During my recent bacon tour of Manhattan, I stopped for lunch at RUB BBQ.
RUB, which stands for “Righteous Urban Barbeque,” is only a couple years old. But in that short period of time they have received significant media attention and become a popular spot for authentic BBQ in Manhattan, largely due to the past barbecue competition successes of RUB’s Executive Chef, Paul Kirk.
But it’s the quality of the barbecue that keeps people coming back. From the RUB website:
“We smoke literally thousands of pounds of meat each day and like all authentic barbecue joints, when our fresh cooked food is gone it’s gone for the day…We cook at low temperature over smoke for up to 17 hours. It’s this low and slow cooking style that gives our food its signature taste.”
The BBQ menu is quite extensive. And there are several bacon items to choose from, including the BBQ bacon chunk appetizer, a bacon and cheese sandwich, and the BLFGT (bacon, lettuce, and fried green tomatoes). RUB cures their own Berkshire pork bacon.
I wanted to start out with the bacon chunk appetizer, but I had to save some room for the other bacon stops I had planned later in the day! So I settled on the BLFGT. I’ve eaten a lot of BLTs in my lifetime, but I’ve never encountered one with fried green tomatoes. And a pleasant encounter it was. The fried green tomatoes add a nice tangy flavor to the sandwich. The bacon was also quite delicious. It had a very nice smoky, porky flavor. I can totally understand how someone could eat an entire appetizer of just this bacon.
Between the BLFGT and my bourbon and coke, my face had a big smile and a nice glow when I was done with this meal!
The atmosphere of the restaurant is very laid back and low key – it’s just like a BBQ joint you’d find anywhere in the south. There are TVs scattered around the restaurant that were tuned to various sports channels while I was there, so I imagine this would be a good place to catch a game and get some grub on a Saturday afternoon. RUB also does carry out orders.
So if you’re in New York City and find yourself craving some good Southern-style BBQ, or more importantly you are craving some good bacon, RUB is the place to go to satisfy your appetite.
RUB BBQ
208 West 23rd Street
New York, NY 10011
212-524-4300
(BLFGT photo courtesy of PigTrip. Unfortunately my photo didn’t turn out so well.)