American Glory
342 Warren Street
Hudson, NY 12534
(518) 822-1234

Thanks to a recent search on Facebook for other Q joints, I came across a new place in Hudson, NY (about 2 hours from the Hut HQ). Located in the old H. Rogers Hose Company firehouse, American Glory BBQ did an amazing job at a restoration that keeps a firehouse feel while hitting the right Q joint notes. Dark wood, a nice big bar with the coldest beer EVAH – seriously the ice on the taps is wild – & a good mix of rock, blues & country on the sound system.

We settled in at the bar & were pleased to find a nice array of microbrews on tap. Got a pint or two – forgot what we ended up drinking – & looked the menu over. As is usual when we hit a new joint, we went to a sampler platter. On the meat list, they offer pulled pork, beef brisket, St. Louis ribs, spare ribs, turkey drumstick & Texas Hash – a combo of chopped beef & pork simmered in a house sloppy joe sauce. Sides include the usual beans, mac & cheese, collard greens & slaw but add in usual items (at least for a joint in upstate NY) like pickled red cabbage & mushrooms with cherry peppers.

We went with a three meat/two sides sampler for $20. Choose pulled pork, beef brisket & Texas Hash. For sides, we went with mac & cheese & pickled red cabbage. You definitely get enough of each meat & side for two to share. Of the three meat choices – my vote goes to the Texas Hash. A great blend of pork & beef, the shred on both meats made them extremely tender. The house sloppy joe sauce had a nice kick with a touch of smokiness. Unfortunately, we were a little less impressed with the brisket & pork.

The brisket – while tender & moist – lacked a discernible smoke ring or any real smoky flavor. It had a nice roast beef flavor but not much of a “brisket” flavor. The pork also lacked any real smoke & was more sliced into long chunks – & not really chopped – than “pulled”. Again, a good moistness & nice roast pork flavor but not really my style of Q.

The positive side to both the pork & brisket is it came un-sauced. Definitely a thumbs up for that! My biggest pet peeve with Q joints are those who serve me pre-sauced meat. Always makes me wonder what they are hiding. The mac & cheese was nice enough – good creamy texture. The side winner was definitely the pickled red cabbage. Great tangy sweet pickling dressing, the cabbage was tender but still had a bit of crunch. Makes me want to look into something like this for the Hut.

While having our sampler, we noticed the couple next ot us having the smoked turkey drumstick. Think obscene Renaissance Fair turkey leg then take that up a bit & you get the idea. Again – has me thinking about a special some weekend in November/December.

All in all, I’d have to say I dug American Glory BBQ. They are working a bit of a different style of Q than mine – & that’s perfectly fine. I really dug 1/2 of what I ordered & am curious to return for more of their menu. In addition to the Q selection, they also do some fish (catfish, salmon & shrimp) as well as steaks & burgers. As with most Q joints these days – they have a small vegetarian selection. Worth the trip if only for the ice cold beer & the Texas Hash.

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Tortillaville
347 Warren Street
(next to Dogs of Hudson)
Hudson, NY 12534

Like most folks aware of current food trends, I am a bit obsessed by the food truck. I honestly believe they will be the dominant food trend for the next decade if not longer. Cheap to start – low over head – & laser focused in menu. If done right, it’s the perfect dining experience. Even though the Hut has a fixed physical “restaurant” location, I’ve spent a great deal of effort to design it as basically a food truck with a dining room.

On a recent trip to Hudson NY to visit American Glory BBQ, we stumbled upon the Tortillaville Truck while wandering down Warren Street. What was most interesting was their set up – like an outdoor cafe with a food truck kitchen. Even more interesting was the empty garage next to their location. Rather than attempt to open a traditional restaurant in the garage space, the Tortillaville folks choose to keep it simple.

Out of the tiny vending truck kitchen, the two owners crank out a variety of tacos, burritos & platas made fresh daily. All the standard meats – pork, beef, steak, chicken, fish & shrimp – plus tofu & beans for the veggie crowd.

As we were on our way to American Glory, I decided to go with a couple of tacos as a pre-Q appetizer.

