If you didn’t have a chance to check out the Big Apple BBQ Fest, it’s running tomorrow (June 9th) as well from 11am-6pm in Madison Square Park in New York.

This year I made it a point to visit last year’s favorite, Scott’s Barbeque. Whole hog, the meat was tender and tasty. It was served on white bread and slathered in sauce (thought I did need to request extra). It seemed a great injustice that at 11:30am there was only about a 2 minute line. The pork rinds which accompanied were crunchy and fresh though.

The second stop was Ed Mitchell’s who also does Carolina style whole hog barbeque and is something of a legend. True to form, while waiting in line we caught him being filmed for TV. Mitchell’s version of BBQ features finely chopped pork mixed with sauce and served on a sandwich bun. As an added bonus I spotted Mitchell’s apprentice the Arrogant Swine who is a fellow blogger and is a pitmaster at John Brown Smokehouse in Long Island City. He was a very nice guy and gave me some extra sauce for my sandwich. I have to admit, the sandwich was even better than Scott’s with an amazing balance of pepper, vinegar and sugar. The line for Ed’s was only around 10 minutes. An apology:  I meant to take a picture of the sandwich but it looked so good I forgot.

While benches were tricky to come by, there was enough space on the grass to hang out and enjoy food. Warning: Be careful because you may run into folks in the middle of barbeque coma – a condition which causes them to be walking full speed one direction while there head is turned to another looking for their next fix. Helpful Advice: Bring a tupperware for any leftovers.