Pig Beach Hosts Clever Valentine's Day 'Meat Up' and Other Creative Events
Pig Beach’s “Meat Up” for Valentine’s Day is part of Pig Beach’s clever event programming.
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During the past year, I’ve been impressed by Pig Beach NYC’s willingness to experiment with new event ideas.
This Brooklyn-based joint has hosted many creative events recently, including a Halloween party with a cash-prize costume contest, Christmas-themed tree lighting party with Santa visits and hot chocolate, a New Year’s Day hangover hangout with BBQ pastrami, egg, and cheese sandwiches, and much more. It’s all by design.
“A lot of our programming comes from having a huge space and us actively trying to find a fun way to use it throughout the year because business slows down in the winter time,” Pig Beach owner and chef Matt Abdoo said. “From the beginning of last year, we created a year-long calendar and decided on 20+ events. We want to find fun ways to do cool things with all the major milestone events.”
The events at Pig Beach might be fun, but the food is the biggest attraction for me.
So it should come as no surprise that tonight for Valentine’s Day, Pig Beach will be hosting another clever event — a “Singles Meat Up.” Tonight, the joint will offer “Steak for One” and a “BBQ Sampler for One” specials, so you can have a special meal just for you if you’re not celebrating with someone else. Plus, they’ll have drink specials, if you need a little push for mingling with other singles.
“For Valentine's Day, we thought it would be fun ... to offer something for people who don’t have a significant other and want to go out,” Abdoo said. “Since we are not a super romantic destination, but are a fun hangout-and-mingle destination, we decided to offer BBQ and steak for one. Usually, our samplers are for two.”
Don’t forget to grab a burger while you’re at Pig Beach.
The BBQ sampler for one includes two baby back ribs, 3 oz of pulled pork, 3 oz of turkey, 3 oz of brisket, cornbread, and pickles. The steak for one includes 6 oz of sliced tri-tip with french fries and a new barbecue dipping sauce.
Not only does it sound delicious, but I would also add that if you meet a special someone at Pig Beach, you’ll always have the best “meat cute” story.
The Jeff Michner BBQ Benefit at Pig Beach in April will be a can't-miss event for barbecue lovers.
Looking ahead, Pig Beach has two events you need to know on the schedule. First, it will be hosting a St. Patrick’s Day party on March 17 with BBQ corn beef, cabbage, Irish soda bread, and a special collection of Irish beer and whisky. Keep an eye on Pig Beach’s Instagram account for more information.
Second, it will host one of the biggest NYC BBQ events of the year with its second annual Jeff Michner BBQ Benefit on April 18. Following on the success of last year’s event, the Benefit will feature big barbecue names from around the country and will likely sell out early. Tickets are on sale now.
I hope to see you all at Pig Beach soon!
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:
Surf NY, which offered upscale barbecue and steak options on Staten Island, has closed.
Here are the top BBQ (and related) food news stories you need to know about this week:
Upscale barbecue and steak joint Surf NY, which was located at Staten Island’s Urby complex, closed recently. The joint was housed in a beautiful two-story waterfront complex that faced the Manhattan skyline. Next up for the space is a bi-level sports bar and steakhouse called Navy Pier Prime & Taproom, Eater NY reports.
Hill Country Barbecue Market recently hosted a “barbecue musical” that just ended its run, but WCBS Newsradio 880 visited and took in the weirdest and most delicious musical ever.
A new barbecue joint called Small Fries BBQ & Grill is heading soon to Hopatcong, New Jersey (about an hour west of Manhattan). The menu will feature beef, chicken, pork, and of course, fries.
Finally, Eater NY critic Ryan Sutton has a message to New York restaurants: show prices on your online menus instead of hiding them! Restaurants including Peter Luger Steakhouse, PJ Clarke’s, Cut by Wolfgang Puck, Katz’s, and more are not showing their menu prices online. I also detest this practice, and it generally deters me from wanting to dine at any of these restaurants.
IRL BBQ
Here are the top BBQ and related food events coming soon to the New York metro area:
Charcuterie Masters 2020 in Queens will bring home the bacon (and sausage and salumi).
Saturday, February 22, 2020: Sink your teeth into the best charcuterie — sausages, patés, hams, salumi, and more — at the fifth annual Charcuterie Masters in Queens. Enjoy unlimited tasting of more than 60 varieties of charcuterie, dishes from NJ Ham Master Rodrigo Duarte Chef, Pitmaster Josh Bowen of John Brown Smokehouse, Anastacia Song of American Cut, and Chef Hugue Dufour of M. Wells Steakhouse. Buy tickets here.
Saturday, February 29, 2020: Food Karma Projects, the team behind Brisket King and Pig Island, is premiering a new, original food festival in late February called Bowl of ‘Zole in Brooklyn. The event will focus on pozole and mezcal, and is curated by Arik Torren (owner of Fidencio Mezcal) and Danny Mena (chef, restaurant owner, and cookbook author.) There will be 9 pozoles and 50 mezcals to try, plus other goodies. Buy tickets here.
Saturday, February 29, 2020: Celebrate Texas Independence Day with the Texas Exes NYC at HIll Country BBQ Market. The Texas Exes NYC group will be hosting a Texas-sized celebration in NYC at Hill Country. Tickets cost just $10. Come early to get your free Shiner or Tito's and take advantage of specials on drinks and food on our specially crafted menu just for Texas Independence Day. More info here.
Saturday, April 11, 2020: Don't miss the 2020 NYC Bacon and Beer Classic in April. The event, at the Brooklyn Expo Center in Greenpoint, will turn into a foodie paradise filled with decadent bacon dishes, free-flowing craft beer, and games. Cheer on NYC's fiercest foodies as they go head to head in the Hormel Black Label Bacon Eating Contest, challenge your friends in cornhole, ride a bacon seesaw, and more. Buy tickets here.
Saturday, April 18, 2020: Mark your calendars for the Jeff Michner BBQ Benefit 2020 at Pig Beach. Following the successful 2019 version of the event, this will feature many of the top pitmasters from around the country at Pig Beach in Brooklyn. Read about the 2019 edition of the Jeff Michner BBQ benefit here. Buy tickets for the event here.
April 18 - 19, 2020: The 8th Annual Hot Sauce Expo NYC will be back for two days in 2020. The event will be held at the Brooklyn Expo Center in Greenpoint and features tons of hot sauce samples, barbecue and beer to purchase, fun on-stage events, and more. Buy tickets here.
Wednesday, April 22, 2020: If you love brisket, you won’t want to miss Brisket King 2020 in April. More than 15 chefs and pitmasters will be there serving up their best takes on brisket, pastrami, and more. Early bird ticket sales are available now, so get them before prices go up! Read about the last edition of Brisket King to get a better sense of the event. More info here.
April 25 - 26, 2020: If you are near Farmingdale, New Jersey, you won’t want to miss out on the 5th Annual Allaire BBQ and Beer Fest, which will feature two days of hops and hogs. The event will feature BBQ, a beer/wine garden, food trucks, crafts, and children’s activities. Buy tickets here.
Looking for more events? Check out the full NYC BBQ calendar here.
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