baby back ribs | Johnny Prime

NOTE: THIS PLACE IS NOW CLOSED

Restaurateur and food scene influencer Matt Bruck recently partnered with Chef Hong Thaimee to open Thaimee at the McCarren Hotel.

The restaurant is bright, spacious and gorgeous, with open-kitchen views into the back so you feel like you are part of the action.

The bar is a beautiful, orchid-spotted stretch with seating for about 10 people that boasts a flavorful and inspired cocktail menu, as well as some choice wines and sake.

From what I understand, the cocktail menu is currently expanding as well, so there will be even more to choose from.

The food menu is well-crafted: not too extensive, and not too small. And with Chef Hong back there doing her thing, each dish is executed with precision and perfection.

Since we tried a bunch of stuff here, I will get right down to business.

Caveat: this place has seen some buzz regarding their magic color-changing noodles.

A post shared by INSIDER food (@thisisinsiderfood) on Sep 20, 2017 at 8:03am PDT

Although I was interested to see them in action, I felt like those babies were all over Instagram already, so I wanted to try some stuff that no one else has reviewed.

Crab Cake: Beautifully presented and packed a lot of great flavor.

Tom Yum Soup: Easily one of the better versions of this Thai classic that I’ve ever tried. Tangy and robust.

Rabbit & Noodles: Perfectly cooked and tender. The batter is thick – puffy and soft on the inside, but crisp on the outside. A big winner.

Fried Ribs: Excellent. This is a must-have dish when you come here. They’re crispy, juicy and tasty. Also a big winner.

Squash Curry: As a meat man, I was surprised at how much I liked this squash dish. It was filling, satisfying, and packed with delicious Thai style curry flavors. It’s also incredibly beautiful.

Dumplings: These babies are so colorful and tasty. Veggie and peanut filling, topped with coconut and chili oil. Colors and fillings may change daily.

Thai Basil Scrambled Egg: So simple but so perfectly executed and delicious. I highly recommend this for the table.

Pumpkin Donuts: These are great for sharing at the table as well. They’re heavier than classic fried donuts, so they will chip away at your hunger and satisfy you.

Pomelo Salad: Tart, refreshing, and well balanced, this is a great way to open up your taste buds or cleanse your palette between courses.

Pad Thai Carbonara: This is hands-down the best Pad Thai I’ve ever had. There are chunks of thick cut bacon and a raw egg yolk to mix in. It really works! And the presentation is fun too. We picked shrimp as our main protein.

Chocolate Chili Souffle: I’m not a huge chocolate enthusiast, but I liked the hit of chili on top. It made this dessert pop.

Pumpkin Flan: Very smooth, and really nice flavors. I liked the candied pumpkin seeds and crispy squash on top as garnish.

I think that about does it. You should definitely get over here for the rabbit, the ribs, the squash, the soup, and especially the Pad Thai. You won’t be disappointed.

THAIMEE AT MCCARREN
160 N 12th St
Brooklyn, NY 11249

My first run-in with Hometown BBQ came when I attended Meatopia, a meat lover’s paradise that takes place on the piers over in Hell’s Kitchen. There, I met some of the people and pit masters behind Hometown, and I was thoroughly impressed with everything they presented that day, especially the beef rib.

Needless to say, I made it a priority to get over there and try more.

Hometown is a mix of Texas and Carolina styles – serving up a healthy smattering of both beef and pork, dry and sauced – but it has a heavy NYC influence to the flavor profiles, and the pit masters take lots of free license concerning BBQ fusion ideas.

As I mentioned in my Guide to Regional BBQ Styles, I believe that NYC is emerging as its own distinctly amazing BBQ style, especially given the varied immigrant communities that touch on the lives of all in this great city.

Hometown takes advantage of that diverse cuisine-culture, as all of the ownership, management and pit masters come from either New York, Brooklyn or elsewhere in the five boroughs. As a result you have menu items like (1) Jamaican jerk baby back ribs, (2) Italian sausage, (3) Chinese sticky ribs, (4) Vietnamese lamb belly banh mi sandwiches and chicken wings, (5) Jewish pastrami-spiced bacon (sinful!), and (6) Oaxacan marinated wood fired chicken and tacos.

As you can see, the menu is quite varied. And the pit masters will grab anything that comes their way and spin it into a great BBQ fusion dish, whether it’s beef tongue, duck, or whatever, on any given day. Turkey and chicken make a solid presence here. My only regret is that I was too full to try the turkey, wood fired chicken, and Vietnamese chicken wings.

