Culinary tour: New York- BBQ block party

New York, also known as the Big Apple. However I've been here several times already, but it's always nice to be here again. The only difference compared to the first time was that I knew what to expect and I had the knowledge of the Metro system.

New York can be overwhelming to some, exciting to some and too cold for some. But for me, it is a city full of things to see, things to eat and things to do. The first several times, I've seen most of the sights already: Statue of Liberty (from all kinds of angles), Central Park and all those attractions. For me, this trip is a culinary one. (hmm...aren't most of mine?)

The first night we arrived, it was already past 11pm.  We stayed at a friend's house in Queens and however New York is known as the city that never sleeps, but according to my friend, most food places are already closed in the neighborhood except for one: White Castle.

It's my first time in White Castle and the experience was a bit funny. There was a lady, who apparently is spanish-speaking and she didn't really understand what I was saying. Since the menu was broad and it was my first time, I was not sure what my options were. So I was more like asking for her suggestion, but seems like she was really there to just take the order and that's it. However she did her best, but we couldn't really understand each other that clearly.

The burgers are really small and probably that's why the price was also affordable.

When I was still in Suriname, I already did some research. Of course, there are many sites to do that, but I kept coming back to this one: Nifty NYC. They have a listing of ongoing and upcoming events and even mark down the free and cheap stuff you can do.

So one of those things I looked up is the annual BBQ block party at Madison Square Park. Traffic around that area will be blocked or diverted for that weekend (it's a 2-day event). We were there one day before the event and people were already setting up their BBQ sets, some were already working on their briskets. The day of the event we went there around 12 - 1pm and it was sooo crowded. People in every corner in any of those queues. So the idea was to split the group and we'll meet up after we got what we stood in line for. And what I saw most people do is they queue up for one thing and when they got their item, they will eat while standing in line for the next one. There were several long lines, but one of them we were told is selling pie and if you see the queue up, you're convinced their pie must the best one there is. After the first queue up, we kinda had enough of the sun and the lots and lots of people. But it was a really nice event. There were bands playing and to prevent riots from breaking out, an area was demarcated for alcohol consumption. There were also many picnickers, who came prepared with their blankets and stuff. It kinda give me a feeling of the end-of-the-year celebration in Suriname. Everybody was having a good time: people talking and laughing, enjoying good food. Anyway, you'd of course like to know what I tried:

 Dinosaur BBQ

- BBQ brisket sandwich with pickled onion & jalapeno relish, served with BBQ beans-

The brisket is full of flavors, with a sweet tint and very soft. Actually come to think of it, the beans were also on the sweet side.


Baker's Ribs
- St. Louise Style Ribs -
The ribs were so juicy...and great flavor. Only thinking of it makes me drool.

And the fun of it all, you see the people working on the items while standing in line. You could see how the brisket comes out of the smoker, on the table, get cut slice by slice and then put on your bun. So while standing in line, you could already work up quite an appetite. But after the first run, it was a bit less interesting to stand under the heat of the sun for about 15 minutes to half an hour for just one item.



This is an annual event, so if you happen to be in New York beginning of June, look up the dates at their site.