Hometown Bar-B-Que NYC a ’cue capital? For now, fuhgeddaboudit
The food-media website Eater recently tweeted, “Watch out, Texas. New York is on its way to being a barbecue capital” and linked to a video about Hometown Bar-B-Que, a celebrated Texas-style barbecue joint in Brooklyn. The tweet was undoubtedly meant to be provocative and incite debate to generate views for the video. And indeed it did. Curiously, though, most of the strident objections seemed to come from non-Texans. On the other hand, my own response, like several other Texas barbecue aficionados I know, was just a shrug and a “ho-hum.”
“New York barbecue is challenging Texas for supremacy” is an old trope that the New York food media trot out about once a year. It’s as if they’re just occasionally gauging the validity of the argument — running it up the flagpole to see if anybody salutes, if you will.
Some Texans take the bait. The Tyler Morning Telegraph wrote an exasperated editorial titled “Sorry, New York, but Texas remains the barbecue 454 Van Brunt Brooklyn, N.Y. hometownbarbque.com capital.”
And what about the Texas pitmasters who actually make the barbecue and seem to be in the crosshairs of their Big Apple brethren? Of the few I mentioned it to, none was even aware that such a claim had been made.
So why are Texans so indifferent about these New York claims? It comes down to one word: confidence.
The culture, traditions and techniques are so ingrained in Texas barbecue that any challenge to its supremacy is simply not believable. Which isn’t to say the New York barbecue crowd isn’t going to stop crowing about its smoked meats.
If life really is like high school, you can look at it this way: New York barbecue is the nerdy kid in the front of the class always raising his hand to get attention while the cool kids of Texas barbecue sit in back rolling their eyes.
Which isn’t to say that all Texas-style barbecue made in New York is bad. Hill Country Barbecue and Mighty Quinn’s are two excellent Texas-style barbecue spots in the Big Apple.
But the best Texas-style barbecue in New York is indeed at Hometown Bar-B-Que, the Red Hookbased joint referenced in the original tweet.
I’ve been visiting Hometown since it opened in 2013 and have known owner and pitmaster Billy Durney for just as long. The big and burly Durney is a son of Brooklyn. But if there is such a thing as a true honorary Texan, Durney is it.
He fell in love with Texas and barbecue during visits here when he previously worked as a bodyguard for A-list celebrities. Durney struck up a friendship with Wayne Mueller of Louie Mueller Barbecue in Taylor and began making frequent trips there to learn the traditions and techniques of Texas barbecue.
The accolades that the food media — both in New York and Texas — have showered upon Durney’s Texas-style barbecue are absolutely deserved.
But don’t take my word for it. Houston pitmaster Russell Roegels recently visited New York on a tour of colleges with his son, who plans to attend culinary school. Roegels also visited a few barbecue joints, including Hometown, where he ran into celebrity chef Mario Batali. Indeed, the wider culinary world in New York now makes the pilgrimage to Red Hook to find out what all the smoked-meat fuss is about.
Roegels was impressed with the barbecue as well as meeting Batali — “He even offered to write a recommendation for my son!” Roegels says.
As for the barbecue: “The barbecue at Hometown compares with the best barbecue in Texas,” Roegels says.
So, what about New York being a barbecue capital?
“Not quite there yet,” Roegels says. “Great barbecue there is few and far between. It’s everywhere in Texas.
“I think they’re getting a little ahead of themselves.”