I went with one pork & one beef. They are served trad style with two thin grilled corn tortillas as a base. The pork had a nice texture but could use a bit more punch. The addition of some hot sauce kicked it up a bit. (To be fair, I tend to like things a bit on the spicy side.) The beef was juicy & had a nice spicy bite. Both come topped with salsa fresca, guacamole, and queso fresco. At $2.50 a piece, they really are a perfect deal. Cherie & I shared them making it just enough for a quick snack. Definitely worth repeating again in the future.

Given the fact Tortillaville is run out of a truck & Hudson NY tends to get quite a bit of snow, it should come of no major surprise they are seasonal. The Hudson location operates from May to October then the operation moves south to the Florida Keys for December to March.

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Bar-B-Q Barn
14 Deer Ln
Catskill, NY 12414
(518) 943-2200

On a lazy Sunday afternoon, I decided to head to Hudson, NY to check out American Glory BBQ. As I take State Route 23 to get from my house to Hudson, I knew I would be passing The Bar-B-Q Barn. After many times of not stopping, I decided this trip would be the one to check it out.

The Barn is also known – in the area – as “Good Eats” & perhaps that would have been a better name overall. Why?

There is basically no BBQ (bar-b-q, bar-b-que, barbeque or barbecue) here. I firmly believe one should not be invoking the BBQ moniker without the majority of menu items being smoked or Q staples. Most of the Barn’s fare appears to be burgers & fried chicken. They do have a pulled pork sandwich & that is what I ordered.

I have to say – for a place not really a Q joint I was quite surprised. The menu stated the pork was tossed in the house sauce, but – as is clearly evident from the photo above – comes unsauced but they include a 2 oz. sauce. The sandwich comes with fries & a choice of side. I went with the baked beans.

The pork was actually quite nice. Moist & well pulled (no pork foam here), it did lack any real smoke or bark. I suspect it’s actually roasted & pulled, but at least it is actually pulled. The fries were amazing. Fresh out of the fryer – hot & very crisp. I could not stop eating the them. Very addicting.

The house sauce tastes vaguely commercial brand – though I cannot ID the brand – but had a nice balance of spicy to sweet without the massive commercial liquid smoke edge. If I was forced to use a commercial sauce, this would be a top contender.

The beans were possibly the least impressive part of the meal. Clearly something from a can & doctored a bit, they were still a bit too bland for my tastes. Would like to have seen a bit more kick & less generic canned bean flavor.

In the end, I was pleasantly surprised by the sandwich. I’ve come to dread eating BBQ in anything other than a dedicated Q joint. The Bar-B-Q Barn does a nice job of making a solid pulled pork sandwich. Unfortunately, that does not make you a Q joint. I suggest changing the name to Good Eats – because clearly that is what they serve.

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Fete Sau
354 Metropolitan Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11211
(718) 963-3404

The final destination on the Meat Coma NYC 2010 Tour took me to Williamsburg in Brooklyn. Considering the density of hipsterness in this area, I am actually surprised it has taken so long for a BBQ joint to open here. Thankfully, what did open is one of the best Q joints in the Five Boroughs.

Situated in a converted garage along the still mostly warehouse-esque stretch of Metropolitan, Fete Sau is everything I want in a future Hut location. Exposed brick walls, roll up garage doors, long communal rustic wood picnic tables & funky faded meat cut artwork on the walls. It’s got a perfect Q joint vibe without being fauxbilly or too urban country.

Like Hill Country, Fete Sau is market style. You enter to find the display case filled with pork & beef. Give the carver your order by the pound & then move along to the sides. As I was somewhat full from HNH BBQ, Asia Dog & The Smoke Joint, I decided – again like Hill Country – to stick with meat only. Well meat & a beer.

Ordered a 1/2 pound each of brisket, pulled pork & pork belly. I was a little disappointed to only have the choice of lean brisket, but it was quite tasty. If I had to rank the brisket eaten over the course of the Meat Coma Tour, it would be:

1. Hill Country
2. HNH BBQ
3. Fete Sau/Capital Q Smokehouse

I’ll skip discussing where I think MY brisket falls on that list (*cough*tiedwithhnh*cough*) but it was quite wonderful to discover so many joints on the tour making what – at least to me – is REAL smoked brisket.

