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.

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.

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.

Redneck Bar-B-Que
4874 State hgwy 28
Cooperstown, NY 13326
(607) 547-2678

A couple of years ago, Cherie & I were bored one Sunday & decided to take a drive up Route 28 to to check out Cooperstown Brewery. After a lovely tasting session that left me more than a bit buzzy, we headed toward Cooperstown with the intention of hitting Brewery Ommegang. Before we could get there, we came upon a large sign in the midst of the various Little League ball fields touting Bar-B-Que. Not only that – it was a Redneck joint.

Pulling into the parking lot, it certainly looked very promising. A plain building that could easily be mistaken for a auto supply store, only the beer & BBQ neon let you know there was a Q joint here. Well – that & the smell of wonderful wood smoke. Inside is a great mix of redneck, country & trad Q decoration. Wood tables, stools, chairs & benches. Very relaxed family friendly atmosphere.

That first slightly beer-y visit I had the smoked chicken wings & pulled pork sandwich. Plus a few more beers – couldn’t resist as they have some very nice upstate crafts. I still remember the first taste of those wings. Smoked then perfectly fried & coated in an amazing sticky sweet sauce – they are the perfect post & during beer munchie. I have to admit not really remembering the pork through the beer haze.

Our return trip occurred a few months later after Waffles & Puppets at Brewery Ommegang. Needless to say, I was once again in a beer buzz. (Yes – I likes me my craft brews!) Again – I seem to remember great wings & lovely pork.

Well – flash forward to August 2010. I’m back in research mode for the Hut’s re-opening in October & want to check out the Q joints in the area. The first one to come to mind is Redneck. “Hey,” I say to myself, “Perhaps THIS time you should go there SOBER!”

As so – sober I went for lunch on a Sunday afternoon. Perhaps we did not notice previously, but there is a great outdoor seating area just off the main dining room. We choose to sit there – ordered a few beers – & decided to get the pulled pork platter with fire slaw, mac & cheese plus starters of fried green tomatoes & cheese fries with jalapenos & bacon. We wanted to get the pork unsauced (with a side sampler), but were told it was not possible as the kitchen uses the sauce to heat the pork up. I see where they’re going with that – though there are ways to do that without using a sauce. We chose to go with the Low Country Vinegar sauce as that is closest to the method we use at the Hut for heating pork.

The pork was as great as I remember. Lovely hand pulled pieces with a subtle smoke & just the right spice hit off the vinegar wash. I would have liked a bit more bark in the mix (love those crunchy pieces) but that’s just being picky. Portion was perfect for sharing at lunch especially with two sides & some appetizers.

The Fire Slaw was the side winner. A great vinegar dressing spiked with hot sauce & peppers in the slaw. I’ve made something similar at the Hut & this has made me want to bring it back soon. Mac & cheese was fine – but nothing like the Hut’s. (Yes – I am VERY proud of Cherie’s Mac & Cheese.) The fried green tomatoes came as 6 pieces – perfect for two to share. Nice crust, moist tomato & a ranch dipping sauce. I suspect they pick these from the tomato plants out front. We were underwhelmed by the Cheese Fries. There are few times in life where I think Velveeta is appropriate & cheese fries are one of them. I appreciate Redneck using real cheddar cheese, but it just did not have the gooey cheesiness I wanted. The jalapenos had a nice kick, but I felt the bacon was a bit lacking (as in I could not taste it). Will likely stick with the smoked wings on future visits.