The Big Apple BBQ Block Party (and asso­ci­ated con­gre­ga­tion all avail­able let­ters “b”) is going on right now in New York’s Madison Square Park. For blocks around (depending on which way the wind blows) you can smell the sweet, low grey smoke that instantly gets the mouth watering. Meat is being cooked nearby. Follow your nose.

This, to me, is a really good idea. The only pass­able BBQ restau­rant that I went to in New York – The Lookout, for­merly in Park Slope, Brooklyn – inex­plic­ably closed down. Monica dug into the internet rumor mill, and scut­tle­butt has it that it wasn’t very pop­ular. This only serves to rein­force my notion that New Yorkers have no clue about real BBQ. What’s doubly dis­ap­pointing is that The Lookout was also a very fine restau­rant. They had one of the most imag­i­na­tive drink menus I have ever seen (top prize in that cat­e­gory con­tinues to reside with Employees Only) as well as very fresh food. Oh well, it’s Brooklyn’s loss if they couldn’t appre­ciate what they had. Still, it’s damn frus­trating for a real food lover to live in what is widely con­sid­ered one of the world cen­ters of fine dining and I can’t get a decent pulled pork meal.

Since we’ve been watching quite a bit of The Food Net­work, my better half and I have seen lots of dif­ferent kinds of BBQ being made. Ed Mitchell, a pit master from North Car­olina, was fea­tured on an episode of “Throw­down with Bobby Flay”. As luck would have it, Mr. Mitchell brought his smoke rig to this year’s BBQ Block Party and I was able to verify, for the record, that he is cooking up the real thing. It was like being back in North Car­olina, dig­ging into that unique sweet/sour/spicy meat. Eastern North Carolina’s style of BBQ – whole hog roasted, pulled, and mixed with a vinegar-based sauce – is a sin­gular style and clearly not for everyone. His stand at the Block Party was one of the least active. I sup­pose that dis­ap­points me a little bit, since it is sooooo good, but hey! That made it easier for me to get some.

The most pop­ular (and most mar­keted, based on all the signs) was Big Bob Gibson’s pulled pork shoulder. The pit master, Chris Lilly, was hawking his book and var­ious sauces but the real attrac­tion was the meat. I will grant that I have not had a wide variety of BBQ in my life­time. I’m pretty par­tial to the North Car­olina stuff. But this guy really did have the best meat at the event. It was smoky, with good mois­ture and flavor, and despite all the sauce options, really didn’t need any. It was a spe­cial treat. It’s too bad that I have work to per­form at home tomorrow, or I would go back and get more.