Fete Sau’s pulled pork was done exactly the way I believe pulled pork should be done. No sauce – nice rope pull – a bit of crusty bark – & enough smoke to flavor but not overpower the meat. I can’t say I found their use of Berkshire Shoulder to add anything to the product other than price. It’s not that I do not respect the use of heritage/organic/local meat – it’s how I learned to make Q – it’s just that rarely does it actually affect the end product. BBQ is about taking cheap cuts of meat & making them yummy. When you start with expensive meat – you’re kind of defeating the purpose of BBQ.

Then I tasted the pork belly…

OK – I get it here. This is amazing pork belly. Rich, smokey, fatty goodness. It’s not bacon – though you could fry it up like bacon. It’s like concentrated essence of pork with a smoke undertone. I seriously wish I had gotten more of this. It makes me want to start working with pork belly as soon as I can.

I certainly have to agree with those praising Fete Sau. When it comes to hardcore Q in Brooklyn, it might well be the top joint. Besides – you can buy beer by the gallon here & that’s reason enough to love the place.

Though the brilliant Q is an even better reason.

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The Smoke Joint
87 South Elliott Place
Brooklyn, NY 11217
(718) 797-1011

Having worked up an appetite cruising the Brooklyn Flea & warming up with food from HNH BBQ & Asia Dog, we reluctantly headed out of the Flea & over to meet our lunch guest at The Smoke Joint. (As stated earlier, had we known about the Flea, we would have made plans to meet & eat there, but as we are a cellphone free couple there was no way to change plans.)

When we lived in the Fort Greene/Clinton Hill area, I would have killed for a place like The Smoke Joint. At the time we were in the hood, food choices were a bit limited & many of the offering were – ummm – not really edible. A nice Q place with a bar must have been quite welcome to the area. The Smoke Joint has that casual “hang out have some Q drink some beer have a bourbon” feel. The front opens to provide al fresco dining but still have the comfort of a roof. There is quite a nice selection of craft beers & several nice bourbons.

As it was noon – bourbon was not on my mind – but beer & Q was. (Yes – I was actually still hungry after eating at the Flea.) Cherie’s friend took another 15 minutes to finally show up, so we started with a round of beer & slowly took in the menu.

This is a straight up Q joint. Pork, beef & chicken with a couple of fried seafood offerings. Three kinds of ribs – pork spares, baby backs & beef short ribs – plus pulled pork, hot links, chopped beef, smoked chicken & pulled chicken. They also offer a Black Angus Beef Dog topped with your choice of Q’ed pork, beef or chicken & Brooklyn Wings – their take on chicken wings.

Sides run to the usual suspects – mac & cheese, beans, greens, slaw, corn on the cob & fries. Beyond the beer selection, they offer Boylan’s & Dr. Brown’s sodas, homemade limonade (fresh squeezed lemon & lime), Kinda Sweet Tea & a Tiger Woods (half limonade, half iced tea).

We decided to go the sandwich route for lunch. Cherie got the Chopped Beef & mac & cheese. I went with Pulled Pork & barbecued beans. When our lunch guest arrived, she went for mac & cheese & the smoky greens.

The chopped beef is a combination of shredded beef short ribs & brisket. What is strange to me is they do not actually offer brisket on the menu. My guess is the short ribs are leftovers shredded down in classic Q joint style. (What does not sell – take & make hash/chili/shredded sammies with…) The beef is mixed with the house sauce. A nice sandwich, but I preferred the brisket sandwich from HNH BBQ up the street at the Flea. As to the mac & cheese – well it was nice enough but when you’ve tasted Cherie’s Smoked Mac & Cheese (or the Four Cheese at Macbar), the bar is placed pretty high.

The pulled pork was a bit better. A nice ropey texture with some crunchy bark, it was lightly sauced – enough to keep it moist but not saucy – with a light smokiness. The pork carried over nicely into the barbecued beans with a sweet slightly thick sauce studded with three kinds of pork goodness. Certainly some of the better beans I’ve had.

I had a taste of the smoky greens & have to say – not really knowing greens – they were fairly wonderful. Nice smokiness while still crisp & “green”. Even more interesting – they are meatless! I’ve had many requests for greens at the Hut & this convinces me we can do them & keep our vegetarian side policy.

All in all a nice lunch. This is not necessarily a mecca for BBQ – just a solid neighborhood joint for good Q & cold beer. I guarantee if I were still in the area you’d find me here at least one night a week – if not actually working in the kitchen. Worth dropping by if in the hood & HNH BBQ is not at the Flea.

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