So here’s what we had:

(1) Lamb Belly: This was actually our least favorite of all the meats, but that is by no means an indictment of quality. Think of it this way: You can choose five pounds of gold, or ten pounds of gold. Which do you choose? Ten, of course, but five is still awesome. This meat had all the great soft, yet sticky-crisp flavors that you associate with belly meat, but with the fat flavor of lamb. I can definitely see how this might go well on a banh mi sandwich, as per the menu offering.

(2) Pulled Pork: This was delicious, especially when adding a little bit of the spicy (bright red) BBQ sauce to it. The meat itself wasn’t over sauced at the outset, of which I was highly appreciative, and it had both a nice sweetness and pickle-pop to it that didn’t overpower.

(3) Brisket: This was probably my favorite. It was very juicy and had tons of smokey flavor. If you’re a smoke fiend, then add a touch of the smokey BBQ sauce (darker colored container), and you’re instantly transported to wood-fired heaven.

(4) Italian Sausage: I loved this Brooklyn spin on the classic BBQ joint sausage link. While I do love me some Texas hot links and classic Bavarian sausage, this was a welcome change of pace. It was cleverly served with a light tomato sauce, though it didn’t taste exactly like a traditional parsley and cheese Italian link. The pungent smoke, fire roasted peppers and aged provolone added a whole different dynamic to the meat that truly made it Italian BBQ fusion.

(5) Jamaican Jerk Baby Back Ribs: Wow. These were really interesting. The jerk spice and sauce create a nice thin bark on the outside, but the smoke causes the flavors to permeate through the entirety of the meat. This was a unique execution of baby back ribs.

(6) Pastrami Bacon: Pastrami and bacon are two words that perhaps don’t belong together in the NYC Jewish community, as it is straight up not Kosher for Passover, but this was pure heaven as far as sinful eating goes. Crispy, fatty, meaty and all around perfectly cooked, this grill-kissed slab bacon came with a velvety honey mustard sauce that actually paired great with all of the meats we tried.

We didn’t get down on any sides. Next time. We were so focused on the meat that we lost sight of the other goodies on the menu. I wish we ordered some whiskey sour pickles. My eyes were so dazzled by the meat selections that I completely missed them when I was reading the menu. BBQ + Pickles = Heaven. I am ashamed…

The bars here are great, too, by the way: one in the front, one in the back. They have a Texas vibe, and the drinks are somewhat reasonably priced for the city. My Tecate and neat Jameson came to $13: $4 for the beer and $9 for the whisky.

The atmosphere here is awesome. It feels like you’re in a warehouse barn that has several fires burning. The smells are invigorating, warm and inviting. This was a perfect refuge from the downpour and cold weather that was happening the day I came here.

That’s the back room. In the front (through the door to the right of the bar), there’s another big bar room with more tables and a small stage for live music performances. This is the counter where you order your food:

In short, Hometown is my favorite BBQ joint in the area. It seriously fucking blows away the competition.

UPDATE 7/2/16

My wife and I hit this fucking place like champs today. Here’s a rundown of what we ordered:

Lamb Belly Banh Mi: This shit was legit. The sandwich was packed with good lamb belly meat, and the flavors of the pickled items were just right. The bread was perfect – a buttery French baguette. This baby got the seal of approval from my wife, so you can trust that it is really fucking good. Only downside: there is still some connective tissue in the lamb belly servings. I noticed this last time but didn’t mention it above, because I thought it was maybe a one-off thing.

Chinese Sticky Ribs: I liked these a lot but the wife thought they were too sweet. The flavors were really layered. Spice, sweetness, and the meat was perfectly cooked to the point where you can bite it and see your teeth marks in the meat.

Vietnamese Crispy Wings: Another win here. These full wings were nicely crisped and coated with a really delicious tangy and spicy Vietnamese-inspired sauce. Very easy to eat all day.

Beef Rib: This was a monster. The meat was absolutely perfect. The bark on the outside gives it a textural crunch as well as a shot of electrifying flavor. Fucking awesome. It may be pricey, but if you come here and you don’t get one of these, then you’re a dick.

Whisky Sour Pickles: This time I remembered to get a side. Since we were having some bread with the banh mi sandwich, I figured I’d steer clear of carbs. The pickles were a wise choice, as they went perfectly with the meats.