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.

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.

Capital Q Smokehouse
329 Ontario Street
Albany, NY 12208-3335
(518) 438-7675

We first ran into Capital Q Smokehouse at the 2010 Troy Pig Out – an annual BBQ fest & competition in downtown Troy, NY. They had the mega-Q-wagon shown above parked at the start of the food vending area. Unfortunately for us, we started eating at the end of the vending area. After some less than spectacular food & a long day in the sun, we were a bit too full & tired to wait in the Capital Q Smokehouse line. So we made note of the fact it was in Albany & planned a trip in the near future.

Capital Q Smokehouse is located on a side street off of Madison Ave. in the College of St. Rose area of Albany. You might initially think you’re gone the wrong way, but keep driving. It is in a rather unassuming house with a big Q hanging out front. Find some street parking & get ready for some serious good eatin’.

This is my idea of a perfect joint. A small lunch rail in the front window with a few stools & not much else. The majority of Capital Q Smokehouse is the kitchen & service area – just as it should be in a great Q joint!

Dan – the guy working the counter when we visited – started by asking if this was our first visit. We answered “yes” & so began our introduction to the three porks they serve. Capital Q Smokehouse takes a beautiful smokey hand pulled pork & gives it three treatments: Okie Pig, Capital Q & South Carolina. The Okie Pig is simmered in a Kansas City style red sauce. Capital Q uses a spicy North Carolina style vinegar wash. The South Carolina also uses a vinegar wash but spicier & with a mustard seed kick. Brisket is offered as sliced or as Okie Beef & Burnt End. Okie Beef & Burnt End is chopped brisket simmered in the Okie sauce. There are almost too many side choices to deal with or list.

Sandwiches come as regular or slider size. For lunch, you can get 2 sliders, a side & drink for $7. We decided that was too good to pass up & went for the lunch deal. I had the Capital Q Pulled Pork slider, Okie Beef & Burnt End slider, mashed sweet potatoes & a couple of croakers (more about this in a minute) as an extra side. Cherie went with a South Carolina slider, Okie Beef & Burnt End slider, jalapeno mac & cheese & BBQ mac & cheese as an extra side. We also got a 1/2 pound of sliced brisket because brisket is our obsession.

I know that may sound like an insane amount of food, but actually it was quite manageable. The sliders – something we’ve decided will be a staple at the Hut – are the perfect size for sandwich sampling. The sides were just enough to share without being overwhelming. The sides were ok but not as amazing as the meat. It’s something we often find in Q joints. All the effort is focused on creating great meat then it is served with passable (or worse) sides. I am quite glad Cherie is around to focus on the sides for the Hut.

One experiment in sides I found intriguing but ultimately a bit disappointing was the Croakers. These are fried mashed potato croquettes with cheddar cheese, scallions & bacon. at 50¢ each, I tried 2. I wanted more bacon (then again who doesn’t) & the cheddar really does not come through. Nice & moist with a great crunchy fried crust, they had so much undelivered potential. I hope perhaps they’ll take them up a few notches.

Then again – one does not go to a joint for sides. It’s the meat – & oh the meat at Capital Q! The pulled pork is a wonderful smokey delight with a great bark & spicy kick of vinegar. (I’m not a KC sauce fan though the KC sauced Okie pork here is pretty great.) When Dan started slicing the brisket, I called Cherie over & asked: “Does that look familiar?” Yes – for the first time since starting to make BBQ in upstate NY, I found another joint making brisket like mine. Beautiful smoke ring. Tender, moist & smokey. Beautiful spicy crust. It was quite reassuring to discover perhaps I actually do know what I’m doing & have not made a horrible career choice.

Both brisket & pork were brilliant. We left very little on or plates.

The one saving grace is – when talking to Dan about Capital Q expanding – they are looking north of Albany. I would not be keen to go up against them – though it might be fun. On the other hand – it is nice to know I can actually get good BBQ when I have to do the run to Albany for Q supplies.