Dear Munchies, Brooklyn BBQ Is Not 'Taking Over the World' and It Doesn't Look Like That

Read a longer and more detailed response by me about this BBQ fiasco in The Bridge BK.

Munchies, Vice's food vertical, re-published a hyperbolic 2014 article about Brooklyn BBQ on Sunday. When the story was posted on Twitter (see above), people who know BBQ (including many here in NYC like myself) immediately noticed that 1) the headline simply isn't true and 2) the photo chosen was for the world's saddest BBQ plate.

The absurd headline plus the not-even-Instagram-worthy photo naturally invited derision, some deserved and some not. The frustrating part of this is that there are actually a lot of excellent BBQ joints (and BBQ events) in NYC and several of our pitmasters have even earned the accolades of Texas BBQ luminaries.

Those that are dismissing New York BBQ out of hand are missing the fact that our BBQ scene is special because we pull from traditions all over the U.S. and the world. Brooklyn BBQ isn't "taking over the world" so much as it is one of a handful markets that has successfully taken cues from Central Texas, Kansas City, Memphis, and the Carolinas to create a unique BBQ scene. And if we took a poll to see what region actually was "taking over the world," the answer would be Central Texas more than any other single style.

NYC BBQ also doesn't look anything like that sad platter from Fette Sau, which was clearly meant to be a small portion for one not-hungry person. For reference, here is what real Brooklyn BBQ looks like (in order) from great joints like Hometown Bar-B-Que, Izzy's Brooklyn Smokehouse, Pig Beach, Arrogant Swine, Fletcher's Brooklyn Barbecue, Morgan's Barbecue, and Mable's Smokehouse plus what a real platter from Fette Sau should look like: