BBQ

All posts tagged BBQ

LOBSTER SMACK

Posted by THEJNSREPORT on October 24, 2013

Posted in: Food & Drinks. Tagged: BBQ, chicken sandwich, Crabs, lobster, Lobster Bisque, Lobster Mac N Cheese, Lobster Smack, Mac N Cheese, Pulled Chicken, Sandwich, Seafood. Leave a comment

Welcome to THEJNSREPORT’S: Lobster Smack Experience 2013 Episode I

Located at 90 West Houston St

Lobster Smack

So several months back a good friend of mine mentioned Lobster Smack as a great food spot to check out especially if you are a lover of Mac N Cheese. We all should know by now that I happen to love Mac N Cheese.

What sets this place apart however, is the fact that they do Lobster Mac N Cheese and various other creations using well, Lobster, & crab. Lobster Rolls are on the menu and come highly touted as a must try. On spur of the moment I decided along with a few friends to go and sample Lobster Smack’s offerings. LS 4

We approached the counter briefly looked over the menu and placed our orders. I make a point to mention that our arrival was within an hour and change of them closing.

Yep, He sure did check that money. LOL

Having heard my friend rave about their Lobster Mac N Cheese we all decided it was a must have for us all. I followed up with A BBQ sauced pulled chicken sandwich to go with the Lobster Mac n Cheese. Lobster Mac N Cheese LS 5

My friend informed me that usually theres way more lobster chunks in the Mac N Cheese and chalked it up to being close to closing time.

BBQ sauced pulled chicken sandwich. Uh…Yassum!!!

Put the hood back down.

The commencement of good things…

Behold the glory of Lobster Bisque. No soup Nazi’s here. 😉

Lobster Roll on a bun. They ran out of hot dog buns by the time we arrived.

Under the Hood.

The Interior

Crabs on the walls.

LS 15

That there is one naughty lobster. SMH

The Lobster Bisque was a hit with my friend and let me tell you the BBQ Sauced Pulled Chicken Sandwich was everything! Liked the Lobster Mac N Cheese and would definitely have again but this only got me to thinking. What if WildWood BBQ added lobster to their Aged cheddar Mac N Cheese w/ breadcrumb topping? The omagoodamit of it! The best tasting Mac N Cheese I’ve had in NYC so far combined with lobster chunks… I shudder at the thought.

The lobster bisque was dealt with and no remnants were found as my other friend polished it off down to the last spoonful.

Bisque is finished son!!

All in all we left satisfied, placing a checkmark in Lobster Smack’s box as a return to spot.

Final verdict: Lobster Mac N Cheese is a must try (can’t wait to see what it looks like with even more lobster meat) for anyone who’s never been here.

Lobster Mac N Cheese rating: 4 dinner plates OOOO

BBQ Sauced Pulled Chicken Sandwich 4 1/2 dinner plates OOOO (

Lobster Bisque: 5 dinner plates OOOOO

Till next time this has been THEJNSREPORT’S: LOBSTER SMACK Experience 2013 Episode 1

BBQue’s Smoke Shack

Posted by THEJNSREPORT on June 1, 2013

Posted in: Food & Drinks. Tagged: adam richman, BBQ, BBQ Sauce, BBQue's Smoke Shack, Buffalo Wings, Catfish, Catfish Sandwich, Cornmeal, digestive track, Dining out, Food, Food Experience, Jalapeno Poppers, Mac N Cheese, ordering station, Plain Wings, restaurants, Sandwich, Smoke Shack, Take Out, Wings. Leave a comment

Welcome to THEJNSREPORT’S: BBQue’s Smoke Shack Experience

Location: 668 6th Ave, NY between 20th and 21st Street.

ETA: 9pm

Bright Lights in the Big City. Yes Suh!!

Several months back I decided to check out the Smoke Shack after doing some site seeing and photography. When I saw the sign in their window that said they were voted “Best Wings” in NYC I vowed I find out if this indeed was true.

The ordering station…Anyone home? Who wants to work anymore?

They presented front and center “The Evidence” of their claim to fame. 😀

There’s a reason people are in here.

While I normally prefer to sit in and eat I wasn’t quite feeling up to staying out to eat so I decided to get my order to go. While I waited for someone to come and take my order I took a look at this wing challenge they offer.

Where’s Adam Richman?

While I like spicy food. I’m not that big of a fan to subject my mouth, digestive track, and gates to the fury of this wing challenge. At any rate back home I assembled the line up.

