There’s plenty of smokin’ good ’cue at annual BBQ block party in Madison Square Park (photo by twi-ny/mdr)
Madison Square Park
23rd to 26th Sts. between Fifth & Madison Aves.
Saturday, June 7, and Sunday, June 8, 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Admission: free; $9 per plate of barbecue, $3-$8 per dessert
Fast Pass: $125; BigPiggin’ Pass: $265
www.bigapplebbq.org
www.madisonsquarepark.org
big apple barbecue block party 2013 slideshow
The immensely popular and ridiculously crowded Big Apple Barbecue Block Party is less than a month away, when pitmasters from around the country gather in Madison Square Park and serve up some damn fine BBQ. The twelfth annual event, being held June 7-8, features some old favorites as well as some up-and-comers: North Carolina’s Ed Mitchell, Mike Mills of the 17th Street Bar & Grill (Murphysboro, Illinois), Chris Lilly of Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q (Decatur, Alabama), Joe Duncan of Baker’s Ribs (Dallas), Mike Emerson of Pappy’s Smokehouse (St. Louis), Jimmy Hagood of BlackJack Barbecue (Charleston, South Carolina), Patrick Martin of Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint (Nashville), Garry Roark of Ubon’s Barbeque of Yazoo (Yazoo City, Mississippi), Scott Roberts of the Salt Lick Bar-B-Que (Driftwood, Texas), John Wheeler of Memphis Barbecue Co. (Horn Lake, Mississippi), Rodney Scott of Scott’s Bar-B-Que (Hemingway, South Carolina), Sam Jones of the Skylight Inn (Ayden, North Carolina), and local purveyors Jean-Paul Bourgeois of Blue Smoke, Charles Grund Jr. of Hill Country, John Stage of Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, and Daniel Delaney of Delaney Barbecue. The lines can get extremely long, so the best way to enjoy the event is to go with a bunch of friends, get on different lines, and then gather in the park to devour your meal. Each plate of ’cue is nine bucks, with desserts ranging from three to eight dollars each. Even the express lines for those BBQ lovers with the FastPass can get long — the FastPass is $125, with $100 redeemable for food, and tends to sell out in advance — so this year you can get the BigPiggin’ Pass, where for $265 you get $100 worth of barbecue using the express line and access to the VIP hospitality tent, which includes a Danny Meyer southern buffet, open bar (wine, beer, specialty cocktails), shaded seating, and air-conditioned rest rooms. There will also be live music, seminars, cooking demos, and more.