Alternatives To The Big Apple Barbecue

Yes, this is the actual crowd at the Big Apple BBQ

Every year, thousands of New Yorkers and tourists turn out for the Big Apple BBQ Festival in Madison Square Park. The outdoor event is a lively scene with some great barbecue from around the country... but it also has the potential to be annoyingly crowded, incredibly overpriced (if you spring for more than one plate or the fast pass), and, depending on the weather, a sopping, uncomfortable mess.

But when that smell of BBQ sauce hits your nostrils, lets face it, you're going to be in the mood for some smoky slathered meat. Should you pay $125 for the "Fast Pass" and wonder how in the hell comfort food could be so expensive? Or wait in line for half an hour or more for a small $8 plate of food you'll have to consume while standing awkwardly against a building or sitting uncomfortably on a bale of hay? Luckily, there are some nearby alternatives to get your BBQ fix and fixin's...

1. R.U.B., Righteous Urban Barbeque (208 W. 23rd St.) is, in my opinion, the best deal and best barbecue in the Madison Square area. They slow smoke their meat for up to 17 hours, and boast that the restaurant doesn't own a microwave. The brisket is my personal favorite, and I recommend getting a meat platter, which comes with two sides (the cole slaw, onion strings, corn bread, and baked beans are standouts). Get the burnt ends, which always sell out fast. A one meat platter will run you $15.50, but you'll get more food, be in an air conditioned space free from the crowds, and have a view of several TVs to watch the ballgame.

2. Hill Country (30 W. 26th St.) is a Texas-style barbecue market with New York prices, but the lunch specials are under $12 and include a side. The "moist" brisket is a winner. Sunday night they offer a "feed yer family" special from 4PM-10PM that includes a 1/4lb lean brisket, one pork spare rib, one beef rib, a quarter chicken, two sides, plus dessert for $20.

3. Blue Smoke (116 E. 27th St.) is where the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party began, and you can find their crew dishing out Texas Salt & Pepper beef ribs at Madison Square Park. While my friends weren't too impressed, New York Magazine calls it "an ingenious Manhattan BBQ joint." Sandwiches start at $11.50, the rib sampler for two will set you back a hefty $19 dollars each. And that doesn't include sides.

4. Wildwood Barbeque (225 Park Ave South) is notorious for slow service, but the Stephen Hanson restaurant serves up great Texas-smoked brisket and a lot of whiskey options. Personally, my favorite item is the sweet pickles. The Pit Sampler--Kansas City Baby Backs, Spare Ribs, Sliced Brisket, Pulled Pork, Smoked Sausage, Smoked Chicken, Cornbread, Coleslaw and 2 sides will serve 4 for $20 a head.

5. Dinosaur BBQ (700 W. 125th St.) If you're up for a subway ride, NYC's best barbecue is only 25 minutes away from Madison Square Park. Walk five minutes to 23rd. St. and 7th Ave., and take the 1 all the way to 125th street. Splitting a Traditional Sampler (1/4 Chicken(leg + thigh), 1/4 Rack of ribs & sliced Texas Beef Brisket) will only run two people $9.25 each, or for 4 bucks more, you can up the sampler to a 1/2 chicken, 1/2 rack. There's also the sweetheart deal for two, $15 each, which will get you a full rack of ribs + 4 sides. Or you could get a small, flimsy paper plate of Dino at the Big Apple BBQ. Your choice.

6. Brother Jimmy's (181 Lexington Ave.) I didn't want to put this here, because Brother Jimmy's is really more of a frat house than a BBQ joint, but the food is good and well priced, and if you arrive at the right hour, you'll actually be able to eat your meal without someone yelling "NO WAY!! HE DID NOT! NO HE DIDN'T!!! WHO WANTS TO BUY ME A BREWSKIE?" None of the sandwiches will run you more than 11 dollars, including a side and pickles. And if you do want to get blitzed with Chi Alpha Beta Zeta, there's always Swamp Water, alcohol and juice in a 64 oz. fish bowl. Ask for extra straws.

Other Big Apple BBQ Alternatives:

7. Manzo/Eataly (200 5th Avenue) At the southwest corner of Madison Square Park, you'll find Eataly, chef Mario Batali's behemoth Italian food superstore. Inside, you'll find 12 different mini restaurants, including Manzo, a carnivore's dream. The menu's not cheap, it is a Batali restaurant after all, but isn't a slow roasted beef rib with tarragon and spin rosso polenta worth $21 bucks more?

8. No. 7 Sub (1188 Broadway) is not a barbecue joint, it's a sandwich shop... but its unique offerings can sometimes hew towards the smoky side of the palate. Sandwich offerings change throughout the year-- the roast beef and the Montreal-style "smoked meat" sandwich were my favorites. (last I checked, Meat options included Roast Pork with cheddar, Melon, Chinese Mustard, and Shishito Peppers; and braised short ribs with Daikon Salad, Coconut Mayo. They also offer homemade sodas.

