Hill Country BBQ Market (New York, NY)

So when you can look past making a reservation, $6.50 Shiner in a mason jar, or the $23 per pound brisket, it wasn't half bad. These mofos set up shop in an expensive area (near Chelsea in NYC) so they got to pay the bills some how. Offering their customers Texas sized deals won't cut it. Hill Country wants it bad. They want it real bad. They'll serve you anything from Frito Pie, Blue Bell, Big Red, to 4 different Shiners on tap. They even have pictures of the Lockhart High School football team above their urinals, a big ass Texas Flag, and a collection of Texas Monthly's framed on the wall. It's a little over compensating to say the least. I always give a thumbs up to the Texas enthusiast but it was over kill and instead felt like I had to give them a calming palms down style hand to the Texas Pride.

So here's the deal. You make a reservation, you sit down and they give you a card that the butchers will fill out, you wait in line until you get to the nearest butcher (Lockhart style), and you pay out your ass for the BBQ at the end of the night. The people there are nice, no NY service of rushing you out the door after you have your last bite. So don't let the crowds intimidate you from enjoying yourself.

Lets talk about the taste. I thought the brisket was a solid A. For $23 a pound it should have been nothing less than an A. The jalapeño-cheese sausage was great but come to find out they order their sausage from Kreutz BBQ in Lockhart, $6.50 a link....you heard right $6.50 a link, in Texas these things are $2 a link. Spare Ribs were a solid F. Do not bother trying them. They were very bland and they don't pull from the bone that easily. The sides looked great...I didn't have the money to try them all since I spent it on brisket, but I did get a side of Mac and Cheese and it was on par. It didn't rock my world but I've had worse. I came ill prepared and didn't take a pic of the food. But I'll do you a solid and provide you a link where a thousand other food bloggers have provided their own pictures of their own Hill Country BBQ. Your Welcome.

One plus about the place is that they do live music. Granted I had never heard one band on the calendar but again I don't follow the NY country music scene (nor do I give 2 shits about it). Either way you got to respect any establishment that provides performing opportunities for musicians.

Hill Country/Houston Astros

 

So I have mixed feelings about the place.

The Plus: Great brisket, Texas enthusiasts, and a live music hall down stairs. Come to find out they have a logo that casually resembles The Houston Astros...

The Negative: Expensive, shoving the Texas memorabilia down your throat, the ribs. At least these negatives would be easy to fix.

 

 

Hill Country BBQ will be receiving a generous score of 3.5 out of 5 stars