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 “Bad to the Bone,” and “Wing Man.” The cocktails include some fine concoctions created by BR Guest mixologist Eben Klemm. I liked the Tequila Sunbolt, a spiced up version of a margarita, but the Mint Julep was too strong. It had me on the floor after three sips. That’s quite a powerful drink, though I guess that’s the point. But it was doing the trick for many revelers—lots of men and women relaxing post-work by popping golden fried jalapeno bottle caps ($5.25) dunked in cool ranch dressing.

With Wildwood, Hanson has effectively rid the place of its haunting by restaurants past. The design feels more urban and sharp than honky tonk. I’d say it’s sort of Blue Smoke crossed with Hill Country. While there’s lots of wood, it’s balanced out by slate, steel and wrought iron that give the place an industrial edge. In the kitchen, Hanson has installed Big Lou Elrose, a buddy of Robbie’s who also opened Hill Country who's smoking a menu of all-natural meats. By the time we’d polished off our cocktails, Joachim had arrived and we were seated at a beige leather booth, definitely the nicest table I’ve ever had in a barbecue restaurant. As we perused the menus, I asked Joachim what I now realize was a rather rhetorical question. “So do you like barbecue?” I said. He smiled, resting his menu on the wooden table. “Honey, I’m a man from the South. Where I come from they serve this intravenously in hospitals.” Enough said.

Joachim has a test for barbecue restaurants, he informed us, which we went about applying to Wildwood. It is the cornbread test. “I rate a place on cornbread,” he said. “As long as I don’t choke on it, it’s good.” While I can’t say that this would be my test, Wildwood passed his with flying colors. A cast-iron skillet filled out with fluffy yellow cornbread is delivered piping hot, with a very low choking probability. As for me, I’d say that while that cornbread was nice and moist, it was a tad bland, and could use some seasoning, perhaps a bit of a kick, or at least some salt.

But the Chicken Wings ($8.95 for a dozen), rubbed with Frank’s Red Hot, passed both our tests. They were lip-tinglingly spicy and quite meaty and wonderfully messy, just like good wings should be, though the celery sticks were rubbery and wilted. Not appealing. I have my own tests for good ‘cue. I like pulled pork that’s tender and moist and rich with smoke, and I like to sauce it myself. I also like it served hot. Wildwood got two of three. It was moist and tender and has some smoke, but it was cold both times on two separate occasions. “Is this supposed to be cold?” Joachim asked, wondering if Northerners did it differently. “No, it’s not,” I asked, making a mental note of the meat’s temperature. But the pork was not the only item that was cold. The crusty cheddar mac ($6.95) was also not even close to hot. In fact, the mac wasn’t crusty either (a few scant cold breadcrumbs were sprinkled over the top), and on top of that, I’d be surprised if any cheddar was involved in that recipe. It was almost chalky in texture and tasted as though powered cheese was somehow involved in the recipe. This mac was a mess. Recipe do over, please.

Indeed, Wildwood suffers from inconsistencies. Sometimes the food is hot, sometimes it’s not. One night the Texas smoked brisket was terrific—fatty and smoky—and on another it was dry and cold, and even the addition of barbecue sauce could not really help it out. (And I must say the barbecue sauces are both way too sweet. They need more heat and tang.)

But other sides fared better than that sad mac. Creamed spinach was fine (though not as well-seasoned as the spectacular creamed spinach at Primehouse), and the onion rings were wrapped in a greaseless and crunchy golden beer batter ($6.95). My favorite of the sides was the kettle-cooked burnt ends and bacon-cooked baked beans, a tangy, smoky, meaty mix of beans and beef that was almost thick like chili ($6.95). Speaking of chili, there are two on the menu and both are excellent, served in adorable little cast iron bowls with handles like small baskets. While the Jailhouse Chili ($8.25) is rampant with beef, smoke and spice, the other is Vegetarian ($9) and is stocked up with beans, peppers, and smoked tofu. Topped with cornbread croutons it really does this usually ho-hum vegetarian option proud.

The Texas Hutto Wedge ($9.50), a decidedly non-vegetarian salad, is smothered with blue cheese dressing (the plate is a blue cheese lake), and showered with candied pecans and bits of bacon. With all that blue cheese and bacon, it’s probably just as caloric as Big Lou’s Barbecue Burger, which, as its name implies, is smothered in barbecue sauce, and served 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.

Andrea Strong