USA! USA! USA!

Last time for the World Cup we bundled USA in with Slovakia. This time we did better about splitting up all of the countries. For this summer's tournament we opted to do a BBQ run to celebrate America. I had been to Daisy May's before with some coworkers for a pork butt extravaganza, but M had never been. So it was decided!

Daisy May's is a BBQ joint that draws from multiple regions of the US for all of its fairly authentic BBQ styles. You can get the Texas pit-style brisket and beef ribs, Carolina pulled pork, Memphis dry and St. Louis wet ribs, Cajun dirty rice, collard greens, and many other variations of smoked, grilled, and sauced meat products and sides.

M opted for the pulled pork platter with a side of burnt ends baked beans and mac and cheese (we shared all the sides). She thought the pork was pretty good. The sauce was mixed pretty well throughout the portion of pork, and she really liked the flavor of the BBQ sauce. (To be fair, BBQ sauce is one of her favorite condiments, and she likes most of them.) I found the pork to be a touch on the overcooked and dry side especially compared to the really moist pork butt I had before. (M didn't find it dry but she also didn't have that comparison to make.) The sauce they use isn't the Carolina Gold style of sauce that's common in South Carolina. It's more of a mustardy North Carolina type of sauce. It's a little sweet, a little spicy, and even a touch sour from a bit of vinegar.

The baked beans were really good. The burnt ends added smoky flavor to it all, and the beans were hearty and sweet. The mac and cheese was creamy and cheesy. It didn't have that baked top crust that we both enjoy so much, but sometimes you just want this type of mac and cheese. That being said, the pasta was cooked well, and the cheesy flavors were good.

I opted for the combo platter which was apparently some sort of special. You get to choose 2 of the meats to pair and two sides like every other platter. I chose the beef brisket and the Memphis dry rub ribs. I also got the creamy, cheesy corn and the collard greens as my sides. The collard greens were good, but nothing special. We did need some sort of vegetable matter, though, and these definitely fit the bill. The creamy, cheesy corn was delicious as always. It's like creamed corn but jazzed up with cheese. How can you go wrong? 

But the star of the show? Obviously the meat. The brisket was nice and moist, and the BBQ sauce was sweet and tangy. It had a nice smoky and salty flavor on the meat itself from the rub and smoking, but it's not the best brisket I've ever had. The ribs, though? Wow. They take these ribs, double rub them with their special spice blend, and then smoke them as is proper in Memphis style BBQ. They were tender and juicy and fell right off the bone when you bit into them. M doesn't usually like ribs but she really liked these. She had never had dry ribs before but really preferred them to the kind you can more easily get, which are sticky and messy.

BBQ isn't the most affordable cuisine, and because of its red meat heavy menus, it's not something we plan on eating that often. It's really nice to have so many amazing options in NYC, though, for whenever we do get the urge, and it's even nicer to have such a great option so close to our apartment. If you're not looking for a particular style of BBQ and you just want something awesome, definitely head out to Daisy May's.

Daisy May's, 623 11th Avenue, Hell's Kitchen.