9. Red Farm Stand and 3Bs (839 Avenue of the Americas) are parts of a high-end, futuristic-looking food court called Foodparc inside the Hotel Eventi, and while they're not BBQ places, they offer up some tasty, spicy meat. The Pastrami Egg Roll from Red Farm is flaky and crispy, stuffed with Katz's pastrami and served with a zesty honey mustard sauce. Get it to go, eat it in Madison Square Park and chuckle as the passerby ask which stall you got it from. The Short Rib Bun, Duck Bun, BBQ Spare Ribs and BBQ duck are all on the sweet side of the tender red meat spectrum, but they're all delicious. At 3Bs, you can get a Pat La Frieda's special Hanger blend burger and a lot of bacon infused options. Everything is at fast-food level prices and can be ordered quickly thanks to a self-service touchscreen ordering system. UPDATE: Red Farm is now open in the West Village.

10. Soul Fixin's (371 W. 28th St.) (Closed Sunday), is not a barbecue restaurant as much as its a Soul Food restaurant, but those two things often go hand in hand. The tiny hole-in-the-wall is easy to pass by, and there's only a few tables, but inside you can get some terrific meatloaf glazed with barbecue sauce, candied sweet potatoes, fried chicken and sweet tea.

Bad Intel

Stoners in New York were excited by a Daily Intel blog post this morning...

Unfortunately, there's a reason that link is to NBC Connecticut...

Oh Noreen!! This is why no blog posts should be made before 10 in the morning.

Sorry stoners. You'll have to go to Yale to avoid jail time. Like George W.

In the meantime, I commend the great state of Connecticut. Decriminalize, not legalize. (click the link for my reasons why) It's a happy medium.

How Republicans Are Holding You, And America, Hostage

Debt is bad. We all know that, right? That's why your parents always tell you to pay down your credit cards, why Free Credit Score Dot Com commercials warn you won't get that car of your dreams. Debt leads to losing everything you own, ending only in suicide or starvation.

So it stands to reason that debt is also bad for America. If the deficit grows, the future of America should be just as bleak, ending in the break-up of the United States into tiny, feudal kingdoms, ruled by armed thugs wearing spike studded football shoulder pads driving around in flame-throwing motorcycles.

So why, good Americans, would we raise the "debt ceiling" without first cutting spending? Republicans, good stewards of our economy who have never, ever increased the national debt, ever, ever ever, are asking that question. And they're also answering that question, refusing to raise the debt ceiling unless austere measures are taken by those out-of-control Democrats.

There's just one problem.

The debt ceiling is not the same thing as the national debt.

Let that marinate for a moment. "National Debt" and "Debt Ceiling" both have the word "Debt" in it, so to an unintelligent person, they may look the same. But they're not.

"National Debt" is how much we're in the hole. "Debt Ceiling" is how much we're allowed to borrow.

While a higher debt ceiling means more borrowing, and therefore, a higher national debt, this DOES NOT MEAN THAT KEEPING THE DEBT CEILING AS IT IS REDUCES THE NATIONAL DEBT OR KEEPS IT THE SAME.

In fact, it actually causes the opposite to happen.

The U.S. is at the debt limit now. And that means it can no longer borrow money. We've established that the government now runs a deficit, and has very large debt. So if it can no longer borrow money, that means it can no longer pay its bills.

According to Slate:

The Treasury would no longer be able to issue new bonds, meaning that the United States would eventually start failing to pay its bills (like Social Security payments) and to service its outstanding debt (paying bondholders interest). The world bond market would likely panic, raising borrowing costs for all individuals and businesses. Moreover, the United States' borrowing costs would never fall as low again—investors would never fully trust the United States to pay back what it promises.

That's just the first stage. Then the stock market collapses to Great Depression levels. Millions are laid off overnight. The U.S. is no longer the world's superpower. We're Greece.

In other words, the apocalypse happens now.

With businesses failing and millions out of work, the U.S. tax base shrinks. Not only can the government not afford to pay anybody, now, it doesn't even have the money to keep the lights on in the Capitol building.

The United States breaks up into tiny, feudal kingdoms, ruled by armed thugs wearing spike studded football shoulder pads driving around in flame-throwing motorcycles.

This is reality. It's undisputed. Failing to raise the debt ceiling will be a catastrophe that will permanently end America as we know it.

And the Republicans are threatening to do it.

Hmm. Maybe these guys are on to something.

It's the equivalent to threatening a bank robber with a nuclear detonation if he doesn't put down the gun. Sure, a nuke would stop the bank from being robbed, but... you know... the bank's kind of a moot point after the mushroom cloud.

Debt is bad. We all know it is. But there are better ways to force the government to take it seriously other than threatening the extinction of the United States. There's better ways to reduce the national debt than reducing our country to ashes.

It's time to tell the Republicans to put down the nukes already.

If You're Looking For An Apartment In NYC...

