Hometown Bar-B-Que
Barbecue restaurant · Red Hook
454 Van Brunt St, Brooklyn, NY 11231
Highlights
Oak-smoked meats, craft beer, live music, and Southern sides
Oak-smoked meats, craft beer, live music, and Southern sides
"Salty, smoky, fatty meats are made to be eaten outside—it’s just human nature. Hometown Bar-B-Que sells New York’s best smoky fatty meats, and tearing off pieces of their slick, tender brisket dusted with flake salt while sitting at a picnic table is a great way to spend a weekend afternoon in Red Hook. Head to Brooklyn Crab afterwards if you need a drink." - bryan kim, molly fitzpatrick, will hartman, willa moore, sonal shah
"Christopher Miller (of two my NYC favs - Smith & Mills and Tiny's) partners with Billy Durney to bring authentic Southern BBQ to Brooklyn. Over the years, Durney taught himself to masterfully attain the harmony between wood, fire and meat, and we are so so lucky. The brisket is a must... so is the pulled pork, the ribs, any of the sandwiches, sausages, sriracha hot wings, queso mac 'n' cheese, cole slaw, beans, collared greens and the corn bread. Ok just have it. Make sure to finish it off with a Robicelli's chocolate pudding pie, direct from their friends in Bay Ridge." - Michael Ciancio
"You don’t need us to tell you that New York isn’t a barbecue town. Which is why Hometown Bar-B-Que’s opening in 2013 was a huge step in the right direction for the city’s meat scene. These people smoke a lush brisket, and, if you need a superlative, this is decidedly the best barbecue spot in the city. But that's not saying much. Hometown's real crowning achievement is that well over a decade in, spending an afternoon hanging out at this Red Hook spot is the ideal way to anchor a sunny day in NYC. photo credit: Kate Previte photo credit: Kate Previte photo credit: Kate Previte Pause Unmute The slow, fun restaurant eating experience at Hometown is as rare in New York as a walk-in closet. The line tends to snake, but drinking a beer or iced tea and seeing a family trying to keep their kids entertained next to four NYU students who are “discovering” Red Hook is all part of the good time. Stevie Ray Vaughan (or some live music) blasts over the speakers. The intoxicating smell of smoking beef intensifies as you get closer to the meat-cutters manning the register. This is the rare circumstance of a line that you’ll actually have a fun time in. The big menu is split into two—classic meats by the half pound, and more cheffed up, fusion-y barbecue dishes. Brisket is never to be skipped here—even on your umpteenth visit. Seasoned with nothing but salt, black pepper, and perfectly stoked oak wood embers, it’s one of those bites (more of a mouthful—your teeth won’t be working that hard) that’s greater than the sum of its parts, satisfying your most primal needs. The rest of the meats by the half pound are hit-and-miss. Smoked turkey, plain or in sandwich form, gets close to the same highs as the brisket, while the pulled pork is a pale, gummy jump scare. photo credit: Kate Previte photo credit: Kate Previte photo credit: Kate Previte photo credit: Kate Previte Pause Unmute Those fusion-y dishes are also touch-and-go. The Korean sticky ribs are gorgeously glossy and worth an order—though they’re on the sweeter side. The lamb belly banh mi, however, is missing the crusty bread that you’ll find just a few miles away in some of our favorite Sunset Park Vietnamese bakeries, and doesn’t have enough pickle and jalapeño to counteract the immense amount of lamb fat. Come on a nice day. Watching live music in the smoky dining room, or sitting outside at a packed picnic table with a meat-loaded tray, your beer of choice, and a few of your best friends (or children) makes the city feel more like a town. Food Rundown Brisket As textbook as brisket gets. Astonishingly rich, peppery, and smoky, this brisket has never so much as stood up to the lightest touch from a tooth. A trip to Hometown is incomplete without a half pound of brisket. photo credit: Kate Previte Spare Ribs The smoky flavor on these specimens has seeped deep into the meat, which has just the right amount of chew. Order enough so that every meat eater at the table has exactly one of these to gnaw on. Beef Rib It’s giant. Titanic. Jurassic. Fatty. The most expensive thing on the menu. Complete overkill. And yet, every time we’ve been here with three or more people, it makes our way onto our tray. There is some overlap with the brisket, but when you order this, you can take your leftovers home and make soup (we did). photo credit: Kate Previte Pulled Pork Of all the meats, this is our least favorite. It’s lifeless in color and flavor and gummy in texture. Skip. Korean Sticky Ribs A little too saucy for us, but the meat underneath the sticky gochujang glaze is undeniable. It’s a nice addition to your order, if you’re thinking of adding one more main. photo credit: Kate Previte HBTC Conventional wisdom says you should judge a barbecue joint by its brisket. But a lean turkey breast is much harder to nail. This turkey club, with pastrami bacon jam, lettuce, tomato, and dijonnaise is by far the best sandwich on Hometown’s menu. The turkey is as drippy as any of the other meats sold by the pound, and it’s the only one that won’t have you feeling like you need a multiple-hours long nap afterward. Get it. photo credit: Kate Previte Lamb Banh Mi We like this sandwich, but it needs more jalapeño, more pickles, and more cilantro to stand up to the fatty, grassy smoked lamb belly. photo credit: Kate Previte Sides You’re going to get sides, of course. Don’t skip the pickles—you’ll need the acid to combat all the fat and salt on the rest of your tray. Other than that, you can’t really go wrong. We’re into the mac and cheese and cornbread. photo credit: Kate Previte" - Will Hartman
"Hometown is pitmaster Billy Durney’s vision of local barbecue, and its menu leans more toward eclecticism than ever before. While it’s, on one hand, Texas-style, it is at its heart and soul a New York restaurant, offering Korean and Oaxacan flourishes, among others. It’s often declared the best barbecue in the city; the move is to order everything on the menu, especially the short rib, brisket, Jamaican jerk ribs, and spare ribs." - Robert Sietsema
"You’re probably going to have to wait an hour in line to get this (mostly) Texas-style barbecue institution in Red Hook, especially on a nice day. Once you make it to the counter, though, the brisket, giant beef rib, and smoked turkey will make you forget you ever stood around. Hometown makes the best barbecue in the city, hands down. If you’re with a group, add some brisket tacos and Jamaican jerk baby back ribs, neither of which are essential but are still pretty great. Plan to visit on a weekend and make a day out of it—a drink at Brooklyn Crab, before or after, is a strong choice." - neha talreja, hannah albertine, bryan kim, matt tervooren, will hartman
