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.

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.

Asia Dog
Mobile vending at various locations.
Check their website for schedule.

With time still to kill before lunch & done with our HNH BBQ brisket sandwich, we decided one more Brooklyn Flea food vendor was in order.

Someone is selling “hot dogs with Asian-inspired toppings” & one of the toppings is Chinese Pork Belly, you just have to know I’m buying. The Wangding is an organic beef dog topped with chopped onions & fried pork belly. Somewhat an Asian cousin to Crif Dog’s Spicy Red Neck without the hillbilly edge. The pork belly added a richer flavor to the dog than any plain bacon wrapped dog I’ve ever had. My only criticism is I wanted more pork to dog ratio.

Looking forward to a return trip to the Flea to try more of these dogs & their limeade sodas.

HNH BBQ
Mobile vending at various Brooklyn locations.
Check their website for a schedule.

Our final day of Meat Coma NYC 2010 took us across the river to Brooklyn. Our plan was to hit Smoke Joint in our old Fort Greene neighborhood then swing by Fete Sau in WIlliamsburg for the meaty finale. Cherie had made plans to meet an old friend at Smoke Joint & as we arrived early we had some time to kill.

We decided to wander around the old hood for a bit checking out what had changed (quite a bit actually) & what had not (the dreadful Chinese take-out was still there. REALLY!?!?) Along the wander, we ran into the Brooklyn Flea – a weekly flea market & street food extravaganza organized by the folks at Brownstoner. If we had known this existed, I guarantee we would have skipped Smoke Joint & spent most of the day eating our way through the fabulous street food here.

Rounding the corner of one of the food aisles, I saw the big “BBQ” banner & knew I was going to be eating before lunch. HNH BBQ is run by crew of young Texas transplants cranking out amazing brisket on a Weber Smoker. As we were heading off to a full lunch, we decided to just split a sandwich & skip the sides. We’re hoping to make a return visit to shop the flea market for Hut decorations & sample more of HNH’s food.

I consider myself a brisket fanatic. Up until the 2010 NY Meat Tour, I was beginning to believe I knew nothing about brisket & it was supposed to taste like roast beef. Thankfully, visits to Capital Q Smokehouse, Hill Country, Fete Sau & the folks at HNH BBQ proved this wrong. Brisket tastes like brisket if done right.

And HNH BBQ is doing brisket right.

Moist tender & a beautiful smoke ring, it’s simply seasoned with salt, crushed peppercorns & (I’m guessing here) a bit of cayenne. Excellent bark & a lucious meaty flavor. Cherie thought it was a bit too salty (I dig salty) but we both agree the cracked pepper added a great punch.

I am certain no brisket will ever beat HIll Country brisket (until I make the trip to Texas), but HNH BBQ is certainly in my Top 5. If you’re a brisket fan anywhere near Brooklyn, do yourself a favor & seek out HNH BBQ when they are vending. You’ll be glad you did.