Mighty Quinn’s – A Man and his Bone

Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, the Naked Cowboy, the woman on the C line that forgets her pants sometimes, Brontosaurus Rib at Mighty Quinn’s.  Things that remind you that you are not in Keukenhof anymore.  This is America, where you American food, cooked by Americans, in America!  The BBQ renaissance in NYC is in full force.  You simply can no longer say that there’s no good BBQ in NYC.  Try saying it… See?  You cant!

At first you feel like you need some sort of a game plan on how to share this massiveness of a beef bone.  But after a quick poke, no knives, and no archers needed.  A simple fork attack will do for this super delicate, juicy piece of meat.  At BBQ joints I normally pass on beef ribs in favor of the pig, but here my gut told me I had to fork in the $23 for this bone (by gut I mean I’ve been reading and hearing about it for a while) and the gut was right.

Second prize went to the glorious pulled pork which we already tasted in the Dumbo Smorgasburg.  The carver splashes their own BBQ sauce at the cafeteria like counter to give it that special depth of flavor.  Perhaps the pulled pork to beat in NYC

The spare ribs were disappointing in the sense that I only got to try one.  Why oh why they did not become vegetarian, like the cool Manhattan kids.  While missing the wow factor of its cousins, the rib was exceptional.  A delicate crust that lets the tender meat do the talking.  The moist Brisket, with all its fatty glory did not disappoint as well

This is not the place to discount the sides.  They may look like Boston Market, but taste like Per Se.  Did you know there’s no Boston Market in Boston (other than one perhaps)?  Yes, you’ve been living a lie.  Who doesn’t like sweet potatoes? Me!  Not a fan.  But add some pecans and maple syrup and you got yourself a scrumptious little side.  The Edamame and pea salad was as good as Edamame and sweet peas can potentially get.

Mighty Quinn’s, possibly the city’s best all around BBQ, represents everything I love about eating in the East Village.  Its like a giant Smorgasbord of artisanal goodies.  Where else can you have ribs, Thai, a gay bar and Hamantash (March mean Hamantash season) at Moishe’s all right next to each other.

Mighty Quinn’s

103 2nd Ave