My Smoke Shack Sampler

That right there ladies and gentlemen is their Mac N Cheese, Jalapeno Poppers, Plain Wings, and Cornmeal crusted Catfish sandwich. With great anticipation my mouth got to watering…

Ahh…The understanding of the Wings!!!

You’re gonna get ate son!!!!

Perfectly Golden Jalapeno Poppers.

Piercing this bad boy was such sweet sorrow 😀

And so I went about finding out whether the inside tasted as good as the outside looked…

Hawhaaat!!!? Much like the signal for scoring a touchdown…It’s Good!!!!

I retrieved my trusty tool and plucked my first bite from it’s spot hesitating momentarily before satisfaction would be mine.

At this moment I began to sing “”I’m a fool…Such a fool…For You!!! Lol!!! Hynotism thy name is Mac N Cheese.

The Mac N Cheese was very good. It had the right amount of creamy cheesiness to it and wasn’t over salted. Of course the breadcrumb topping just puts it over the top compared to plain Mac N Cheese sans topping. Up next came the Cornmeal Crusted Catfish Sandwich.

Yassum!!!

Lord a Mercy!!!

In a word…Yes!!!!!

First off the catfish is perfectly crusted and fried. The catfish just melts in your mouth with each bite. I added a little mayo to balance things out. This is a must try if you manage to stop by this place.

The wings got dunked in some of The Smoke Shack’s house made BBQ Sauce. Tangy and Sweet!!! Mmmm Mmmm Son!!!!

After disposing of the wings I turned my attention to waylaying the remainder of my meal. The following is the conclusion.

Going Going...

What Mac N Cheese?

Completion

There is no doubt that I will be back to eat here again. If you haven’t been fortunate to try the fare at BBQue’s Smoke Shack don’t waste any more time. They are worth their price of admission. Wings are some of the best I’ve had in the city but jury is still out on their trophy in my opinion. I’ll reserve that title once I’ve had some more highly touted wings around the city. The Catfish Sandwich is excellent. Mac N Cheese is equally good and the Jalapeno Poppers definitely hold their own against say those offered at 99 miles to Philly. My overall rating for the experience is 4 and 1/2 dinner plates out of 5.

Till next Food Adventure this has been THEJNSREPORT’S: BBQue’s Smoke Shack Experience 2013.

Day 7 Virgil’s Continued…

Posted by THEJNSREPORT on March 6, 2013

Posted in: Food & Drinks. Tagged: BBQ, cheese grits, chicken fried steak, country gravy, Food & Drinks, Food Review, mustard potato salad, restaurants, Virgil's. Leave a comment

Welcome to THEJNSREPORT’S: DAY 7 Virgil’s Continued

A little while after the biscuits were handled our meals came out. The only critique of the biscuits we had was that they weren’t hot. Other than that we loved em! Especially with the maple butter. After thinking for several minutes I decided to try the Chicken Fried Steak, with Country Gravy, Potato Salad, Cheese Grits, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, a piece of corn bread, and one Rib from my friend’s plate. Sounds like a lot but portion size wise trust me it wasn’t.

The biggest complaint I have with today’s meal was the same for my friend who joined me. The food simply arrived at our table and was not hot. It appeared as though it sat for a while before being brought to us and by that time the food had begun to go cold. It did look good though. Corn bread had real pieces of corn in it but I’ve tasted better cornbread.

The Mashed Potatoes

That mash sure could use some gravy. Speaking of which…

The Cheese Grits were OK nothing that knocked my socks off. I even added a shake of salt n pepper to them after my first tasting of it.

Ah, now for the Potato Salad. In my opinion this redskin potato mustard potato salad would have been awesome if they used a little less mayonnaise. Otherwise I really liked it. It was the only thing outside of the beets and beer that should have been cold.

I sampled a rib and some beets after the first fork fulls of my Chicken Fried Steak.

This was my friend’s plate. Memphis Style Ribs, Cornbread, Collard Greens w/Bacon, and Beets. You can clearly see the ribs are done well with a pink smoke ring. However, they didn’t make it to the table with a temp above (and I’m being generous here) Luke warm.

Even at the conclusion of the meal when we were given what were supposed to be hot wet hand towels to clean our hands. The hand towels came bordering on cool. This prompted my friend to say somebody must have been burned here or something for everything to come out cold. I thought to myself either that or someone didn’t pay the heating bill.

