Hot For Teacher: Paul Kirk teaches you to 'que!

Volume 1 in a series. Chef Paul Kirk, one of the world's foremost bbq ambassadors teaches you the how-to's of bbq. I will be posting these videos in a series. I'm a big fan of his restaurant in New York City, RUB, who sponsors the Grillin' on the Bay contest each year. I haven't seen these posted elsewhere before...

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Love Is In The Air: The Food Maven Gets RUBbed

Arthur Schwartz, one of New York City's venerated food experts (he's more than a critic) dined recently at Paul Kirk's RUB and had some glowing things to say about the food coming out of Pitmaster Scott Smith's kitchen.....Take it away, Arturo....

You may recall that several weeks ago I went to RUB, on W. 23rd St. between Seventh and Eighth Aves. in Chelsea, to taste their pastrami. A friend had asked me to contribute a dish to his list of 100 Things You have To Eat Before You Die. I said Katz’s pastrami. He retorted that I could say that only because I’d never tried Rub’s pastrami. Of course, after eating the meat in both places, he had to agree: Katz’s is better. Still, I was so impressed with Rub’s other smoky offerings we tasted that day, I couldn’t wait to get back and eat more.

I have to say Rub’s ribs are great – deeply smoked, succulent and tender, not steamy and falling off the bone as too many are. Rub’s ribs only succumb when they reach your teeth. Then they melt. I love Rub’s bacon, too. You say “Bacon?” Yes, they deep smoke bacon slabs, slice them thickly, put the slices on the grill, then cut them into chubby chunks. The bacon is served, like everything else at Rub, in paper boats, which is totally in keeping with a b-b-q- joint – I wasn’t a bit offended by the lack of china -- saves the restaurant money, and allows the prices not to be crazy. Of course, bacon is such a fatty indulgence that you think you will merely nibble a chunk or two, but this bacon is so addictive I bet you can’t eat just three.

Rub has delectable smoked brisket, too, but the night I was there they didn’t have any deckle, otherwise known as “second cut” and “thick cut.” To my mind that’s the best part, or at least my favorite part of the brisket – juicy with streaks of fat and a coarser and more satisfying texture than the leaner, tighter grained so-called “first cut.” You can order just brisket ends, however, and so we did. Against our better judgment, we wiped out a paper boat full of those, too.

I even love the mayo-dressed potato salad and cole slaw. And the barbecue chicken, although not my first choice on this mostly meat menu, is pretty damned wonderful, too.

The bill -- with beers, sodas, tax and tip -- came to about $35 a person. But we really did order more than we should have – including their silly batter-fried Oreos for dessert -- and we ended up taking home enough food for two for lunch the next day. Now I have to go back and work my way through the rest of the menu. And hope they have deckle.

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We Didn't Start The Fire: RUB BBQ

Travel and Leisure magazine just came out with their list called "10 Bites of New York" and they listed our friends over at Paul Kirk's RUB BBQ. Nice job, Scott, Andrew, Paul, Celeste and the gang.

10 Bites of the Big Apple

1. Pizza at Una Pizza Napoletana (349 E. 12th St.; 212/477-9950; individual pizzas from $18.95). The choicest ingredients—naturally leavened dough, Sicilian sea salt—and just four types of pies prove that less is indeed molto.

2. Doughnuts at Doughnut Plant (379 Grand St.; 212/505-3700; $2). These are doughnuts for aesthetes: big, moist yeast-raised beauties with natural glazes—grape-fruit, apricot—that actually taste of fruit.

3 Omusubi at Oms/b (156 E. 45th St.; 212/922-9788; from $1.50 each). Don't call them poor man's sushi. These fancifully wrapped, hand-shaped Japanese rice balls—try the smoked eel or spicy tuna filling—may inspire a craze of their own.

4. Cuban sandwich at Margon (136 W. 46th St.; 212/354-5013; lunch for two $9.50). Gooey and great, with a sharp sliver of pickle, loads of lechon, salami, and ham on mojo-splashed bread—what pressed sandwiches tasted like before the panino craze.

5. Masala dosa at Saravanaas (81 Lexington Ave.; 212/679-0204; $7). The quest for the laciest, most crisp-edged lentil-and-rice crêpe folded around spiced potatoes ends here, at Manhattan's most authentic South Indian restaurant.

6. Pulled pork at R.U.B. (208 W. 23rd St.; 212/524-4300; lunch for two $14.95, including sides). Berkshire hog is slow-smoked and spoon-tender, and the burnt ends—the fatty part of the brisket—are pretty good, too. The deep-fried Oreos are impossible to resist.

7. Pho at Pho Grand (277 Grand St.; 212/ 965-5366; lunch for two $8.50). The city's most delectable Vietnamese rice noodles, in a fragrant broth with beef. Garnish at whim.

8. Lobster Roll at Pearl Oyster Bar (18 Cornelia St.; 212/691-8211; dinner for two $40). At this West Village evocation of a New England clam shack, the pearlescent crustacean nuggets piled generously into a toasted hot dog bun will have you dreaming of a summer in Maine.

9. Pretzel croissant at the City Bakery (3 W. 18th St.; 212/366-1414; $3 each). Flaky croissant pastry meets the pretzel's savory smack. An object of great veneration among food-minded New Yorkers and just one of the many reasons to love City Bakery.

10. Gelato at Laboratorio del Gelato (95 Orchard St.; 212/343-9922; from $3.25). Don't let winter's chill stand between you and the Big Apple's smoothest, most wildly flavorful ice creams, from pomegranate to chestnut-honey.

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