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“Wildwood”

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

ed on a sesame bun topped with jack cheese, caramelized onions, bacon, and sautéed mushrooms ($13.50). This pup is a two-hander, and while it was juicy and cooked perfectly to medium rare, I found it rather hard to discern the burger flavor under the weight of all those toppings. I’d say lose the mushrooms as they don’t really make much sense to me in this context of a barbecue burger. To get to the beef, I plan on ordering the regular burger next time ($10.95).

I liked the apricot-glazed smoked chicken ($11.50 for half a bird). It was quite juicy and the slight sweetness of the sticky apricot glaze was perfect against the smokiness of the meat. That being said, my favorite of the pit barbecue items was unexpected—the Denver lamb ribs. While you’d think it would be the baby backs ($15.50 for half a rack, $25.95 for a whole), I found those to be quite smoky but too tough and not as melt-in-your-mouth as I’d hoped. But those lamb ribs were tender enough for the toothless, and I liked the sweet luscious flavor of the rib meat quite a lot.

Despite its inconsistencies, Wildwood is a good-time sort of place. The kitchen will get its sea legs, I am sure. Joachim summed it up pretty well. There are restaurants you go to hang out and the food isn’t all that important. I’m not sure that’s what Wildwood is going for, but he does have a point. I really liked hanging out at Wildwood, especially with the six-layer carrot and coconut cream cheese frosting cake ($7). Is it the best barbecue in the city? No. But does it need to be the best? No, not when it’s such a fun place to hang out and have a good time. Yes, there are some recipes that need to be worked on but there are still some good things on the menu—wings, chili, brisket (on some days), lamb ribs, chicken, burnt ends beans, etc. And there’s a great group of servers dedicated to making sure you have a good time. If two boys from the South enjoyed it, so can you.

Wildwood is located at 225 Park Avenue South, between 18th and 19th Streets, 212-533-2500.

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Posted: May 9, 2008

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   

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