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“Wildwood”


  Occasion: Cuisine: Area: Cost: Rating:
  Night Out Barbecue Flatiron Moderate Good

I am marrying a man from the South. What this means, among other things like a love of the Gators, and an uncanny ability to stay cool on the most humid of days, is that I am about to be the wife of a guy who was reared on pulled pork and slaw, on smoked brisket and meaty baked beans, on sauce and smoke. The first place he took me when we visited his hometown—straight from the airport with no time to shower or freshen up—was Sonny’s, his favorite childhood spot for, what else, barbecue. We feasted (I MEAN FEASTED) on pulled pork, ribs, every side imaginable and something called the all-you-can-eat salad bar. I found this fascinating. There were greens, beans, slaws, pasta salads, eggs, pickles relishes, cheeses, veggies, potato salads, tuna salads, and yards of other add-ons. What a concept!

Things were a little different for me growing up. I was raised in Rego Park, Queens, which, in case you were wondering, is not exactly the barbecue capital of the world. During my childhood, I’d never been to an all-you-can-eat salad bar and certainly had never been to a barbecue joint. We had some decent knish shops, a couple of good bakeries, and a nice shop for smoked fish, but pulled pork and saucy ribs, not so much. Now, curiously Rego Park does happen to also be the home of Robbie Richter, the all-star pitmaster formerly of Hill Country (who will open Fatty ‘Cue in Williamsburg with Zac Pelaccio), but this is the only connection Rego Park has to true ‘cue. Indeed, the closest thing I came to barbecue growing up was a rather pathetic and rickety Weber charcoal grill. It was the shape of a swollen bowling ball and we kept it on our (equally rickety) back porch overlooking our very scenic cement driveway. It was manned by my mother who cooked us hot dogs and hamburgers in the sweltering days of summer. If I had known Robbie was smoking whole pigs in his backyard I’d have invited myself over. Bummer.

So when it came time to check out Wildwood, Steve Hanson’s new rough and tumble barbecue spot in the former Barça 18 space, I decided I’d do myself a favor and bring the professionals: Craig, and his boyhood friend from down South, Joachim.

We met for dinner together last week after Craig and I had a few cocktails at the bustling bar (made of recycled paper), which runs the length of the restaurant and is staffed with friendly bartenders in cute T-shirts that read &ldquo ... [more, click below]

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Other restaurants in Flatiron :
+ Suenos   + Amuse-- Closed   + Dos Caminos   + Lucy-- Closed   + Gramercy Taver   + Veritas   + Fleur De Sel   + Bolo -- CLosed   + City Bakery   + Shake Shack   + Kalustyan's Cafe   + Devi   + BLT Fish   + Sugarcane   + BLT Prime   + Barca 18-- CLOSED   + Beppe   + Barbounia   + Boqueria   + Eleven Madison   + Lonesome Dove-- CLOSED   + Hill Country   + Olana   + Wildwood   + Primehouse   + Allegretti   + Bar Breton   + Aldea   + SD26 by Bao Ong   + ABC Kitchen   + Ciano   + The NoMad   

1.)Steve R.
“Agreed.”

I'm also hoping that the service settles in... not a bad beginning though. The large app. of sliced jalapenos cleanly coated and fried is a great concept and very nicely done. Good bourbon selection as well. By the way, when Big Lou moves on to open other Wildwoods around the country, the #2 on the pits back there is Matt, aka "Backyard Chef" on several food boards. He's great and should be able to keep this place moving forward.

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