Pig on Beale

...is located at 167 Beale Street in downtown Memphis. I had the 1/2 rack of pork ribs with 2 sides (corn on the cob and onion rings) for $13.95 with sweet tea ($1.95). The ribs were very tender and the sauce added just enough flavor without being overpowering.

Traif

Traif is located in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn at 229 S. 4th Street.

"C" and I went there for dinner because Traif is known to be bacon-centric. They even have a cocktail with bacon on the glass' rim!

It's a cozy little restaurant with an open kitchen. They have almost zero counter space so we were really impressed at the dishes this small kitchen created.

We were given an amuse bouche of Strawberry and tomato gazpacho - cool and refreshing.

Then we ordered several plates to share:

Bacon wrapped blue cheese stuffed dates, spinach a la catalana ($7) - nice flavor and texture.

Spicy bigeye tuna tartare, japanese eggplant tempura ($9) - excellent with the eggplant serving as the "base" to hold the tartare.

Seared foie gras, fingerling potatoes, ham chips, sunny side up egg ($16) - worth the cholesterol, decadent and rich!

Shaking beef - filet mignon, red chilies, cantaloupe, mint ($10) - we were disappointed because it was a simply stir fry and not very interesting.

Hot pot of mussels, laughing bird shrimp, squid, black pepper ($12) - good, but not great

Strawberry-cinnamon glazed baby back ribs ($8) - very cinnamony and not as tender as we would have liked.

And for dessert we couldn't resist the Bacon donuts, dulce de leche and coffee ice cream ($6) - these were more like zeppoles or donut holes sprinkled with more bacon!

And we received complimentary Grilled pineapple to cleanse our palate.

Refuel - Vancouver

...is located in Vancouver's Kitsilano area at 1944 West 4th Avenue.

It's a minimalist, bright casual restaurant.

I had an iced tea (CA$3.95) and started with the Crispy Pork Ribs (CA$8) which were good and crispy. And then the Fried Chicken with Whole Wheat waffles and salted watermelon (CA$18). The fried chicken was good, but not as crispy as I like it. The waffles were thin and just okay.

Fatty Cue

There are many great restaurants in Brooklyn and this Williamsburg bbq spot is one of the. Located close to the bridge at 91 S. 6th Street you can smell the smokey goodness as you approach the restaurant.

"M" and I went there on a Sunday for their Whole Pig - they smoke whole pigs only on Sundays.

"M" started with a Dark & Storm Cocktail ($12) and I had a Ginger Beer ($6) made with Bermudian ginger ale (who knew?).

We shared the Nam Prik - eggplant, raw veggies and shrimp chips ($12), a serving of whole pig ($18), pork spare ribs ($14) and Pullman Toast with Master Fat ($4).

The eggplant, green beans, and shrimp chips were good, but I was not crazy about the raw bok choy, green mango and radishes.

The whole pig was tasty and served with steamed buns (we could have used two more buns). I know the skin would not be edible since it was smoked for several hours, but I missed that part of the pig. = (

The ribs were excellent - very tender and succulent. Great with the fish sauce.

And the toast was...well, the name says it all - Master Fat! It was similar to Texas Toast and served with clarified fat! Delish!

And we squeezed in dessert - S'mores pie ($6) which was a little disapointing. It was more chocolate pie and not enough marshmallow. And they served it with a heavy cream which might be overkill.

I loved the kitchy plastic chinese plates everything was served on.

We were jealous that the party of 4 next to us ordered the Half Pig's Head. We vow to return with 2 more in our party so that we can order the head as well.

Meatopia

"M" and I had the pleasure of attending the first ever Meatopia: BBQ NYC event on Governor's Island (a small island located between lower Manhattan and Brooklyn) on Sunday, July 11th.

We bought a "choice" tasting ticket for $45 (less 30% Blackboard Eats discount) for 6 tastes.

There were 30 chefs/restaurants serving up wonderful food, cooking and butchering demos and musicians.

It was well worth the trip and cost. And the servings were generous so 6* was enough for us.

Here are the foods we tried:

1) Suenos Restaurant: Smoked Duck Tacos, Canela Tortilla

2) Waterfront Ale House/Fuhgeddaboutit BBQ: House cured and Smoked Brisket Pastrami, Stout Mustard, Pretzel Roll

3) Smokin' Joe's True Blue Texas Barbecue: La Caja China Roasted Pig

4) Abe & Arthur's: Country style Pork Ribs with Tomatilla Salsa

* freebie - Aureole: Marinated Skirt Steak with asian slaw

5) The Hurricane Club: Honey glazed Baby Back Ribs with thai basil & mint

6) La Esquina: Roasted Fudge Farms Pork Shoulder, Marinated with Leche Condensada, Eqazote, Ajo Y Naranja

#4 and 6 were our favorites.

I was disappointed that Porter House New York ran out of their Grilled Skirt Steak Hoagies, Chimichurri & Roasted Corn around 3:30. But Chef Michael Lomonaco broke the bad news to the crowd.