The 5th Annual Big Apple Barbecue Block Party

On Saturday, Chris and I went to Madison Square Park for Shake Shack, but then I remembered about the 5th Annual Big Apple BBQ Block Party, an event I wanted to go to because I love pulled pork and bbq. We figured we’d check it out and I’d get a pulled pork sandwich and if we were still hungry, Shake Shack was right there, meaning it was a win-win situation for our tummies. Here’s the rundown of the vendors that were at the event:

You could buy a $100 bubba pass, which allowed you to skip the lines and purchase $100 worth of food, but we didn’t have enough room in our stomachs for all that BBQ (well, I could’ve done it, I think). We decided to stay away from NY BBQ since we live in the city and ended up picking two places – our first stop was Salt Lick BBQ:

Based out of Driftwood, Texas, Salt Lick BBQ specializes in beef brisket, sausage, and cole slaw:

The beef brisket was actually a little tough, but the sausage was so delicious. I don’t eat beef brisket that often (since I have no idea how to cook brisket), but I know that brisket shouldn’t be as tough as Salt Lick’s. The sausage was really juicy and fatty…which seems to be the general verdict for all the foods I eat. Also, the coleslaw wasn’t overpowered by mayo, which made it edible (I hate cabbage).

Chris and I decided to be efficient and eat in line while we waited for our pulled pork sandwiches (the lines were like amusement park rides lines). We went with Big Bob Gibson BBQ from Decatur, Alabama:

While we stood in line, we watched the pitmaster pull the pork shoulder from the grill – he took out the bones and the obvious pieces of fat, then he pushed the shoulder forward and all of the meat just fell apart:

And our pulled pork shoulder sandwiches with their award winning bbq sauce:

The meat was really fresh (since the pitmaster pulled out the shoulder that we actually ate), but the sauce, in my opinion, didn’t have enough vinegar mixed into it. Overall, I liked the pulled pork shoulder from Big Bob Gibson’s BBQ more than the brisket and sausage from Salt Lick BBQ. The weather was great and there were a lot of different types of people there to celebrate bbq, including this fella: