Events: June 2004 Archives
I'm one of those people who are always annoyingly early for everything, who doesn't understand that if the party starts at 8 I shouldn't arrive until at least 8:30, probably closer to 9. Plus now that I'm pregnant I'm hungry all the time to a whole new degree, if such a thing were possible.
So we sauntered into Madison Square Park, where this year's Big Apple Barbecue Block Party was held, at a quarter to 12. This year the barbecue was along 26th street, and tickets, information, desserts, music, etc were scattered throughout the park. I guess I'm gloating here because for once being annoyingly early for everything paid off. We bought our tickets and jumped from (relatively short) line to line, sampling various pork and beef products. About 30 minutes after we got there, the lines started getting long. By the time we left around 1:30, they were unmanageable, kind of a mess. We wanted to try the whole hog but couldn't bring ourselves to stand in a line that snaked halfway down the block between 5th Ave and Madison.
But I loved the beef brisket from The Salt Lick; it was soft and chewy with a band of pink on one edge. Todd was partial to a pulled pork sandwich. We were pretty happy. (Although I still love everything about the first one: the rain, the crowded street, the music. Even the food seems better. I guess that's what nostalgia does.)
I'm one of those people who are always annoyingly early for everything, who doesn't understand that if the party starts at 8 I shouldn't arrive until at least 8:30, probably closer to 9. Plus now that I'm pregnant I'm hungry all the time to a whole new degree, if such a thing were possible.
So we sauntered into Madison Square Park, where this year's Big Apple Barbecue Block Party was held, at a quarter to 12. This year the barbecue was along 26th street, and tickets, information, desserts, music, etc were scattered throughout the park. I guess I'm gloating here because for once being annoyingly early for everything paid off. We bought our tickets and jumped from (relatively short) line to line, sampling various pork and beef products. About 30 minutes after we got there, the lines started getting long. By the time we left around 1:30, they were unmanageable, kind of a mess. We wanted to try the whole hog but couldn't bring ourselves to stand in a line that snaked halfway down the block between 5th Ave and Madison.
But I loved the beef brisket from The Salt Lick; it was soft and chewy with a band of pink on one edge. Todd was partial to a pulled pork sandwich. We were pretty happy. (Although I still love everything about the first one: the rain, the crowded street, the music. Even the food seems better. I guess that's what nostalgia does.)
The Big Apple Barbecue Block Party, sponsored by Blue Smoke, is coming up. Todd and I went last year and had a lot of really good food. It rained a little, the lines were long, and the whole ticket system was a little annoying, but it felt good to stand out on 26th street (which they block off for the event) eating barbecue from all over the country and listening to music.
It's June 12 and 13, and a bunch of people, including Calvin Trillin and Ed Levine, will be participating in seminars during the weekend. There's information about it at Blue Smoke's web site.
