Brooklyn’s Best BBQ
Brief
As we built out MyGiltCity, an editorial content channel supporting Gilt.com’s food vertical, I had the lucky assignment of writing about the top barbecue places in Brooklyn. The post resonated with our audience, and resulted in hundreds of Facebook likes and shares, while enhancing Gilt’s authority as an arbiter of the best in city living.
City apartment living makes grilling your own meat a rare luxury. Maybe that explains all the super-sized gourmet BBQ joints that have spring up around town in recent years.
We Brooklyn carnivores are happy to leave our grilling and smoking to the experts. Lucky us.
Fette Sau. This Williamsburg BBQ joint—featuring an industrial-sized smoker in a space that once housed an auto-body shop—has become a neighborhood mainstay. Expect a succulent rotation of pork shoulder, beef ribs, leg of lamb and more, all seasoned with pitmaster Joe Carroll’s proprietary spice rub.
Morgan’s Brooklyn Barbecue. Boasting ample outdoor seating on bustling Flatbush Avenue, this newcomer has an appealing family-friendly vibe. Pitmaster John Avila’s straightforward and delicious pulled pork and brisket pair surprisingly well with the sophisticated menu of largely bourbon-based cocktails. (An added bonus is the mac-and-cheese window directly next door, Elbow Room. Mixing meats and macs is highly encouraged here.)
Hill Country Barbecue Market. With brisket, sausage, ribs, heaping sides and a lively honky-tonk atmosphere, this ever-popular outpost brings the flavors of Texas to its latest outpost, in Downtown Brooklyn. As they enter, diners grab a meal ticket and head to the food stations, where they pile their trays with juicy brisket (served in butcher paper), Southern-style sides, cheeses and a range of desserts, all prepared by chef de cuisine and “Top Chef” alumni Ash Fulk and his team. Come hungry.
Dinosaur Bar-B-Que. This mini-chain of BBQ spots—first launched in upstate New York rather than south of the Mason-Dixon—landed in Brooklyn in 2013. Regulars at the Gowanus location love the unique menu items here, especially the Breakfast All Day (hash made with brisket al poblano, with a sunny-side-up egg). While there’s even a vegetarian sandwich (made with fried green tomatoes) on the menu, perfectly smoked meats remain the main attraction.