Big Apple BBQ Block Party

Got ribs? I did, and damn if it wasn't a good chunk of meat.

This weekend was the 4th annual Big Apple BBQ Block Party, right in the heart of downtown Manhattan. Four blocks long and one city avenue across, it took over Madison Square Park with the odor of hickory, charcoal, cedar and meat cooking over a grill.

Some of the country's best grillers were on hand to sell off samples of their specialties. Southside Market Grill from Elgin, Texas showcased their beef brisket and Elgin Hot Sausage (with tangy cole slaw), along with samples of their own brand of bbq sauce and hot sauce. New York's own Blue Smoke offered up St. Louis style ribs that melted off the bone, tender and juicy as can be (with a side of dill pickles).

I gotta tell ya, the food was great. I just wish it was easier to get to.

There were ten different vendors represented at the block party; I got to sample three. I wish I could have tried more, but the party turned out to be more of a disneyland ride with little entertainment. At the end of the day I ended up on a line that took me, literally, 45 minutes before I got my food.

I'd shown up expecting...more. People showcasing grilling techniques, vendors selling equipment, food, sauces that you could take home and grill up yourself. Music, which they did eventually have - you just had to stick it out for a while, which admittedly I didn't. After an hour there I'd sampled two grills and was full for the moment. I wanted to sit and...do something else. Or just do something.

There was nothing to do.

The park was just too small for this venue, so people were sitting on the sidewalks, the pathways, just to get away from the crowd. There was little entertainment, and no interactivity. The vendors were from the corporate sponsors; no offense to American Express and Jet Blue, but i really didn't come there to see your advertising and have you try to sign me up. I came for some BBQ!

So I left. Saw a movie, did some writing, then came back around 4:30.

Three-quarters of the food booths were closed, because they'd run out of food.

People go to BBQs to eat, but they also go for the social aspect. There was little of that here, unless you limited yourself to the "Beer Circle" - a corner of the park where they sold beer, and where you were allowed to drink it openly. As long as you stayed in this corner.

Needless to say, this is where everyone was. Which made navigating it with a tray of food in one hand and a beer in the other, a bit tricky.

Still, the food was good and the price ($7 prix fixe for each sample, no drink included) went to a good cause (Madison Square Park Conservatory). The weather wasn't fantastic, but better than last year when it rained all day.

Plus it's got me in the mood to break out the charcoal myself. Hell, I've got a brand-spanking-new 22" Weber kettle waiting to be used.

I can smell those ribs already. Mmmmm...!