Buongiorno from Italy: Try the Lampredotto Sandwich
Here is the tasty Lampredotto sandwich.
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I'm traveling in Italy at the moment, so I am unable to send out a full newsletter this week. In its place, I decided to send out the top barbecue news and upcoming events, plus briefly tell you about an unusual-but-delicious sandwich I had here. I'd recommend this bite to just about any carnivore.
Say "Buongiorno" (good day) to the Lampredotto sandwich, a specialty of Florence, Italy. The meat is roasted beef belly (the fourth stomach chamber to be specific) and it is slow-roasted with tomatoes, onions, celery, parsley, herbs, and spices until it has the texture of tender roast beef. The meat is topped with either green parsley sauce or spicy red chili sauce and placed on a crunchy, crusty fresh bun.
A closer look at my freshly sliced and prepared Lampredotto sandwich.
While the sandwich and meat were often considered to be food for the poor and working-class citizens of Florence for centuries, the sandwich today is served at street vendors across the city, with long lines of visitors wanting to try this item you can't really get anywhere else. I got my sandwich from a street vendor next to Florence's Mercato Centrale at 9 a.m. and had four people waiting in front of me. I don’t think I’ve ever had anything quite like the Lampredotto and would easily recommend to my meat-loving friends visiting Florence.
See you next week with your regularly scheduled barbecue newsletter. Until then, Ciao!
Sean Ludwig
Founder, NYC BBQ
EAT ALL ABOUT IT
Hometown Bar-B-Que would make for an indulgent bachelorette party (or any event for that matter.)
Here are the top BBQ (and related) food news stories you need to know about this week:
Hometown Bar-B-Que in Red Hook was included in Eater NY's quirky list of 21 NYC restaurants for a blowout bachelorette party.
Old Fields Barbecue, a top joint on Long Island, has just opened a second location in Setauket. Top items include brisket, St. Louis-style ribs, smoked chicken, pulled pork, and homemade sausage.
New York City restaurant Butter won the People's Choice Award at the recent South Beach Wine & Food Festival Burger Bash, an enormous celebration of food in Miami. Food Network celebrity and Butter executive chef Alex Guarnaschelli was running the show there and the people clearly responded well to her succulent bone marrow burger.
The second annual Battle of the Briskets has been scheduled for March 29 at The Irons Restaurant & Bar inside the Hilton Mystic in Stonington, CT. Several restaurants will compete and barbecue fans throughout the Northeast will be able to judge them to see who will win People's Choice.
IRL BBQ
Here are the top BBQ and related food events coming soon to the New York metro area:
This weekend, Bowl of 'Zole in Brooklyn will spotlight pozole and mezcal.
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 it is curated by Arik Torren (owner of Fidencio Mezcal) and Danny Mena (chef, restaurant owner, and cookbook author.) There will be 9 pozoles and more than 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 and tickets for 2020 can be purchased 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.
SAY HELLO
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