ProcrastiBlog

I had the great privelege of attending a pre-opening party at R.U.B. (Righteous Urban Barbecue, on 23rd St. west of 7th Ave.), a blessing on New York from Paul Kirk, The Kansas City Baron of Barbecue. We sampled ribs, brisket, ham, pastrami, and smoked sausage and it was all outstanding. I wouldn't put it above LC's in Kansas City, but it was damn good---at least as good as Pearson's---and it just may be Mr. Kirk needs to work out the kinks on his new smoking pits before he starts showing us how it's really done. I will be going back ASAP to try the smoked duck and burnt ends.

Our pile of meat was followed by deep-fried Oreos, which might be my new favorite deep-fried dessert.

The Park Slope ChipShop has been one of our favorites since we moved to the neighborhood. The menu is quite extensive, though we very rarely stray from the perfectly delightful cod and chips. The bangers and mash are quite good, if you aren't in the mood for fried. I wasn't impressed by the fried sausage or the Shepherds pie. I have never had the guts to try a Scotch egg. The Stilton, Granny Smith & Walnut Salad is quite good, though somewhat beside the point. I haven't tried any of the curries, despite feeling generally deprived of decent Indian food.

The fried candy bars are to die for. In my opinion, the Mars* and Snickers bars fare better than the Reeses cups, though I'd take the cups over the bars raw (i.e., unfried) no contest. Nougat and caramel respond well to frying; they liquefy and get deliciously gooey. Reeses' peanut butter disappointingly resists gooification. I also recommend the candy bars over the Twinkies and the Twice Fried Cherry Pie---the Hostess confections are too sugary to begin with, they fall flat in fried form.

* I believe this is the British Mars bar, which is the same as an American Milky Way (nougat and caramel), and not the American Mars bar, which contains almonds.