13 Awesome New York BBQ Joints Offering Outdoor Dining Now
Morgan’s Brooklyn Barbecue has converted its outdoor dining setup to comply with new regulations.
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The past few months have been hard for many people around the country, but things have been especially tough in New York City. Thankfully, things are beginning to look up a little bit with COVID-19 case counts declining and the city doing its best to safely reopen.
One of the best parts of New York’s reopening is the return of outdoor dining at restaurants earlier this week, including at several top barbecue joints. More than 4,000 restaurants throughout the five boroughs have been approved for outdoor dining, whether it’s just a few tables out front on the sidewalk or a large partitioned space in the street. This is a big deal for restaurants, who can sell more food and drinks while also bringing back more staff.
In a normal year, getting a sidewalk cafe permit costs about $5,000 and takes six months. But this is no normal year, and the city approved thousands of outdoor dining permits for no fee in less than a week. The city has moved so quickly because it sees this as a vital lifeline to help keep struggling restaurants afloat. And more outdoor dining choices will be coming in July, as some restaurants will be able to take advantage of space on streets that have been blocked off from traffic via the Open Streets program.
Diners that want to take part in outdoor dining must follow a few rules, such as wearing masks until they are seated. The city has also set limits on when outdoor dining is allowed, with tables not opening earlier than 8 a.m. (10 a.m. on Sundays) and nothing open later than 11 p.m., so be sure to check when your local joint is open before going.
Gentle Giant Brewing in Rockland County has beefed up outdoor seating.
Outdoor dining will be especially good for barbecue joints, where food is best served quickly after it is prepared. If you order sliced brisket, for example, that brisket needs to be eaten fast if you want to get the most out of it. I’ve been impressed by barbecue joints’ ability to adapt to takeout, but there’s nothing quite like eating it fresh. I for one can’t wait to drop in at barbecue joints soon to check out their outdoor setups.
Here are all the NYC-area barbecue joints that have reopened with outdoor dining in some form.
Batesy’s BBQ – Queens – Open 7 days a week with outdoor seating, plus takeout and delivery.
Corner House BBQ – Staten Island – Open 7 days a week with outdoor dining, plus takeout and delivery.
Dinosaur Bar-B-Que (Brooklyn and Harlem) – Manhattan – Open 7 days a week with outdoor dining, plus takeout and delivery.
Fette Sau – Brooklyn – Open Wednesday through Saturday with limited first-come-first-taken outdoor seating, plus takeout and delivery.
Gentle Giant Brewing – Rockland County – Open Tuesday through Sunday with outdoor dining, plus takeout (order here).
Hill Country Barbecue Market – Manhattan – Open 7 days a week with outdoor dining, plus takeout and delivery.
Hudson Smokehouse – The Bronx – Open Tuesday through Sunday with limited outdoor dining, plus takeout (order here) and delivery.
John Brown Smokehouse – Queens – Open 7 days a week for outdoor dining, plus takeout and delivery.
Juicy Lucy BBQ – Staten Island – Open Tuesday thought Sunday for outdoor dining, plus takeout and delivery. (They also have a drive-in movie theater.)
Mable’s Smokehouse – Brooklyn – Open 7 days a week with outdoor dining, plus takeout and delivery.
Main House BBQ – Brooklyn – Open Sunday through Thursday and Saturday night with reservations required for outdoor dining.
Morgan’s Brooklyn Barbecue – Brooklyn – Open 7 days a week with outdoor dining, plus takeout and delivery.
Pig Beach – Brooklyn – Open 7 days a week with outdoor dining, plus takeout and delivery. Read more about Pig Beach’s reopening here.
Queens Bully – Queens – Open 7 days a week for outdoor dining, plus takeout and delivery.
If there are any that I missed here, please let me know. And if you had any particularly good experiences recently with takeout or outdoor dining, I’d love to hear about that too.
Sean Ludwig
Founder, NYC BBQ
EAT ALL ABOUT IT
Here are the top BBQ and related food news stories you need to know about this week:
Red White and Que Smokehouse in New Jersey recently closed temporarily after a fire, but they are working to get it open again soon.
A small-but-significant fire has temporarily closed Red White and Que Smokehouse in Kearny, New Jersey. Thankfully, no one was hurt in the smoker fire and the owners expect to be able to reopen in a few weeks. While the owners repair the damage and get a new smoker, they are working to promote and build their new project Another Mother Fermentorium. Another Mother offers hot sauces, barbecue rubs, pickles, and more, and you can buy these great items here.
Indoor dining at half-capacity may begin on July 6 in NYC, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Thursday. More guidelines on how exactly that will work and what will be allowed will be announced soon.
Local BBQ chain Mighty Quinn’s Barbeque has launched a wild new product: BBQ soap. This all-natural soap, which is available at their West Village location or online, is made from brisket fat trimmings, coconut charcoal, lye, and peppermint oil. 25% of sales are donated to No Kid Hungry as well.
NYC restaurants and bars’ ability to sell alcohol to-go expires on Saturday, June 27 so make sure you all get some to-go cocktails just in case the rule allowing it does not get extended.
Thomas' Smokey Pit Stop in Manchester, Conn. opened in March, but the restaurant has found success despite the pandemic, reports the Hartford Courant.
Shore News Network reports that Bill’s BBQ Shack in Bayville, N.J. is worth stopping in, especially because it now has outdoor dining.
IRL BBQ
NOTE: Given the coronavirus crisis, we will be leaving the events section blank until things get back to normal. Many events continue to be up in the air, but I’ll be doing my best to keep the website up to date with events in the area. Check out the full up-to-date NYC BBQ calendar here.
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