Ed Mitchell's pulled pork sandwich
There’s something to be said for massive rainstorms that crash down on a jammed outdoor event. I decided to show up at the weekend-long Big Apple BBQ Block Party in Madison Square Park yesterday (Sunday) rather than Saturday, and it turned out to be totally the wrong day weatherwise. But in crowd-control terms, I scored big-time. In the past I’ve said I’d never return to the Big Apple BBQ fest ever again—the giant mass of humanity shoving through the small park tends to turn a potentially joyous meat-fest into a pain-in-the-ass mosh pit. But Sunday, as sky-to-earth waterfalls crashed down in the late afternoon, most of that mob scurried off, leaving a manageably medium-sized crowd standing in line at the stands, run by cult pitmasters and barbecue joints from all over the U.S. (well, from the barbecue zip codes that count), from Ed Mitchell in North Carolina to Pappy’s in St. Louis.
It’s pretty dicey eating pulled pork sandwiches in the rain—a friend and I took turns holding the umbrella over our plates to keep the soft yellow potato buns from dissolving— but it’s much less maddening than fighting hordes in the blazing heat. Even despite the rain and the much-diminished crowds, the beef-brisket stand run by Austin’s Salt Lick BBQ sold out well before the 6pm closing bell, so I missed out this time. But Ed Mitchell’s vinegary North Carolina-style whole hog didn’t disappoint. The man pit-roasts a hog like no one else. My friend and I got a little overzealous with the vinegar sauce (a North Carolina signature), but a few watermelon mojitos at nearby Tabla washed away the excessive tartness assault (completely our fault), put us in a sweet daze, and lubricated the whole afternoon even more beautifully than the rainstorm.