Today, I actually ate barbecue for breakfast and lunch. The crazy thing about that statement is that I ate this in Madison Square Park with all of these people!
It’s insane how long the lines are, and how eager people are to get things for free. Come to think about it, who would actually pass up the chance of eating barbecued meats and be graced by the presence of Chris Lilly, one of the country’s best known pit masters, Rick Rodgers, and chef Aaron Sanchez?
Chris Lily injecting marinade into pork butt
Aaron Sanchez talking on an interview
I just wished I could have stayed there until 5 PM, when Mr. Lily would unveil his “7-Time World Championship Pulled Pork”… Eh, unfortunately I’m worn out by classes and I don’t want to linger in the city any longer. Not to mention the fact that there will be hordes of nearby office workers packing the lines since I’ve seen quite a bit throughout the morning.
Just to let you know, this is an event is called “Spring Forward, Get Grilling,” sponsored by Kingsford® Charcoal for the advent of the earlier daylight savings time. Also Kingsford, Glad, and other companies is sponsoring a program called “Family Day” to encourage families to eat together more frequently, so children will less likely to smoke, drink, or use drugs (it’s been researched from Columbia University’s The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse; a.k.a. CASA). I know the latter was pretty much a public service announcement and not really food related but it’s for a good cause. You should support this program! You don’t want the future generation be wasted by drugs and alcohol.
Moving on to the food. The first thing I ate (around 9:40 AM) there was a version of a barbecue breakfast burrito, if you will.
It’s basically a lightly warmed tortilla from the grill, topped with scrambled eggs, green peppers and onions, and smoked pork tenderloin. Not bad. I think the pork was a little dry but it’s pretty darn tasty.
Next up (around 10:30 AM), Rick Rodgers’ “Vietnamese Beef Salad with Eye Round.”
The slaw was a bit spicy, sweet and salty, with a nice crunch from the shredded cabbage. The eye round was good. It’s very juicy, as you’ll see on the photo below, pay attention to the cutting board.
Then, I had Aaron Sanchez’s “Lamb Anticuchos with Almond Mojo.”
I have to admit, this is one of the best things I’ve eaten here. The lamb is extremely tender, sweet and savory at the same time, and the nuts in that marinade gave it some texture. I love it.
Last but not at all least, Chris Lily’s “Orange Pineapple Sweet Ribs.”
This rib kicks some major butt. I have to say, this is one of the best ribs I’ve ever tasted my entire life (besides my dad’s version). The baby back rib meat just melts in your mouth. It’s succulent, sweet, slightly smoky; good god, you just have to taste it for yourself to know what I’m talking about (meaning you should have gone there or travel to Chris Lily’s restaurant in Alabama). It’s mind blowingly great.
Speaking on the topic of Madison Square Park, the opening of Shake Shack is coming!
It’ll be another 8 days and counting… Those of you who miss their burgers, hot dogs, custards and/or concretes, think positively while you will wait two hours for your order on opening day. I will pity you. I will not be able to join you crazy people since I will have class by then. I’m planning to be there on the second day of opening…
After having enough ‘cue and smoke for the past 3 hours, I left the park with the scent of grilled meat and burnt charcoal. No, seriously. I smelled like barbecue from my clothes and probably a hint of it in my hair. As much as I like to eat it, I don’t want to smell like it. Anyways, I wanted dessert and since I have classes soon, I went uptown to Bouchon Bakery. Yeah, I can never get enough of this place. I ended up ordering a Caramel Peanut Banana Mousse ($7.25) and a small coffee.
The mousse was…ok. I didn’t really love it. The sticky caramel that enrobed the entire dessert was fine but the banana mousse tasted a bit too artificial for me. The peanuts were in the cookie crust, the peanut butter quenelle, and the brittle that topped the entire pastry. It’s pretty but it didn’t rocked my world.
Well, that’s what happened on today. Now, I’m off to bed. I don’t like Daylight Savings…I lost my hour of sleep! Blech.
Lastly, if you want to see the action of that “Spring Forward, Start Grilling,” just click here. Just be warned, my live action shots are a bit haphazard and I don’t like it. I like to take my time taking photos, so these might look crappy.
