Thursday, April 15, 2010

Big Apple BBQ Glen Cove NY

A couple of reviews that were posted to one of my old posts about the new joint Big Apple BBQ that opened in Glen Cove NY. I have yet to make it over there.
Blogger Dr. Delight said...
At 9:10 PM the waiter brought my salad, and my wife's onion soup. The salad was suppose to be an iceberg wedge--who knew this could be screwed up in New York? The presentation of the salad was unacceptable, and inexcusable, my wedge was cut in half and on the left side of a dinner plate, two large chunks of uncut unedible onion were in the middle, and two unripe slices of tomato on the right, and white straight from the bottle or can "blue cheese" type dressing was poored over it. There was no bacon. THis was really bad. My wife's onion soup was cold, and had too much bread in it, and the cheese was of sub par quality. Our dinner sides were served while we were eating our soup and salad, at 9:15PM. Our two dinner entrees and second sald was served at 9:25PM. The timing was a total miss, but this can be expected on an opening night, and that is why restarants usually have a soft opening, to work out the kinks and get feedback from friends and family. This is Restaurant Management 101, and noone here took that course. We ordered sweet potatoe fries and creamed spinach. The presentation of the Spinach was simple, but effective, it was in a crock plate. The presentation of the Sweet potatoe fries was fine. Both presentations could use more razzle dazzle, for this market...as far as eating the sides, the sweet potatoe fries were undercooked and soggie, and the spinach had no flavor.. it was like water soup with green color. The two entrees were yet even worse.. Presentation was UNACCEPTABLE, even for domestic pets, let alone human beings. My mother-inlaws shredded pork looked like cat food on a plate, and my brisket and short rib were plopped on a plate with no thought at all.. As for flavor, it may have been exceptional for a lunch truck, but for a North Shore, Glen Cove, Restaurant.. The bbq food HAD no FLAVOR, was over cooked to the point that it was leather like in texture, and made me yearn for alka seltzer. The shredded cat food on a plate (shredded pork) was bland. Our waiter was very polite, and appologized for the delay, kept our beverages filled, and under these circumstances kept us from leaving. Also, in all restaurants it is standard protocol to train your waiters and serving staff by showing them the food and feeding it to them, so they can describe it to customers... It was evident that none of the staff had tryed the food prior to this.. and this is managements fault. Our busboy came to our table with the bus box and cleared, while we were still sitting there, and asked for our help. All of these errors are indicative of poor management. This place needs a real host, executive chef or consultant to advise on presentation... This was a failure, becuase these new restauranteurs failed in training and preparing their kitchen staff, and serving staff. For had they trained and rehearsed, this would have never happened to the public at large. Reutation is everything in this town. Unless, these people get some help real quick, I expect them to be back at the lunch truck in no less than three weeks. BTW... Management should have known better than to feed the local police and fire department on opening night before working the kinks out... They were on line ahead of us, at the 24 Hour CVS buying Alka Seltzer...
April 2, 2010 5:36 PM
Delete
Anonymous Anonymous said...
I went to the Big Apple BBQ with my fiance and my son tonight for dinner. We were so pleased with the staff and the way we were greeted from the nminute we walked in the door. The decor was refreshing and suitable to the restaurant theme. The food was incredible. We ordered the French Onion Soup with the pulled pork, which we couldn't get enough of. We also had the hamburger with sweet potato fries and the pulled pork sandwich. The hamburger was juicy and flavorful, I liked the way that the hamburger was seasoned so delictably. The pulled pork sandwhich was mouth-watering. The ribs that we also ordered were amazing, the meat was seasoned so well and juicy the meat fell off the bones. We ordered dessert for our son, he had the ice-cream cookie sandwich. He ate the whole thing. Of course, we both had to try it. The homemade warm chocolate chip cookies and the vanilla ice-cream was a perfect combination. The service was great! We were pleased with all of the staff. Our waiter was very attentive and kind. The management was also GREAT! It has been some time now that I have been to a restaurant where the chef and the management comes over to my table to ask me how we were enjoying the food. They were all interested in what we had to say about the food and the place itself. I can't wait to go back. It is a great place to bring your family and have a great meal and a great time. GOOD LUCK!!!
