The heart and soul of BBQ comes to NYC
BBQ NYC - brings an old time, down-home BBQ picnic to New York City. CityRag has the inside scoop on this very cool event, still in it’s undiscovered stage, and ready for you to pounce-on and be part of the making of a legend! …a massive and extraordinary feast, cooked by renowned BBQ chefs, in world class smokers, attended by 250 people and held in a local park - where everyone comes away stuffed and satisfied!. we have an exclusive interview with the founder and info on how to get in on next years event!
Born last summer, this year's second showing was held July 24th in Flushing Meadows Park. For only $20 a head attendees feasted on… MEAT: Brisket, Pork Butt, Brats & Chicken; SIDES: Cole Slaw, Corn on the Cob, Vegetarian Baked Beans & Potato Salad; VEGETARIAN: Home-smoked Salmon, Grilled Veggie Burgers; POTLUCK: Salads, Sides, Desserts and other dishes all prepared by fellow picnic-goers; BEVERAGES: 3 flavors of the infamous DOGFISH HEAD BEER, lemonade, iced tea, water, soda; DESSERT: Watermelon & snack cakes
Interview with Travis Mills, aka Cuemaster, and BBQ NYC founder (all photos kindly provided by Travis)…
CR: What made you decide to start doing this?
Travis: The origin of BBQ NYC came late one night on Chowhound, back when I was a 24/7 visitor to the site - every summer tourists and locals alike bemoan the lack of quality barbecue in the city, sending out pleas for where to find it - finally I got so fed up with it, I wrote into one of the myriad "Where's the Best BBQ in the City?" threads that I was a barbecue chef from Texas and that it would be my mission to bring the good stuff here. I was able to generate a good amount of buzz and collect a few adventurous souls willing to lend a hand....most importantly, Bobby Richter who answered a call for pit smokers in the area on a BBQ related message board. Thank the heavens for him - he makes this thing go.
CR: How was this year's picnic?
Travis: Fantastic. I don't think there was a disappointed plate holder in the crowd.....the weather held up despite the biblical deluge the day before - it was magic. Hard work, but totally rewarding.
CR: How many people attended?
Travis: We sold out all 250 of our allotted spots lickity split, with well over a month to go. That was fine with me, but if you blinked, you missed it. I could have easily filled 600 spots. so there's that element of having to balance what's possible with what you can get away with. Our volunteer organizers were ridiculously overworked, even though none of them will tell you that it was work for them. To me, they get all the credit, especially my wife Amy, and Abby, Carey, Jessica, Sarah, Ellen. Tons of other folks helped out too. Our legal guy was a freakin genius. Bobby's crew, in addition to his trusty sidekicks Barry and Pete, his brother Michael and buddy Andy, also included one of the east coast's top BBQ champions. it's impossible to imagine what it would have been like without just one of them.
CR: Goals for next year?
Travis: Next year Bobby and I really want to incorporate a competition element to the proceedings. BBQ is so huge these days, we see the demand and we'd love to be right there at the top....then again, my favorite aspect of BBQ NYC is the down-home, intimate gathering feel we've been able to maintain. I like to call it a picnic with 250 of my closest strangers. But I think a competition would be fun, informal at first but then it could grow to something bigger - New York state doesn't have an official one as far as I know. but my first priority is to digest from this last one first!
Tips/notes:
- go to the official website for information on how to attend and to get on the mailing list BBQ-NYC.com (and there will be pix and updates about the event there in the coming days)
- the picnic is open to everyone – on a first come basis (you must sign-up in advance. the picnic sells out very quickly and no walk-ins are accepted)
- a wonderful, funny and info packed email goes out to all attendees before the picnic that includes every bit of information you need!
THIS JUST IN! check out these Chowhound Outer Boroughs board posts for MOUTH WATERING first hand reports from dedicated NY chowhounds who attended!! GREAT STUFF (thanks for the tip Bob!)