June is a popular move-in time in New York City. It's tough to find a place that will perfectly suit your needs and isn't being fought over by hundreds of people. But if you've always dreamed of living in the heart of Soho, in your very own "artist's one bedroom," with eat-in kitchen, exposed brick, amazing city views, and "A shower big enough for a few of your friends", I've found the place for you-- 7 Spring Street:

Fabulous Funky Artist 1 Bed- SO MUCH Charm and Character

Be the only one to live in in a 1 bed in proper Nolita for $1600 a month

Located: on Spring between Bowery & Elizabeth

Features:
– Shared patio and yard
– Amazing city views with parks gardens and patios
– Bedroom fits a king bed
– Antique original moldings and doors
– Exposed brick throughout
– 5th floor walk up with means drenched with direct light
– Eat in Kitchen
– Built in book selves
– A shower big enough for a few of your friends – it’s actually bigger then the eat in kitchen… this is a classic RARE TO NONE. No one has a shower quite like this shower.. BE THE FIRST. You could set up a small dining area in the shower… Must see to believe.

I'm seeing it. I don't believe it.

Sort of reminds me of another place...

It's hard being a Realtor.

UPDATE: The price just dropped $50. And the new listing does not highlight the group shower.

Just A Quick Thing To Think About Before We Start Blaming Pakistan

It's pretty hard to believe the Pakistani government knew nothing about Bin Laden's whereabouts, given he was living next to their equivalent of West Point. But before we start questioning U.S. aid to Pakistan, lets draw on a little bit of history here.

U.S. aid was responsible for pushing the Soviets out of Afghanistan. Ironically, some of this money went to Osama Bin Laden, then a young, anti-Soviet jihadist.

Then, the U.S. pulled its aid to Afghanistan. Since the Soviets were defeated, the U.S. mission was deemed complete.

What was left behind was a war-torn, battered country with fractured leadership. Into the void stepped the Taliban. We know what that led to.

There are, no doubt, corrupt elements inside Pakistan. It's the chief reason why Obama approved the special ops mission inside Pakistan's borders without letting the Pakistani government know about it first. It's been well-established that the Pakistani intelligence agency and the government are as leaky as the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant.

But the reality is, the leakiness of the Pakistani Intelligence community exists because of its reliance on double agents and actual terrorists for information. They operate by letting the little fish go in hopes of catching the big fish. They operate effectively by gaining the trust of real terrorists-- which can sometimes mean leaking information that helps the bad guys.

And then, there's the most obvious challenge the Pakistanti government and their intelligence forces face. A good percentage of the people living in their country don't care much for America, and don't care much for a secular Pakistani government. Imagine if America let Iranian troops carry out operations in Boston, Massachusetts because some guy responsible for terrorism in Tehran was allegedly hiding somewhere near Fenway. You think Americans would be like, "Yeah, sure!"?

The Pakistani government has a tenuous hold on power. And maintaining that hold means presenting a certain face towards its populace. It must not look like a weak, subservient sidekick to American ambitions.

Ironically, the only way they can maintain that powerful facade is to fund themselves with U.S. aid. Their people cannot afford higher taxes without rioting and bringing down the government. As such, if the police, soldiers, and intelligence community are to be paid money to fight terrorism, they must be paid with funds acquired elsewhere. Like from the American government.

Without these funds, the security structure of Pakistan is left to fall apart. And instead of merely hiding out in Pakistan, terrorists begin operating there-- on a level they've never been able to before. The Pakistani government is overthrown-- and in its place, a group much like the Taliban institutes Sharia law. Bin Laden's dream--of an orthodox Islamic terrorist state-- becomes a reality.

Did the Pakistani intelligence services know where Bin Laden was? Well, here's West Point. Do you know who lives in every single one of those structures? Every one? Anyone live in the neighborhood want to take a shot? And keep in mind, this is America, where we're very nosy about our neighbors. I can think of about 20 buildings in my neighborhood in New Jersey which seem mighty odd.

Much has been said about Osama's mansion sticking out... but the area is actually very populated with mansions. Many have security. Osama's house may have seemed odd... but it had been there before most of the mansions in the area were built there. For all many neighbors knew, it could have been a intelligence services installation. It's not like they would have seen people walking around wearing "I'm With Osama" t-shirts while installing vinyl siding.

Yes, it was close to the Pakistani "West Point," but that may have been the precise reason Bin Laden chose it. Where was a place in Pakistan that would provide the U.S. with a more difficult target: on the western border, rife with terrorist activity, or a place where Pakistan's military leadership is trained? Which one would be the place the Americans would be less likely to look-- and more hesitant to bomb without Pakistani permission? The proximity does not suggest that the entire Pakistani government was involved in some elaborate Bin Laden protection scheme. Rather, it suggests that Bin Laden was worried about isolating himself in a place that would be exposed to an American air strike.

So lets cool our jets a bit. Bin Laden is dead. Let's celebrate. And hope that our government doesn't make any rash decisions that may lead to the birth of Bin Laden's successor.