April 4, 2010 10:05 PM
Delete
Anonymous NEWYORK5STAR said...
Being a true "southerner", from Atlanta, and having business travelled the US for more than 20 years, I know about BBQ. There all all types of BBQ depending on the region of the country you are in, vinegar taste, sweet taste, spicy, Pork, Beef you name it.... One thing this new restaurant has in common with all the others accross the US, NOTHING, If I were them, I would be ashamed to advertise myself as a BBQ restaurant. My wife and I went on Saturday nite at 7:15pm, were told by the hostess that there would be a 30-40 min wait. OK, Sat night no resevation, I'm willing to wait. We sit in the bar enjoying a cocktail and I count 12 tables empty. There are about 15 people at the TINY bar and sitting on the fireplace hearth and they are all waiting for tables. Bartender was fast and the drink was good. We were seated 10 min later and looked over the LIMITED (4 entree) menu and as our waiter, very disinterested, says that they are having a a larger menu in 4 weeks when they offically open in MAY. OK , I order an iceberg wedge, the "Big Apple Tour", 4 different types of meats and my wife oders the ribs. A couple of min later the waiter is back, and says...We don't have the "Big Apple Tour", we are OUT of sausage and brisket, I said: "since it's not even eight o'clock yet and you don't have 2 of 4 entree choices, what will all the people waiting get"? No Answer, I ordered the pulled pork. The salad came, 1/4 head of lettuse, two onion slices, two tomato slices, RANCH dressing and NO bacon that was advertised on the menu. 1/4 hour later I got cooked bacon on a plate, after salad was consumed and plate had beeen removed, but I enjoyed the bacon. Dinner came, pork was on a plate with onion rings. Pulled pork on a scale of 1-10 was a 2. Wife got her ribs, we could not tell what they were by looking at them. Meat was so over cooked it fell of the bones while they were plating into a big pile. Sweet potato fries were underdone but tasty. I had a side order of mac&cheese since another side dish, gumbo, was not available as well. Children wouldn't eat the mac&chesse it was so bad. Wife said ribs on a scale of 1-10 was a 1. Dinner cost $58 for two. ADVICE TO PITMASTER... Your directly across the street from a SUPER STOP & SHOP grocery store, go buy some sausage and brisket, put your sauce on it...no one will know, cornbread (staple of ANY BBQ restaurant), 2-3 types of BBQ sauce, put in jars on the tables and you will be good to go until the restaurant critics get to your place. We won't be back, ever.
April 5, 2010 2:39 PM
Delete
Blogger John said...
My wife and I visited Big Apple BBQ on April 2, (their second day in business) and were forced to wait for an hour because the place was so busy. We finally got a seat at one of their booths, which was nicely decorated with a country flair. Our waiter brought out the menus and offered us a choice of beverages. One thing you must try is the homemade fruit compote that they offer in mixed berry or apple peach flavor. My wife and I had two glasses of each, they were great. We ordered an appetizer of their BBQ wings and found them to be very tender, smokey and seasoned just right. Next, we had the garden salad which although was saturated with dressing, looked very presentable and the vegetables were fresh. Being a person who has tasted various BBQ in many places, I was eager to try the Gumbo, and let me tell you, it was probably one of the best Gumbo's I have ever had. It was spiced just right, not overpowering and it was loaded with sausage. My wife ordered the Sliced Brisket and the Pulled Pork on a platter with Spicy Carrot Salad and Sweet Potato fries. The brisket was tender and juicy and the pulled pork was accented with smokey flavor that was combined with their BBQ sauce, turned out to be utterly delicious. The spicy carrot salad is something new and refreshing, when I asked what was in it, the waiter said that it was a secret recipe that the owners developed in Europe. Like I said before, being a true BBQ fan, I had to order the Monster Ribs. The ribs they use are big tender ribs that when cooked correctly, they have to fall off the bone, leaving the bone soft and the Ribs juicy with flavor. Poppa Ricks Big Apple BBQ is definitely a place that I will bring my friends and co-workers to. The big screen TV adds a modern flair and allows you just relax and enjoy the great food and atmosphere, not to mention the sporting events and the concerts that they feature. I don't know about the other reviewers but I had great BBQ and I know great BBQ when I taste it. That is why Big Apple BBQ definitely hit the Bulls Eye.. Way to go guys!
April 12, 2010 10:22 PM
Delete

3 comments:

Frank Biscatto said...

