3 Must-Try Desserts at NYC’s Top Barbecue Joints
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While the focus at barbecue joints should first and foremost be on the meat, some restaurants also serve great sides and desserts. When it comes to dessert specifically, there are lots of good options to fulfill your sweet tooth, including pies, puddings, and cakes.
Here are three desserts (and an honorable mention) that you need to try the next time you visit one of these top barbecue joints.
You’re going to need help devouring this giant chocolate cake at Morgan's.
Morgan's Famous Texas Chocolate Layer Cake - Morgan’s Brooklyn Barbecue
At Morgan’s Brooklyn Barbecue, there’s an impressive menu just for desserts. The standout item amongst all of these is the Texas Chocolate Layer Cake, which is incredibly tasty and will satisfy even the biggest chocoholic. It comes with a side of chocolate sauce just in case all those layers aren’t enough. One “sliver” (which is quite large) is $10, while the enormous “celebration size” costs $30. The joint also serves a crazy-good bourbon pecan pie that you should try as well.
Rich peanut butter pie is the perfect way to end a meal.
Peanut Butter Pie - Mable’s Smokehouse
Mable’s Smokehouse in Brooklyn only offers two options for dessert — slices of key lime pie and peanut butter pie. While I love key lime pie of all kinds and will try it anywhere that has it, I have to give the edge to the peanut butter pie here. This pie is so rich and delicious, it’s head spinning. A slice of either type of pie runs $7.
Banana pudding is a classic BBQ dessert.
Banana Pudding - Hometown Bar-B-Que
Banana pudding is one of the most popular desserts (if not the most popular) that you’ll find at barbecue joints in Texas and the Carolinas. You can also find it at Hometown Bar-B-Que in Red Hook (or Industry City) as the only dessert on the menu. This banana pudding is tasty but fairly simple. It can help you calm your stomach after all the rich and spice-filled foods Hometown has to offer. One serving is $7 and it’s worth it.
I’m a sucker for a Instagram-worthy milkshake.
Honorable mention: Milkshake - Juicy Lucy BBQ
This dessert at Staten Island’s Juicy Lucy BBQ gets placement as an honorable mention because it looks great but I haven’t been able to try it just yet. These crazy milkshakes have their own menu and come in six varieties, including “The Cookie Monster” and “Double Stuff Madness” (both pictured above.) That said, I’ve heard good things and the photos of this insane thing are mouth-watering. Each shake runs $12 but seem like a great time to share for two people.
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These are but a few of the top desserts you’ll find at NYC’s best barbecue joints, and there are certainly going to be others I haven’t had the chance to try. If you have a favorite I didn’t list, please let me know.
Have a great weekend everyone.
Sean Ludwig
Founder, NYC BBQ
EAT ALL ABOUT IT
Here are the top BBQ (and related) food news stories you need to know about this week:
Hoodoo Brown BBQ will soon be hosting insightful and interactive BBQ 101 classes. (Photo by Hoodoo Brown BBQ / Facebook)
Connecticut's Hoodoo Brown BBQ, one of the top joints in the Northeast, has announced that tickets for its BBQ 101 classes for 2020 are on sale now. Cody Sperry, Owner and Pitmaster of Hoodoo Brown, will take you behind the scenes for a four-hour barbecue school from 8am-12pm on 11 dates. One session is already sold out, so get tickets quick if you’re interested in attending.
Good Smoke BBQ, one of the top BBQ businesses in the Rochester area, is rebranding their Chili and Webster locations as “ROC Style Chicken and Burger.” These new restaurants will focus on chicken sandwiches, wings, burgers, and dogs. The Good Smoke BBQ location in East Rochester will remain open, so you can still get good barbecue there, for the record.
Eater NY editor Robert Sietsema writes this week that Haitian restaurant Grandchamps in Stuyvesant Heights, Brooklyn serves a great fried pork sandwich that is worth seeking out.
A new barbecue joint called Fetch BBQ is gaining a lot of local attention in Marshfield, Massachusetts, Wicked Local reports. The joint offers takeout, delivery, and catering, with menu items including pork belly burnt ends, BBQ nachos, brisket, ribs, pimento cheese, baked beans, and more.
Finally, in weird (and maybe sad) news of the week, poor potato harvests across the country could lead to a french fry shortage, Bloomberg reports. Let’s hope our fries don’t get too expensive!
IRL BBQ
Here are the top BBQ (and related) food events coming soon to the New York metro area:
The Vice Night Market in Brooklyn is back for those looking for a food-filled Friday night.
Friday, December 6 & 13: If you want to try some of the hottest eats in Brooklyn, check out the Vice Night Market on December 6 or 13 at the Villian space in Williamsburg. Vendors including Mao's Bao, Palenque Home Made Colombian Food, Baonanas, Mattitaco, Mekelburg's, Archie's Pizza, and Barb's Soul Food will be there to give your taste buds a workout. RSVP for free here.
Saturday, December 14: Pitmaster Robert Austin Cho will be hosting a Brisket Master Class at his restaurant Kimchi Smoke in Westwood, NJ. He will go over the basics and advanced level techniques from selecting a brisket (different grades), trimming, seasoning, cook times and temperatures. He’ll also take a deeper look at issues like tenderness, bark, smoke ring, and finally eat some brisket together. There will be a Q&A afterwards where Cho will give personalized tips for different types of smokers. Wherever you are in your smoke journey, you’ll be sure to take it the next level. Buy tickets here.
Saturday, January 18: The 10th Annual Beer Bourbon & BBQ Festival is leaving Manhattan after a decade of fun and heading to Brooklyn. A ticket buys you access to tasting great local barbecue, hot sauces, and tons of spirits. The “Beast Cage” will be back with exotic smoked meats, including alligator, lamb, bison, longhorn rounds, and much more. There will also be whole hog as well and you won’t want to miss it. Buy tickets here.
Saturday, January 25: The 12th Annual Cassoulet Cook Off will take place on Jan 25 in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Cassoulet is the ultimate winter dish, where French traditions meet New England baked beans, Texas BBQ brisket burnt ends and beans, California vegetarian beans casserole, and many other chef driven styles. There will be 10+ chefs and more food than ever, plus craft beer, hard cider, wine, and spirits. Buy tickets here.
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