John Brown Smokehouse

 

Amazing BBQ!  This is exactly what this area needs.  The BBQ flavor is deep, the spices are perfect, not just salt, pepper, paprika, but a lot more.  Walking in for the first time we were greeted by the owner with a sample of most of the meats to try, nice service.  I love that they do Pork Belly and Lamb Sausage in addition to the more typical BBQ cuts (Brisket, Pulled Pork).  The Pork Belly was delicious and perfectly fatty, I look forward to ordering it next time.  The brisket was as expected juicy and delicious, with a small strip of melt in your mouth fat on the top. 

 

  


After trying a few items my company and I both decided on the Burnt Ends.  One of the best BBQd items I've ever had, ever.  Despite the name 'burnt' they do not have a burnt taste, are perfectly crispy on the outside and still miraculously moist on the inside.  Its well marbled, and served at the perfect temperature, the fat just melts in your mouth and helps to keep the meat perfectly moist.  Salty, sweet from I believe brown sugar in the rub, umami, and spicy from the addition of the excellent BBQ sauce, make this perfect food!

The selection of the day

The side dishes was good to great.  The Mac and Cheese was good and cheesy, very tasty, although it was a bit on the mushy side, which I find typical at BBQ places, its not a dish cooked to order.  The BBQ beans however were memorable, they tasted like the usual canned, sweet, rich, smokey beans, however instead of the more mild pork that is usually added, this version has (it was explained to me) brisket and some burnt ends.  Really good beans, very rich.  The portion too is a large size, very good value.  The fries are standard frozen fries, but they did cook them well done, as ordered, so they were good, and perfectly seasoned.

Burnt End sandwich 1/2

  The platters are very well priced considering the quality and portion of the food.  Absolutely delirious real BBQ, unmatched in the area, perhaps in NYC.  Go out of your way for this place!

M Wells

(Not quite Astoria, but walking distance... Excellent food!)

 

This is a real special diner.  There are so many aspects that make it seem like a normal everyday diner, of course its set in a traditional diner building and has the classic booth and counter seats, but the food and vibe bring this place to another level.  Even the warm, motherly service you get at any diner was present here, in a hip, young kinda way.  Nice friendly attentive service.  I was very excited to try this place after all the great reviews and i must say i was very impressed.  I sat across from the flat top grill at about 11:30AM and watched the action.  This place takes classics and gives them a high class spin, such as searing a piece of Foie Gras to accompany a corn chowder, or adding a piece onto grilled cheese.  They also make alot of creative food that seem exceedingly original, such as the spaghetti sandwich which looks awesome, although heavy and greasy.  I opted for the Esgargot and Bone Marrow.  Although it was not a large plate, it was a fantastic, and had my begging for more.  I enjoyed the breadcrumbs on top also, a really rich dish i'd order again in a minute.  I opted for the soup sans Foie and I really enjoyed it but in retrospect i should have gone all the way with that soup.  The coffee was much better than normal diner coffee, it was excellent.  I took home a Cuban sandwich as i'm a sucker for pork, and i have to say it was fantastic and might have been one of the best Cubans i've ever had.  Sometimes they get dry and a bit flat on taste, but this was packed with flavor and grilled on the flat top with butter, can you get any better?  Excellent flavors, really good sandwich!  I cannot wait to return here, the baked goods looks great and very fresh.  The staff was running around prepping food and cooking, it was quite and exciting little place to eat in, highly recommended!