Review: Melt

Dinner at Melt on Bergen between 5th & Flatbush in Park Slope.

Pulled pork sliders:

Pork Parfait

At first glance, the meat sundae looks rather odd (if not a bit gross). But the carnival concoction actually sounds pretty tasty. It consists of pulled pork, barbecue sauce and mashed potatoes. I can’t seem to think of a better combination at the moment... and aren't we all looking for easier ways to eat pork? Porky’s BBQ, the traveling vendor from Indiana that created this portable product, was most recently at the Miami-Dade County Fair. Let’s hope they hit the North East area soon...

Review: Smoke Joint

Drinks with dinner at Smoke Joint on S. Elliott and Lafayette in Fort Greene.

Drunken Sow (bacon infused bourbon, bitters, dark brown sugar, and muddled orange):

Note: Have I mentioned how fucking awesome their pulled pork topped how dog is?? Best dog I’ve had... ever.

Meat Water... Seriously?

This is a joke right? Meat Water, a “high efficiency survival beverage” sounds even more suspect than a “vibrancy drink.” Sure, a juicy BBQ pork dumpling sounds delicious—in liquid form, however, it does not. With over 40 flavors such as pulled pork, italian meatballs, and fried oysters, in combination with their blatant rip off of Vitamin Water, I’m going to assume it’s a joke. But you can find out for yourself tonight at 303GRAND. I’m going to pass in favor of a Purple Rain sing-a-long.

“If We Cant Smoke It, We Grill It.”

From highway 321 in North Carolina, one might think this big pink building is some sort of sex shop (even the parking lot lines were pink). But no, pink is for pig at the BBQ Man Rib Hut where you are invited to “come and get your butt rubbed.” Hmm... a bit pervy after all, Mr. BBQ Man?

I decided to pig in.

A good sign for a baconista to follow...

Barbecued pork, beef & chicken, ribs, hush puppies, sausage, sliced pork and a leg of chicken. A bit of everything which I probably managed to get through maybe a quarter of. The best thing on the plate (besides the addictive hush puppies) was the pulled pork—perfectly smokey and not sauced. At the table you have your choice of the two styles of NC sauces: tomato-based or vinegar-based. Also at the table are a bunch of piggies staring down at you as you happily devour one their own.

A Massive Bacon Review

The A.V. Club taste tested a whole slew of bacon products. And thank goodness, because after my last taste test of bacon flavoured items I’d much rather let someone else do the work. Among the tested: Bacon Freak Maple Bacon Pancakes, Bacon Freak Bacon Jerky, skillet bacon jam, Spam with bacon, bacon-flavored jellybeans, bacon-flavored gum balls, and bacon-flavored toothpicks. The article comes complete with office reaction quotes and where to get everything. Well, everything except for the gumballs and mints because “You don’t want that shit.” Seems they’ve come to the same conclusion as I have—artificial bacon flavor just isn’t as good as the real thing. What did manage to get good reviews was the skillet bacon jam. I’m a bit turned off by pureed bacon but grilled cheese with bacon jam was described as “crunchy pulled pork.” Hmmm...