After reading a trashy review of the Big Apple BBQ, I got two of my friends together and headed over there to check the place out and to trash their food and service in person. So we get there around 7:20pm on Sunday, April 11. The hostess (a good looking gal) tells us that there is a 45 minute wait time. I look around the dining room and find one table for two empty. So I ask her to call the manager. A heavy guy comes out and asks us if he could be of an assistance. I tell him that we traveled from the south shore and really don't have 45 minutes to wait and point at the table in front of the bar for two. He disappears for a moment, gets back with a chair in his hands and offers us to either wait for a bigger table or sit at the table for two. We agreed to sit at a smaller table and not wait for 45 minutes. Next comes a waiter (7 minutes later) and gives us three plywood boards with a sheet attached to them. That was the menu. I asked the waiter if management needs a little helping hand to create a better looking menu and was told immediately that this was temporary and he brought over the permanent menu they were working on for the grand opening. I must say the real menu looks awesome. However, I did make a few nasty jokes regarding the temporary menu. We ordered three pints of draft beer and two shots of patron to loosen up. The drinks came surprisingly fast. We ordered a full rack of ribs, and a double platter with pulled pork and sliced brisket with the following sides: spicy carrots, big apple rice, baked beans and onion rings. That was the last time we saw our waiter. And that was a good thing, cause we were taken care of by one of the owners. He (the owner) probably felt that we needed special attention (we were very loud). So after about another 30 minutes and three more beers our food was finally here. Imagine our disappointment when we had nothing to complain about. I was really pissed but at the same time surprised by the quality of the food that we were having. The ribs were UNBELEIVABLE! First of all they were humongous! Secondly, the flavor was just right, not too smoked, not too dry, not too wet. They actually fell of the bone, but in no way they were overcooked. Extra BBQ sauce was given on the side. Pulled pork was very moist and tasty. And brisket-oh boy, the brisket was out of this world. So tender that it melted in my mouth. I can't judge the service since we were given special care that night. So my evening was "spoiled" by great food and fun atmosphere. The bar looks very city like with the ambient lighting that only high end bars use in Manhattan. I forgot to mention a 12 foot screen they have in the middle of the dining room that was astonishing. Eagles was playing their farewell tour concert all night and the picture quality was amazing. I was told by the owner that they have a high definition projector installed. So now we can't wait for major sporting events such as the World Series, Stanley Cup, Soccer world cup Championship and the Super Bowl to air. So, all in all my experience was much better than expected. One word to everybody: you can read our reviews, consider it, but to know for sure if it's worth your time and money or not one should try it at least once for themselves.

Anonymous said...

went to big apple bbq on 5/2/2010

food was lousy , shreded brisket was lousy, the meat had no taste or flavor to it, but it did have a very strong smoked wood taste burns your throat going down, it is almost like they put wood shavings in the food, the meat was dry and chewy and had alot of fat in it, the bbq sauce in the sandwich did not help the taste at all. service also was not good, mneu prices are expensive. would never go back again

Anonymous said...

I don't understand why people even bother to go to the place where they would hate everything. To me it sounds very fishy. It's obvious people would do that purposly to kill the business. I happen to visit that place. Did I like everything? No. I didn't quite like their pulled chicken. However, their Ceasar salad was great, their wings where the best I ever had, and the ribs (I just ordered one to try) although quite smokey in flavor, still soft and tender. So I don't really know what the hell is wrong with all the people who just talking trash about that place. It's impossible to order three or four items from the menu and not to like at least one. They would have been out of business by now if everything that some people post here was 100% accurate. I heard they are openning up another place in Port Washington. If you ask me, if they were so bad, why would they open up a new place? Obviously they are doing something right.