The ribs were tender but as I said Luke warm which drops the score on a scale of 1 to 10 to a 6. The same for my Chicken Fried Steak which probably would have gotten an 8 from me if it had come hot. While the combo crusting of the steak consisted of potato chips and cornmeal the chips added a bit too much salt to the crust for me. The steak was tender and melted easily when I chewed it though.

For me, the biscuits and the Potato Salad along with the Mashed Potatoes and Gravy saved my meal from being a total disappointment all the way round. As I said temperature played the biggest role in the lower scores. The experience this time around suffered and underwhelmed us. We didn’t want to even bother our sever to ask if they could heat our plates up we just ate and noted our opinions for later.

Our server was nice but appeared a bit over being there by the time we had been served our food. Understandable if it was the end of the shift but still not what I would think the owner would like his customers to notice from the staff regardless of the time of the day.

When I take into account that the bill for the 2 of us came to $11 more than what it cost to feed 6 of my family members (myself included) at Freda’s, Virgil’s gets an overall review score of a 6.5 out of 10.

My friend’s take on Virgil’s: Normally, Virgil’s is pretty good. Today for some reason the food just wasn’t hot. The Collard Greens were good with the Bacon in it. The Beets and the Ribs were OK. I give Virgil’s a 6 I think that’s fair.

So there you have it. My review score a 6.5 and my friend’s a 6. So Virgil gets an average score of a 6.25 out of 10. I’m not saying I won’t be back because I’m sure I will it at some point. It just won’t be any time soon.

If you’ve ever been to or eaten at Virgil’s we’d like to hear your comments on the service and food experienced.

Till next Food Adventure this has been Virgil’s Food Review 2013 by THEJNSREPORT.

Day 7 Detox Nutrition Plan

Posted by THEJNSREPORT on March 6, 2013

Posted in: Food & Drinks. Tagged: apple juice, BBQ, detoxifying, Food & Drinks, nutrition plan, psyllium husk, restaurants, sesame street character, Times Square, Virgil's. Leave a comment

Welcome to THEJNSREPORT’S: Day 7 Detox Nutrition Plan

Well as it turns out today was the last day of my trial week run of eating healthier than I had in the past year. I started my day as usual with two Psyllium Husk capsules and water and then fresh juiced carrot and apple juice.

When this had finished being juiced it was so viscous with the fiber of the carrot I could barely drink down the first swallow. I immediately added a little more apple juice to it and that did the trick it became diluted enough to suspend the carrot pulp sufficiently and allow me to tolerate drinking it down.

Day 7 marks officially a week of Detoxifying and Nutrition for me. So in celebration of this mini milestone I decided to go out to eat at Virgil’s BBQ in Times Square with a friend of mine who is a fellow BBQ enthusiast. Just prior to meeting up at Virgil’s I decided to take some great new photos of Times Square as Virgil’s is located right there on 43rd and Broadway.

We’re you listening to me Neo, or were you staring at the Beast in Red?

Let me say right off that that blue bastard in the crowd there was overly aggressive for a Sesame Street character. I mean I know this is NYC and you gotta get yo hustle on, but damn!! Literally as I walking down the side walk this monster bumps me from behind and then when I turn and look to see who bumped me, I’m startled it’s this idiot in a costume who obviously wants his picture taken. I turn away and start to walk and he literally trips my foot from behind as he then crosses diagonally behind me. If I wasn’t a Christian things could have gotten ugly quick fast and in a hurry. Cooler thinking prevailed. So moving on…

From here we headed to Virgil’s as I snapped a few more pics along the way.

Something told me the Force was strong in Times Square, suddenly I knew why.

Greatest City in the World. Ladies and Gents, welcome to the Empire State and it’s capital city The Empire City.

I came across this just before encountering Virgil’s as it’s force pulled me more than Darth and Co. I read the rules and felt a sudden calm of serenity wash over me. Hope was not lost when I saw this list and that it was actually in Times Square for all who passed by to see. ;). At last some “Common Sense” LOL.

With hunger in over drive my friend and I made our way to Virgil’s.

This guy got in the way of my shot but no big deal we go with the flow.

We started off our meal with two pints of Magic Hat No.9 while deciding what to order from Virgil’s Menu. Last time I was here I remember they had a hot sauce called the Scorned Woman which was being replaced. I saw no trace of it other than mild, hot and jalapeno hot sauce in a sauce carousel in the center of our table.

