Finger Licking Good!

So, this weekend I had the pleasure of attending The Big Apple Barbecue Block Party in Madison Square Park. Despite the grueling heat, I managed to enjoy the experience entirely. Walking my way through the crowd, all you could smell was BBQ. With my mouth watering, I made my way to the first vendor in site- Rack & Soul and had some Baby Back Ribs and a side of beans. The ribs were tender and covered in well seasoned barbecue sauce. The beans had bits of pork mixed in and was delectable. The second stop was Baker's Ribs where I had St. Louis Ribs- which refers to how the pork ribs are trimmed. The lower most wasteful portion of the ribs are removed leaving the center bone only. This was served with a spicy black pepper coleslaw. The ribs were definitely more tender than Rack & Soul but the lacked flavor. I'm not a fan of things covered in black pepper but I loved the spicy coleslaw. It livened the flavor of the typically bland coleslaw. Order of 'slaw to go please!! Mr. Cecil's California Ribs was my next and sad to say last stop. What can I say...how many ribs can one person consume in 60 minutes?! I did, however, have a few tastes, while on line, of the Proclamation Stew Crew's Brunswick Stew - a brew of boneless chicken thighs, fatback, potatoes, onions, crushed tomatoes, lima beans, shoepeg corn and pure red pepper. If I had eaten the whole cup, I would of been done for. It was so filling but oh so tasty. But, back to the ribs, Mr. Cecil's California Ribs supplied me with a mouth watering jaw dropping piece of what appeared to be a dinosaur bone. The beef rib was falling off the bone and was oh so tasty. Can you tell it was my fav? It came with a spicy hot link which was mediocre in taste, however, the rib made up for it. I even scored a picture with Mr. Cecil himself, Pitmaster Jonathan Burrows!! He walked around greeting the crowd waiting in line and answered various questions about the barbecue technique. I really enjoyed the event and enjoyed the free beverage samples. Snapple anyone? I've come up with a plan for next year that will allow me to eat more..bring plenty of people that are willing to stay in line and sample. Until next year...