Wildwood Barbeque (A Scrumptious Surprise)

July 1st, 2009

I didn’t expect much when my girlfriends and I abandoned an empty and depressing Irving Mill for a more lively scene at Wildwood Barbeque down the block. Good barbeque is tough to come by in New York and with Wildwood being part of the B.R. Guest restaurant consortium I had my doubts. Could a puppy mill of restaurant trends churn out something grand?

My snooty early judgements were proven wrong. I was deeply impressed with the great flavors of the food and our waitress who was friendly and accomodating. A wacky chopped salad with tomato, feta, cucumbers, capers and everything else under the sun was a crunchy, refreshing starter to the upcoming meatfest. I was overjoyed by my tender, saucy and smoky lamb ribs with a fair amount of slippery fat.  You see, dry rubbed ribs are not my thing. When I eat ribs I like to go all-out. Give me something that can put that dish-towel napkin to work! I eyed my friends’ barbequed chicken and took a bite, finding it to be sweet and delicately spiced, but no match for my awesome ribs. Creamy, aged cheddar mac n’ cheese, brussel sprouts in a cute cast iron pot and skinny sweet potato fries rounded out the meat fest.  They also have a wide beer selection including lots of IPA’s, local stuff and even some Abita brews (love to represent my former college town of N’awlins). If you dig Bourbon, they boast 32 varieties.

In the ranks of serious BBQ houses in the city, Wildwood can hold its own. The mac n’ cheese was leagues below Hill Country’s dense, rich version, but the lamb ribs provide a challenge to Hill’s beef. It’s nice to be pleasantly surprised.

Wildwood Barbeque: 225 Park Avenue South
Cuisine: Barbeque
Average App/Entree Price: $8/$20
Food: Very Good
Service: Very Good
Value: Very Good
You Gonna Finish That? Every last bite.
Word to the Wise: If you don’t eat pork, Wildwood is the only restaurant in the city to serve lamb ribs (according to our waitress).
Wildwood Barbeque on Urbanspoon

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Filed under BBQ, Neighborhood, Quick Bites, Restaurant Reviews, Union Square | Comments (2)

2 Responses to “Wildwood Barbeque (A Scrumptious Surprise)”

  1. jessie on July 29, 2009 10:52 pm

    after i went to hill country, i always wondered about wildwood bbq, but had no incentive. i guess now i do with the lamb ribs

    you should definitely submit some of your photos to http://www.donteatthatyet.com. their goal is to create a visual restaurant review site, with a template simliar to tastespotting.

  2. Erika on July 30, 2009 9:59 am

    Yes the lamb ribs are awesome, gotta try them out! That site sounds great I’ll have to check it out.

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