Hill Country Food Park Opens Monday in Downtown Brooklyn

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Happy day after Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you are stuffed but not so stuffed that you don’t feel like eating some barbecue next week. Why, you ask?

Hill Country Food Park, the long-anticipated new joint from NYC BBQ staple Hill Country, will open at 11 a.m. on Monday, according to Hill Country pitmaster Ash Fulk. As I reported earlier this year, HCFP takes inspiration from Austin, Texas’ food truck scene and will have multiple “stalls” throughout the building, which previously housed Hill County Barbecue’s Brooklyn location.

HCFP’s variety of cuisine choices will naturally include barbecue like baby back ribs and brisket, but you’ll also find fried chicken, square pizza, sandwiches, salads, tamales, nachos, and burgers. There’s even going to be doughnuts from Du's Donuts and coffee, so soon you'll be able to stop in for breakfast too.

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HCFP is reminiscent of other food halls that have become popular in New York City in recent years, including Urbanspace Vanderbilt, City Kitchen, The Plaza Food Hall, Gotham West Market, and Dekalb Market Hall. But the big difference here is that Hill Country will be in charge of most of the food that this hall offers.

Early next year, the second floor of HCFP will become the new space for Hank’s Saloon, a well-liked Boerum Hill dive bar that is closing its original location in December. Hank’s will serve snacks and beer, but maybe most importantly, it will feature concerts from rock, country, and Americana acts, meaning you can eat dinner at HCFP and watch a show at Hank's.

I will be checking out Hill Country Food Park next week after I recover from my Thanksgiving turkey hangover. Follow along on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter to see how it fares.

Sean Ludwig
Founder, NYC BBQ

EAT ALL ABOUT IT

Here are the top BBQ and food stories in New York area this week

  • Hoboken, New Jersey-based BBQ restaurant House of Que will open its second location on December 1 in Weehawken. House of Que offers Central Texas style barbecue (see above) and is part of the booming New Jersey BBQ scene.

  • East Village rum bar Cienfuegos is closing to make way for Honeybee’s, a vegan barbecue joint. The menu will feature “pulled pork,” “brisket,” “burgers,” and “fried chicken” made only from vegetables, Eater reports. It will open in March or April of 2019.

  • NYC BBQ mainstay Blue Smoke was profiled this week in a fun new video from Business Insider for giving “Southern BBQ a NYC twist.”

  • Good Smoke BBQ will soon open its third location in the village of Webster, New York, just outside of Rochester. I’ve seen the Good Smoke team at national barbecue competitions and they are impressive, so keep an eye on this expansion.

IRL BBQ

Here are the top BBQ (and related) food events coming soon to the New York metro area:

  • December 1: The 4th Annual Great Northeast Cheese Fest takes place Saturday, December 1, 2018 at Flushing Town Hall in Queens. Top vendors will include 5 Spoke Creamery, Beecher’s, Consider Bardwell, Lively Run, and Nettle Meadow. Buy tickets here.

  • December 1: The Brooklyn Whiskey and Craft Spirits Fest is happening Saturday, December 1 at the Brooklyn Expo Center in Greenpoint. The event will feature more than 100 types of spirits, from whiskey to moonshine to mezcal. Meet the distillers, master blenders, and other experts. Buy tickets here.

SAY HELLO

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Sean LudwigNYC BBQ Weekly