| Raves from serious BBQers & also from the local media. | |||
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[Formerly] Located near Target in a strip mall just off I-84 in the western Hudson Valley, Barnstormer BBQ in Newburgh is easy to miss among the fast food chains and other eateries in the area. But it's a comfortable oasis, with big booths, checkerboard tablecloths and cool old soda signs unmistakably more real than similar ones you'd see in a BBQ chain. And the barbecue is real, too. There wasn't a ribs and pulled pork combo, so on a lunchtime visit I decided to get 6 ribs, with fries and cole slaw. The ribs were impressive, a massive half rack with the chine bone intact. The lusty meat was lightly coated with sauce, allowing the pork flavor to shine through. They were slightly smoky, with no smoke ring, though the exposed bone ends looked legit. [...]. There was no sauce on the table, but these ribs were wet enough and good enough not to need any. The sides were both excellent: the hand cut fries and tangy slaw both appeared to be home made. The bottom line: one of the best wet ribs I’ve come across and enough clues to hint that this might be great place. Jumbo BBQ wings are aptly named; these oversized limbs were especially plump and meaty. They came in four heat levels ranging from mild to nuclear; we found the medium to be a perfectly calibrated, finger-licking blend of house made barbeque and Frank's Red Hot sauce... ...Folks with meticulous table manners should probably also forgo the Spicy Peel and Eat Shrimp as there's no way to consume these saucy crustaceans without sullying your digits. However, these beer-poached chilled shrimp are well worth the mess, with sweet, flavorable flesh waiting underneath their suits of piquant, garlic coated armour. Barnstormers is not without mercy, a roll of absorbant paper towels resides on each table to blot, db, sop, swab and erase as needed... ... Ok, let's start with the ribs. This is REAL 'cue, so if you're looking for the hyper-tender racks of braised baby backs that are served at chain restaurants, order something else. You have to chew these bones a little to cleave the moist-wood-scented pork. The ribs develop a delicious spicy crust from the "If I tell you, I'll have to kill you" dry rub and slight char from a final glazing on the grill. To sauce (Kansas City style) or not to sauce (Memphis), that is the question... But it was the brisket that I liked the best. It took no effort at all to sunder shreds from the extra-tender hunks of meat - [the] chef [...] probably uses nothing more than a plastic spoon to break the briskets down into manageable chunks, but I'm just guessing. The tasty beef was dressed with a sweet and smoky kettle sauce made with Sam Adams lager and a few, ahem, other things. This country-style barbecue barn serves up everything sweet, tangy, and messy, including pulled pork, ribs, and a grilled chicken breast sandwich. A roll of paper towels can be found on every table — and it will come in handy.
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We start with Jumbo Chicken Wings, big, brawny suckers served with blue cheese dressing and a couple of sticks of carrot and celery, mainly as an afterthought. The wings are smoked for four hours, so they're tender and tasty. And the sauce, ordered medium, has just a slight hint of burn, perfect. No side salads or wimpy vegetables at this place; we're here for meat and are served a half-rack of Barbecued Ribs. A half-rack might not sound like much to rib lovers, but these are not your normal ribs. These aren't the small, girly-man, baby-back ribs many are used to. No, these are honkin' big ribs from fully grown pigs and even half a rack overflows from the plate. Smoked for 12 hours and partially boned, these are easy to eat, even with barbecue sauce slathered all over them. Tender and full of rich pork flavor, these are the real deal - authentic barbecue in Newburgh.
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