The original Brother Jimmy's BBQ on the Upper East Side

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After burgers, the second specialty I always recommend friends and family coming from Europe to try is BBQ. as I mentioned in prior posts, what we call BBQ in France is grilling. Little I know that in Denmark, they are familiar with the BBQ as we know it here. I knew about smoked fish, but not meat, and Our friends Anne and Klaus even have a smoker at home. 

Anyway, our place of choice was Brother Jimmy's BBQ, but not the location near Madison Square Garden I reviewed, but the one on the Upper East Side, that is in fact the original restaurant. As we went on a weekday, the place was empty. Not that it helped with the noise level, considering that the music was literally blasting. 

It is a fairly big place with four distinct sections :

The main dining room:

The back dining room:

The second dining room with the kitchen in the back:

The bar with its games:

With its wood everywhere, it had a very rustic and country feel, with, on the wall, artifacts to remind you you should have worn your stretch pants. 

To start, we decided to order fried pickles (served with ranch dressing), a dish definitely unknown in Denmark. It was a good way to show that anything can be fried, and when it is fried, it is good!

We wanted to order fried green tomatoes, but unfortunately, they were out of it.

Then, we went for Jimmy's Pig Pick, a sampler dish where we got Northern ribs and BBQ chicken (you have a choice between this or pulled chicken, brisket, pulled pork or other types of ribs). 

I admit that I thought it would be bigger as we ordered the one for two people. I am not sure if this was the result of a confusion when we ordered. Anyway, it was enough food considering we were planning on having dessert later on. 

The chicken was very good: moist, I loved the sweetness if the BBQ sauce with it. The ribs were also delicious, tender, falling off the bone. I should mention that, with the Pig's Pick, came a salad. Needless to say that I did not care about it...

As sides, we got some cole slaw, as well as hush puppies:

Jodi decided to order a bunch of sides:

Fried Brussels sprouts:

Corn bread:

Mac & cheese:

Tater tots:

All of them were quite good, my preference going to the tater tots and corn bread. 

The lunch at Brother Jimmy's BBQ was succulent and comforting. It is definitely a great place to eat some authentic American BBQ. 

Enjoy (I did)!

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Brother Jimmy's BBQ

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BBQ at Hill Country in NYC, New York

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Recently, we went back to Hill Country with Jodi's cousins Jessica and Michael and their two kids, Alex and Brian. I was excited for many reasons, besides sharing a meal with them: the main one being that I love BBQ. It was also an opportunity to revisit it as my last visit was last year.

The place, that serves Texas BBQ, is similar to most of the BBQ places I went to: wood, wood and again wood.

But then, the experience is different: they sit you at a table where you will order beverages, but when it comes to the good, you need to order at the counter. So, they give each person of the party a ticket that will be stamped with the cost if the items you order.

Do not lose that ticket, otherwise, similar to Katz's, you will be in trouble and pay a high price!

They have three counters: the meat, where they will carve the meat.

You just need to ask them what you want, type and quantity, as they sell by the pound. They also propose some samplers for a fixed price.

Then, the sides:

I should probably mentioned that the guy serving us at the meat station was very courteous, not like the one at the sides station!!!

The last one is for desserts, that you can also order at the table.

We were ready for a feast! A good sign was the paper towel roll that they put on each table, that prefigure some finger licking!

So, Jodi decided to order a salad, but we also shared some deviled eggs.

I liked them, probably because I love mayo and there was a lot if it!

We also shared some Mac & Cheese, that were good, but I would have liked them creamier.

We also tried the corn pudding that was deliciously sweet.

Then, I created my own sampler! They put it in brown paper

That I delicately unwrapped, as I would if it was a gift!

There, I had:

Beef shoulder:

Moist brisket:

Beef rib (huge):

Pork rib:

I was a bit disappointed by the meat... The brisket was extremely fatty, the pork rib dry and salty and the beef rib a bit dry and tough. The only piece of meat I enjoyed was the beef shoulder that was tender and moist.

Fortunately there was dessert! We ordered the banana pudding that was spectacular: light and not too sweet, I could have eaten several of them.

We had a good time all together and it was a fun dinner, despite the fact that the meat was not that great. I still think that Southern Hospitality or Brother Jimmy serve a better BBQ at a better price.

Enjoy (I did)!

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BBQ at Blue Smoke in NYC, New York

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We finally made it to Blue Smoke, that I tried last June at the Annual Big Apple BBQ Block Party in New York! They have two places: the original on 27th that we visited and another one in Battery Park city. 

The place on 27th is huge with very high ceilings and an industrial feel, from the apparent air duct and the lightning.

But, contrary to place like Dinosaur BBQ, my nose was not overwhelmed by the smell of BBQ when we entered! 

They sat us in a booth and we were ready for a feast! At least, I was...

We started of with deviled eggs. They sell them by the half.

They were delicious, with a nice amount of mayonnaise and we could definitely taste some spices.

Then, we tried the corn bread:

I love corn bread with a BBQ meal and this one tasted fresh, was not too firm and delicious.

Then we tried the Mac & Cheese:

It was a nice presentation in a small rectangular cast iron dish. The top was a bit burnt, but no crunch. However, it was extremely creamy and I truly appreciated that they did not add any seasoning that would have overpowered the delicious taste of the cheese.

Jodi ordered the Caesar salad with pecorino cheese and croutons.

It was a bit too salty...

On my side, I went for the ribs sampler, my bucket ready for the bones!

The sampler was composed of (from bottom to top):

• Kansas City spareribs.
• Memphis baby back ribs.
• Texas ribs.

The ribs were good, with the meat falling off the bone. My favorite was the Texas rib that was more flavorful with a bolder taste. Of course, I tried some of the sauces that were on the table...

But did not tried their spiced salt:

At the end of the meal, we were too full to get dessert. Too bad, because I saw that they serve a banana cream pie and they even have a dessert sampler that is one of those things that more restaurants should do! The food was good, but a bit overpriced. For instance, the rib sampler was $20 and did not include any side! If you are in the area and want to eat BBQ, then go to Blue Smoke. Otherwise, Southern Hospitality remains my favorite

Enjoy (I did)!

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And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

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