First BBQ of the Season

Weather has a large impact on what I like to eat. Since it's been so warm and beautiful lately (I <3 California) I've been in the mood to BBQ. At my house, when we BBQ, we go hard. We had quite the feast this weekend.

vine ripened tomato, grilled haloumi cheese, basil

grilled corn, mayo, parm, cayenne, lime juice

roasted potatoes, shallots, red onion, garlic, peppered turkey bacon, parsley

buns

beef sliders with cheddah

slider

bbq ribs

korean bbq, grilled chicken

As always, ping me for recipes! I don't write anything down but my recipes are generally pretty simple.

Famous Dave's BBQ

My first night back home, I went out with my family for some good ol' BBQ. So many new commercial developments have popped up since I've been away and a new BBQ joint opened up called Famous Dave's BBQ.  It's apparently the only good BBQ place in town--the wait was nearly 45 minutes! My sister was so excited to order a family size "feast" which came with everything and was meant to serve 4-6 people. We had 6 people and barely made it through half the food! I guess the 4-6 recommendation was for extremely hungry and large people.

Rib tips! I'm not sure why they serve just tips---the whole rib is pretty darn good!

"Feast! Feast! Feast!" is chanted as the waiters bring out this massive platter.

Jalapeno mac and cheese and firecracker green beans. Having some greens made me feel better about everything I was eating.

We all rolled out after this massive meal with a few boxes of leftovers and total meal overdose. I don't think I'll be eating BBQ for awhile.

Bay Area Eats Part II

My other favorite place to eat is at home. I wanted to have a BBQ despite the crappy rainy/overcast weather. The Doans BBQ like no one I've ever met. It's massive, colossal, gargantuan!











Ah, there's no place like home. :)

Trek to Harlem (Dinosaur BBQ)

I don't usually go to Harlem. Nothing against the borough...it's just FAR. However, some Bay Area friends were in town and I deemed that a special occasion enough to make the trek uptown for some BBQ deliciousness at Dinosaur BBQ. I have never been there before and really wanted to check it out. Getting to the restaurant took well over 45 minutes! This includes the time I got semi-lost and ended up hopping in a cab, of course. They were running behind and my party ended up waiting forever to sit down...we passed time at the bar. Eventually we sat and proceeded to order EVERYTHING on the menu.

This is the appetizer sampler for 4 which comes with (from top left): fried green tomatoes sprinkled with Pecorino Romano cheese, chicken wings, deviled eggs and spicy shrimp boil. I liked the fried green tomatoes the best...probably because I slathered it with the cayenne buttermilk ranch dressing.

Instead of doing the sensible thing and sharing combo platters, we all ordered our own. I ordered the Tres Hombres which came with Texas beef brisket, Bar-B-Que ribs, Bar-B-Que pork, honey hush cornbread and my choice of sides....I chose cajun corn and mac n' cheese. I didn't like the brisket much, but the ribs were tender and the pork was pretty tasty, although I've definitely had better. I slathered everything with the hot BBQ sauce so it all tasted great at the time. The cornbread was on the dry side, but the cajun corn was addicting!

Tina ordered the Ode to Elgin which came with 1/4 rack of ribs, beef brisket, hot sausage link, honey hush cornbread, and two sides....she chose Syracuse style salt potatoes and french fries. I liked the sausage link...it had a nice smoky flavor.

Both Ant and Joo ordered the Sampler Supreme, which came with 1/2 chicken, 1/2 rack of ribs, Texas beef brisket, honey hush cornbread and two sides. The chicken was a bit plain...it just tasted like rotisserie chicken with some BBQ sauce on top. I was disappointed.

I don't know what we were thinking ordering so much! There was well over 2 lbs. of leftover meat. None of us could finish our plates, but we did try! I'm glad I tried this place, but I don't think I would go back. There are several other BBQ joints I want to try before repeating a place I thought was just ok.




Restaurants mentioned:
Dinosaur BBQ
646 W. 131st St.
New York, NY 10027