white, hand written sign by the driveway.
Eric
New LI BBQ
That's sad.
It would be great to find good 'Q outside of competitions here on Long Island.
Has anyone tried that new place near JFK?
Eric
New LI BBQ
I can't give you an honest answer on the comparison. Too much time as elapsed and my memories are fuzzy at best.
I remember it being very good and enjoying the brisket. The brisket here was certainly very good. Maybe comparable to Swingbelly's.
Eric
New LI BBQ
Ok, I stopped by on Sunday with a party of four. I met 'Papa Rick', the pitmaster before we went in. Nice guy.
They are going with a pacific northwest hunting lodge sort of look and it works well for BBQ.
There seems to be plenty of parking (although it filled up quick by the time I left).
We ordered a number of platters and covered most meats and almost all of the sides.
The stand-outs were the brisket (as would be expected), the onion soup (I know, odd) and the potato salad.
Were there flaws? Absolutely. But even with the flaws at Big Apple BBQ, they are leaps and bounds beyond some other BBQ joints on Long Island. Would I go again? Absolutely.
All in all it was very promising for a restaurant that hasn't even had their hard opening yet. I'm looking forward to seeing where they will be in 6 months.
If any BBQ fans are interested, come on down to the competition in Brentwood on Saturday and Sunday. It's nothing extravagant, but you can talk to the teams and pitmasters about cooking up BBQ. It's at the VFW hall at 140 Wurz St.
Eric
