Fresh Off Pig Island Win, Kimchi Smoke Opens New NJ Restaurant
Robert Austin Cho of Kimchi Smoke recently won top honors at the Pig Island BBQ event. (Photo via Miguel Rivas / The Beer Trekker)
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Three weeks ago, pitmaster Robert Austin Cho of Kimchi Smoke brought his A game and took home the top prize at the Pig Island NYC food event on Staten Island. The funny thing was Cho didn’t originally plan to be there.
Cho saw that Joe Musgni of NJ-based SmoKing of Meats was attempting to win the “Triple Crown of Meat” after wins at Brisket King NYC and Rib King NYC. That convinced Cho that he needed to be out there cooking against “the best.”
“I knew Joe was going for the ‘Triple Crown,’ and my competitive juices got flowing,” Cho said. “So I decided to go, and I knew that to win Best In Show, I figured it would take something pretty elaborate. Not just pulled pork.”
Cho served up three different types of pork at Pig Island: mojo pork shoulder, pork belly with a gochujang glaze, and crispy pork belly with kimchi curry sauce. That won over the judges, and Cho was proud to represent the New Jersey BBQ scene with the win.
“I would just like to note that for these last three events, New Jersey has won these New York City events,” Cho said. “I'm very proud that the best barbecue in New York is in New Jersey.”
Kimchi Smoke has soft-launched a new restaurant in Ridgewood, NJ, with a full opening coming soon. (Photo by Robert Austin Cho)
While the BBQ spotlight is on Cho for his Pig Island win, he’s also been cooking up a new restaurant in Ridgewood, NJ, nicknamed the Kimchi Smoke BBQ Shack. This restaurant is on top of his location in Westwood, NJ, which has been going strong for 6 years.
The Kimchi Smoke BBQ Shack soft opened a few weeks ago with select days and hours that have been posted to social media. Cho said he plans to open fully with standard hours before October ends.
One of the exclusive items available at the new Ridgewood location is smoked pastrami, which Cho has been hyping. (Photo by Boozy Burbs)
Cho noted that the menus are slightly different at both locations. The Ridgewood location's menu is smaller and focuses more on smoked meats, but it also has a few surprises, including smoked pastrami, a burger, and brisket curry poutine — all of which can't be had at the Westwood location.
“I already have people calling and asking if they can get the pastrami at the Westwood location,” Cho said. “I tell them, ‘Sorry, you gotta come to Ridgewood.”
Despite the Shack not even being fully open, buzz is growing. The new restaurant caught the eye of NJ.com, which has already rated it among the best Korean BBQ spots in NJ.
Some of the items that you can find at the new Ridgewood location of Kimchi Smoke. (Photo by Robert Austin Cho)
The biggest challenge right now to getting the restaurant fully operational is finding enough good staff members, a common refrain among restauranteurs.
“We've been doing soft opens for the last month, but just today, I found another person,” Cho said. “I've been just running the new restaurant two days a week by myself.”
The Westwood location also serves items you can’t get at the new Ridgewood restaurant. (Photo by Sean Ludwig)
Even with the imminent Ridgewood opening, Cho said he also would be doing a few more events this fall. These include this weekend’s Scribner’s Lodge Fall Festival in the Catskills, an Octoberfest or Halloween party with New Jersey Beer Company, and another food truck event.
“Once I get those out of the way, I can focus on Ridgewood full time,” Cho said.
Sean Ludwig
Founder, NYC BBQ
One of the best BBQ bites I ate in 2022 was the Korean Pork Ribs from Hometown Bar-B-Que. (Photo by Sean Ludwig)
Here are the top BBQ and related food news stories you need to know about this week:
In this week’s The Smoke Sheet newsletter, I shared some of my favorite BBQ bites I ate at restaurants in 2022. Two of those bites were from vaunted Brooklyn BBQ joints Hometown Bar-B-Que and Pig Beach. READ HERE.
Ray’s Roadside Kitchen, a new restaurant from BBQ Buddha Ray Sheehan, has officially opened its doors in Central New Jersey. SEE MORE HERE.
Morgan’s Brooklyn Barbecue plans to reopen its Brooklyn Heights location in the next few weeks following a devastating fire. READ HERE.
Hill Country BBQ founder Marc Glosserman has put his Manhattan duplex up for sale. READ HERE.
Pure Grit BBQ founder Kerry Fitzmaurice shared her inspiring story with the Business Journals. “Pure Grit BBQ’s mission has always been based on my passion to invite everyone to the table to enjoy barbecue,” she writes. READ HERE.
The owners of Long Island’s Backyard Barbeque have opened their second restaurant, Backyard Slices, two doors down from their BBQ joint. Beyond standard cheese and pepperoni pies, Backyard Slices will also feature barbecue-infused creations, including “a brisket pie topped with ricotta cheese and pickled red onions.” READ HERE.
IRL BBQ EVENTS
Anthony Scerri of Smoke Sweats will be the final guest pitmaster at Blue Smoke’s Pitmaster Series this weekend. (Photo by Sean Ludwig)
Here are the top BBQ and related food events coming soon to the New York metro area:
September 30, 2022: Blue Smoke is hosting a great Pitmaster Series, with Anthony Scerri of Smoke Sweats smoking and joking on Friday, Sept 30. MORE INFO HERE.
October 1, 2022: Acclaimed pitmaster Evan LeRoy of LeRoy and Lewis in Austin will work as the guest pitmaster at Hill Country BBQ for one night only. MAKE RESERVATIONS HERE.
October 8-16, 2022: Pig Beach NYC will host Octoberfest Festivities at its Brooklyn location on Oct. 8-9 and its Queens location on Oct. 15-16. MORE INFO HERE.
October 13-16, 2022: The New York City Wine & Food Festival will return this October. It will see the return of the huge Burger Bash hosted by Rachael Ray and the Backyard BBQ hosted by Andrew Zimmern. BBQ lovers will certainly enjoy both the Burger Bash and Backyard BBQ, but other fun events will be held too. This will be one of the last big food events happening in NYC in 2022, so don’t miss out. (USE THE CODE NYCBBQ15 TO GET 15% OFF THE BACKYARD BBQ.) BUY TICKETS HERE.
Please get in touch if you would like your food event listed here!
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