BBQ Gone Bad

I love BBQ. While my home state of Florida isn't a hotbed of great joints, I have spent a few finger lickin' good nights at some great BBQ places in the US. [ Shout Out to County Line in Austin,TX]. I could call myself a full on BBQ critic with the amount of time I have logged thus far :) Trust me on this.

A few years ago, I was so excited to learn that New York City had drank the Southern Kool-aide and some great pitmasters were headed my way. Many came, and many conquered. One of the great names that came our way was Pat & Gina Neely. You might know them from their Food Network Show which I happen to watch often on the weekends. So when I found myself doing a double movie header and needing a place for dinner near 62nd and 1st, I called upon Pat & Gina to feed me. It went something like this:

We walked in to the restaurant and were overcome by the smell of smoke. Cigar smoke to be precise. I asked the ladies to seat us outside. The outside was so crowded and tight. We sat down, our waiter came over and we ordered. We split a wedge salad, and then I ordered the brisket and my pal Clarissa ordered the pulled pork. Less than 10 minutes later, our entrees appeared. Clarissa said you the server, where is our salad. He said, "Oh, I forgot." So he asked us if we wanted and we said forget it. So we started to eat our mains. My brisket was tender and flavorful. I enjoyed the slight spice. The pulled pork on the other hand was dry and in need of sauce. Sadly, our waiter didn't appear so we had to eat before it got cold. Halfway through my meal, Clarissa asked me if I noticed mold on my okra. I looked, and viola, I saw mold. I couldn't eat anymore. Without asking, the manager appeared and asked us how we liked our meal. He looked 16. I said it was OK. Clarissa said, you are being way too nice. I said, I won't come back so forget it. Not worth a fight. Next thing we noticed was the man behind me talking to his girlfriend (at least I hope it was) in a very sexy tone. I can't even tell you what he said. Suffice to say, you would be blushing too :) Finished with our meals, we paid and vowed not to come back.

I plan on writing Pat & Gina Neely a note. They need to know. The best part of the night was seeing DRIVE with Ryan Gosling. Loved the movie. I even bought the soundtrack.

My words of caution, eat BBQ carefully.....