In any event after settling in on what we wanted to eat, biscuits and honey maple butter were chosen as our starter. Just look at that golden deliciousness below!! The honey maple butter is incredible and rich and perfect on those biscuits.

The Biscuits!!!! N Maple Butter!!!

The only problem is these biscuits came to our table and were not hot at all. In my estimation they were barely “Luke warm”.

Undaunted I prepared for battle and got my tool to open this biscuit up in preparation for honey maple butterings.

To be continued…

Dinosaur BBQ PT.II!!!!

Posted by THEJNSREPORT on January 14, 2013

Posted in: Food & Drinks. Tagged: BBQ, Catfish, Comfort Food, Corn Bread, Dinosaur BBQ Pt.II, Food & Drinks, Honey, Honey Cornbread, Mac N Cheese, Meal. 1 Comment

Welcome to THEJNSREPORT’S: Sometimes Ya Gotta Eat Son!!! Dinosaur BBQ PT. II!!!!

Another mundane week passed by as days began to blur together for me and at a certain point I couldn’t distinguish the routine Wednesday feeling from a Sunday or say a Friday. I awoke today feeling like the image below.

This is what that means

It’s been a while since I had some good Cue’ and so a revisiting of Dinosaur BBQ was in order. A quick trip to and from this spot was made as the order was phoned in ahead of my arrival for pickup (Thinking smart). After a slight mixup in the name put on the order ticket my order was found and I was on way home to enjoy this meal. Above what you see is Dinosaur BBQ’s half rack of ribs and Catfish with a side of honey corn bread, Cole slaw, and that spiced up Mac n Cheese. Mmmm Mmmmmm!!!!! You understand? Sometimes you just have to indulge in the small pleasures in life especially, when you consider how hard one has to work just to afford a decent quality of life.

Dinosaur from the Side

Yassum!!!!

Not that I’m trying to tease you…well maybe just a little, here are some more mouth watering images I had to savor before ruining that masterpiece.

Yes that would be a second honey cornbread. It had to happen. LOL

HaWhat?!! I can see your smoke ring!

I began to study it.

I sat in contemplation over this amazing color on my fall of the bone tender baby back ribs. There is wisdom and learning in that there meat. If you ever get that feeling like you just have to have you some good ole BBQ baby back ribs, then Dinosaur BBQ ribs are a must eat!!! The spicy kick in the Mac N Cheese really got my taste buds going and the contrast in texture from the Ribs and crunch from the Cole Slaw just had me feeling in a much better mood. I spare you the evidence of the destruction of that meal.

Take my word for it only bones were left, it was that good. The Catfish I expected to be cornmeal crusted and fried but it was moist and blackened. It’s officially called Bronzed Catfish. The fish was excellent as an alternate flavor from the ribs. Just look at the char on em. As for the honey Corn breads. They too… didn’t make it. Under heavy questioning I got there sweet secrets as they went down into my stomach to join the rest of the meal. I must remember next time to also sample their burgers to see if they hold up the par excellence standard the Ribs, Catfish, Mac N Cheese, and Cole Slaw have.

Till next time this has been another report from THEJNSREPORT. Stay hungry my friends.

Dinosaur BBQ Edition Pt.I

Posted by THEJNSREPORT on August 29, 2012

Posted in: Food & Drinks. Tagged: BBQ, Dining out, Dino Cheese Cake, Dinosaur, Dinosaur BBQ, Dinosaur BBQ Pt.II, Food & Drinks, Harlem, Memphis Style, Peanut Butter Pie, Platinum Margarita, Ribs, Side dishes, Smoked Ribs, Yuengling. Leave a comment

Welcome to THEJNSREPORTS NYC Summer 2012 Food Travel Log – Dinosaur BBQ Edition

First stop on this year’s summer food destinations NYC is in Harlem at Dinosaur BBQ!!! I’d kept a pulse on this place since it had been mentioned to me about a year ago by a friend. I hadn’t managed to actually stop in and sample the fare until today. With that said let’s get down to the experience. Located at 700 W 125th Street just off the West Side High Way and Riverside Dr. This Dinosaur BBQ location actually is quite a nice spot to stop and eat in with the beautifully designed pier just to its west, perfect for sight seeing or people watching. Many a picture was taken while I waited for a friend to join in the Dinosaur experience.

