snack: black angus dog / spicy french fries
drink: abita jockamo i.p.a.
even though i've lived in brooklyn for almost a decade now, my knowledge of the fort greene, brooklyn food & drink scene is relatively lame. i haven't really had all that much reason to hang out there until this summer, when i've found myself at the brooklyn flea on most weekends. as a result, i've been spending much more time in the neighborhood lately. a couple fridays ago, on my quest to find "a place to drink that has food," my brooklyn flea partner-in-crime jessica suggested the smoke joint, a bbq restaurant right off of fulton st. i'm not exactly a huge meat eater, but i do go for quality meats every once in a while, so the promise of bbq sounded good to me.
the smoke joint was started back in 2006 by two dudes--ben grossman & craig samuel--who strive to create "real new york bbq," which is apparently some amalgam of regional styles that they've "perfected over decades in fine dining." basically, they're a neighborhood, go-to place for ribs & pulled pork & the like. it's laid out like what they describe as "a classic barbecue shack" & they've even got a section of the joint called "the pig bar" that serves a bunch of different, probably-classy bourbons.
even though the menu offers the aforementioned bounty of meat, once i got there i was in more of a snacking mood so i went light with a black angus dog & the spicy french fries. the menu describes the angus dog as "the best hot dog in brooklyn" & since i'm forever skeptical of any "best of" declaration, i ordered one up. hot dogs aren't exactly a gourmet delicacy, but when i think of a quality hot dog, i think of one that's both free of unidentifiable chunks & bits and has a nice snap to it when you bite into it. their hot dog passed both tests. it's served in a buttery, toasty bun & since i'm a condiment monger, i had them top mine with sauerkraut, diced pickles & although some people consider doing so sacrilege...ketchup. i can't say that it's the best hot dog in brooklyn, but it's definitely one of the better ones.
the "spicy" fries aren't exactly spicy in the hot sense, but they're definitely spiced & yummy as all hell. they're "dusted with jointrub" & from what i could tell, "jointrub" is some sort of demonically-addictive, sweet-tasting spice. i asked the waitress (a pleasant gal who, according to my receipt, was named whitney) what went into the addictiveness & after a little coaxing on my part, she eventually revealed to me that they covered their fries in "secret spices." what. evs. i don't need to know what it is anyhow. i'm pretty sure there's some brown sugar in there somewhere though. that & some other stuff. i'll eventually figure out what it's made of. mark my words.
i washed down my dog & fries with an abita jockamo i.p.a., a beer brewed by abita, a company based in new orleans. folks down there sure do love their music and as the abita website explains, the jockamo i.p.a. is "named for the tribes of dancing, singing, chanting mardi gras indians who have marched in new orleans for over 250 years. when you hear the drums, join in the song...iko! iko! jockamo fe na ne." sounds good to me. jockamo fe na ne mofos! jockamo yo face! ain't that right new orleans musical legend dr john?
it's an aight beer. it's got a light copper color & a light citrus scent & when you drink it, it goes down relatively smooth. tastewise, the hops are definitely noticeable but there's some sweetness to the malts so the hops aren't overly prevelant. if you prefer your beers less hoppy, you'll probably be ok with it. for me, while it was a fine accompaniment to both the hot dog & the fries, it went best with the spicy fries. all told, it was a fab snack/drink combo & i only paid $6 for my snacks & $6 for my drink. my cheap soul loved that. even if i'd decided to go for an item that they're more well known for, like a regular plate of baby back ribs, i'd have only been looking at $12 for food. that's totally affordable. maybe next time i'll give them a try.
smoke joint, 87 south elliott place, brooklyn, 718-797-1011