Pulkies Brings Jewish-Style BBQ to Downtown Brooklyn
The team at Pulkies spent this week getting things ready at the new Dekalb Market Hall location.
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Pulkies, a self-described Jewish-style BBQ operation, launched this summer as a takeout-and-delivery-only option inside Chelsea Market in Manhattan. This week, Pulkies officially launched a new version of its operation in Downtown Brooklyn inside Dekalb Market Hall, where it serves up items including turkey, brisket, vegan sloppy joe, pimento cheese, cornbread, and more.
Partner Harris Mayer-Selinger was also instrumental in launching the Creamline restaurant. Creamline, a fried chicken and burger fast-casual joint, has attracted attention and recently opened a new location inside Dekalb Market Hall as well.
Notably, the Pulkes concept of "Jewish-style BBQ" is not exactly the same as kosher BBQ, which can also be found in Brooklyn and the greater NYC metro area. Kosher barbecue has been on the rise in NYC for the past several years.
I spoke with Mayer-Selinger recently and was able to ask him a few questions about the new Pulkies operation in Brooklyn. This conversation has been lightly edited for clarity.
The pulled barbecue turkey is the star of the show at Pulkies.
Sean Ludwig (NYC BBQ): What was the initial inspiration behind Pulkies?
Harris Mayer-Selinger (Pulkies): During quarantine, Creamline, our restaurant in Chelsea Market had closed. So we had a restaurant but no food to serve. After a couple of weeks, a partner scheduled a call to talk about an idea he had for how we could use our kitchen and pivot to a deli concept. His wife had even come up with a name, Pulkies.
As the chef and operator, I wasn’t inspired to do a deli, and more importantly, I knew we didn’t have the facility or capacity to execute it. But it got us brainstorming and I loved the name. Surprisingly it's a Yiddish word I had never heard of before. A pulkie is an affectionate word for a fat baby leg, and more relevant, it's a word for a poultry drumstick. I was thinking about brisket from the first deli discussion, and now turkey legs from the word Pulkie, and I said, “It’s funny how turkey and brisket are the centerpieces of Texas-style barbecue and also Ashkenazi Jewish food," and then I blurted out "What about Jewish-style barbecue!?" We reacted with, "Whoa, I think we just came up with something special." The next day we had a menu and the next month we were open to the public serving delivery to NYC.
SL: Why did you decide to move from Chelsea Market to Dekalb Market Hall?
HMS: Pulkies in Chelsea Market is where we experimented and formulated our concept. DeKalb Market Hall is our first brick-and-mortar location. We see advantages to both locations, but during the pandemic, we found that Brooklyn residents are still here more so than Manhattan residents. Therefore we will be able to reach more people and as we like to say "Spread the Gobble" about this new food category of Jewish-Style BBQ. We will still deliver and cater to Manhattanites, and we are working on a brick-and-mortar operation there too.
The Pimento Cheese appetizer at Pulkies is delicious.
SL: What changes have you implemented in your new setup at Dekalb Market Hall?
HMS: Pulkies was designed for delivery and catering. The menu is packaged "Ready-to-Heat" with a preparation guide. Now that we are feeding guests who are dining in, we added a "Meat & 3" menu option in addition to our BBQ sandwiches. We still have our full delivery and catering menu, but we are excited to add the traditional BBQ Meat & 3 offering which includes a main and three sides of your choice, plus a piece of our honey-butter cornbread.
SL: All of your dishes come in meticulously designed takeout packaging and nothing is served "to-stay." Why is that?
HMS: Everything is available to-go and packaged for takeout because that's how our concept was born. It's a way to accommodate quarantine. Our menu available now at Dekalb Market Hall is ready to eat, but with indoor dining still only at 25% we want the Pulkies experience to be amazing and delicious whether you are eating at DeKalb or at home.
The Sloppy Joseph sandwich is vegan and actually pretty good.
SL: Since you have a focus on making high-quality turkey, what are you offering up for Thanksgiving?
HMS: We love turkey. It's an underappreciated meat and we believe it is something to enjoy all year. That said, we feel Thanksgiving is definitely our time to shine. We're offering a package for both larger and smaller groups that includes our Hand-Sliced Turkey Breast and our BBQ Pulled Turkey along with Pimento Cheese, Endive & Apple "Charoset" Salad, Braised Kale, Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Honey Butter Cornbread, Turkey Gravy, Manischewitz Cranberry Jelly, and Apple Crumble for dessert. We hope this is the right balance of something new without losing the traditional American comforts of Thanksgiving dinner. We also have a vegetarian option that features our Kasha Stuffed Cabbage and Vegan Sloppy Joseph.
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Pulkies is now open at Dekalb Market Hall from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. every day for lunch and dinner service. Thanks to Mayer-Selinger and the Pulkies team for the conversation, and I wish them the best as they start this new journey.
Sean Ludwig
Founder, NYC BBQ
EAT ALL ABOUT IT
Brooklyn's The Meat Hook now has a weekend BBQ smokehouse operation with high-quality meats.
Here are the top BBQ and related food news stories you need to know about this week:
The Meat Hook, based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, has opened up a new curbside weekend smokehouse. The menu features smoked brisket ($15 per half pound), pastrami pulled beef ($13 per half pound), smoky half chicken ($18), and more. Takeout and outdoor dining in the shop’s backyard are both options. The special smokehouse runs from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. (or sold out) each Friday and Saturday.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday that private indoor and outdoor gatherings statewide would be limited to 10 people and that bars and restaurants must close daily at 10 p.m., a move to try to keep the recent coronavirus surge at bay. This week, the U.S. has set records for the number of new cases, and New York’s numbers are ticking up as well. There is a chance indoor dining will be banned again soon as well.
Korean barbecue remains a popular option in Manhattan and the cold is not stopping all the great K-Town BBQ joints from feeding diners outside. Eater NY has a great profile of these Korean barbecue houses that “span two blocks between Madison and Sixth Avenue,” which are faring well despite the pandemic.
A splashy new food hall called Jacx & Co, located at 28-17 Jackson Avenue near Queens Boulevard, is opening soon. The bi-level, 11,000-square-foot space features nine restaurants, including Crif Dogs, Fieldtrip, and more.
Finally, in some good news, barbecue non-profit Operation BBQ Relief will be serving 1,000 free meals to those in need in Tom’s River, NJ this weekend. The team from DRJ Catering will be making the food. "They might have gone days without any meal, so it's comfort food," said David Keith, a coordinator for Operation BBQ Relief and owner of DRJ Catering.
IRL BBQ EVENTS
The Great Queens Chicken Wing Hunt starts soon, where you can take part in trying the best wings in Queens.
November 8, 2020 - February 8, 2021: Throughout November, December, and January, The Great Queens Chicken Wing Hunt is being hosted around Queens. From 11/8 through 2/8, you can pick up a “Wing Hunting Season Pass” at Tap House in Forest Hills and then visit great bars/joints around Queens to try wings. At each participating location, you’ll get four jumbo wings. Buy tickets here.
April 21, 2021: If you love brisket, you won’t want to miss Brisket King 2021. More than 15 chefs and pitmasters will be there serving up their takes on brisket and pastrami. Read more about the 2019 edition of Brisket King or about the importance of Brisket King to the BBQ community. Buy tickets here.
NOTE: Due to COVID-19, information concerning events in NYC is subject to change, and events may be rescheduled. CHECK OUT THE FULL EVENTS CALENDAR HERE
SAY HELLO
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