The Entrance

The Sign

Doesn’t that just say it all? With eyes and stomachs wide open in anticipation of BBQ goodness we went inside the establishment and were promptly seated. Once inside I had to take a picture of the mural on the wall adjacent us.

Foreshadowing???

The feel of the place was modern rustic. I liked the overall atmosphere and despite the mural pic above it got busy shortly after we were seated. I had shall we say a prehistoric appetite and based on the name of the place, I figured portions to be over sized like at Dallas BBQ. How wrong I was. Not that it’s a bad thing I mean clearly obesity is one of the biggest hurdles America faces along with debt but that’s for another post.

I expected however, when reading the menu and seeing Jumbo Sized Wings that naturally they would be huge. When they came out looking like any ordinary pieces of plain buffalo wings I felt cheated to say the least. So far not looking like we’re off to a good start but let’s continue. My friend decided to order the Fried Green Tomatoes and Salmon Fritters, while I ordered The “Jumbo Sized Wings”.

Next up was the Yuengling Beer on tap. I’m personally not a big fan of beer but Yuengling wasn’t bad at all especially at $4 a pint. The Salmon Fritters I give good marks as they tasted great with a hint of spice to them while the Fried Green Tomatoes for me were good but just a bit greasy. The wings were great despite their size with smoke flavor infused into them. I should have taken pics of them but sadly neglected to. In any event I had them plain but dipping some in a variety of sauces at the table made them very worth while. Our appetites were piqued for the main course. I decided to try the Dinosaur Platinum Margarita for the perfect summer day cocktail. When it came it to the table it looked like a glass of lemonade as shown below but…

Dinosaur BBQ’s Platinum Margarita!!! Uh…Yesssuh!!!

when I tasted this drink I nearly lost it! Oh my goodness!!! The bartenders who make the Platinum at Dinosaur are to be commended whichever of them makes this drink because it was outrageously good. A perfect blend of patron tequila Cointreau, sour mix, and Gran Marnier mixed together where the Gran Marnier plays subtly but significant enough in the drink that you know why it costs as much as it does. I sipped this slowly while waiting for the meat and sides to arrive.

Now the ribs!!! These pork ribs I believe are smoked after they’ve been marinated for 24 hours. Wow were they worth the preparation that went into them. I went to pick up a rib after separating it with my knife and fork and the meat literally fell off the bone which was delicious down to the marrow and juices. Mmmm Mmmm!!!

Ribs and Sides

Oh yes I cleaned those ribs to the bone, bit off the rib tips, and chewed that marrow. They were that good! The sides however, underwhelmed. Let’s start with the Mac N Cheese. While creamy this side tasted like too much paprika or something was added to it and there was far less of a desirable cheesy flavor to recall me to take more than two bites of this dish. The creole potato salad was also just another lackluster potato salad. In my opinion I’ve actually had supermarket potato salad that tasted better. The simmered collard greens were delicious and saved the sides from a total 3 for 3 disappointment. I used what was left of my amazing Platinum Margarita to wash away the after taste of the Mac N Cheese and Creole Potato Salad…

Platinum Margarita Finished

Desert followed this…

Dino Cheese cake Vs Peanut Butter Pie

Like the caption it was Peanut Butter Pie vs Dino Cheesecake. I sampled a small piece of the cheesecake which, while looking amazing, lacked in taste and flavor. It actually tasted to me like a fluffy bland tasting cheesecake topped with fruit preserve. The crust of the cheesecake was a bit too thick and even with my fork I had trouble breaking the crust away with a piece of the cheesecake. The Peanut Butter Pie I had was the star of the night next to my Platinum Margarita and those Ribs.

I took my time working that Peanut Butter and Chocolate w whipped cream down to streaks on the plate. Man was it delicious and decadent.

What Pie?

I reckon that slice will be worth 30 minutes of high intensity cardio tomorrow.

Overall the experience eating at Dinosaur was worth writing home about. I’d say for my first visit to this place I’d give it 3/4 of a Rack. Definitely know my go to’s for main course, cocktail, and desert. Full Rack of Ribs, Platinum Margarita, and Peanut Butter Pie. I’ll skip the Mac N Cheese, and the Potato Salad. Price for the meal was definitely reasonable and would recommend to anyone who’s a fan of BBQ. Next time I’ll have to try their chicken and burgers. Till next entry this has been another NYC Summer Food Travel log 2012 report by THEJNSREPORT. Stay tuned for our next destination.