In the mood for finger-licking barbecue in Westchester? These local hotspots have just what you need to satisfy those cravings for saucy and scrumptious ribs, pulled pork, chicken wings, and the like.
Br’ers BBQ
52 Church St, Bedford; 914.729.5674
From the folks behind Purdy’s Farmer & the Fish and Hudson Farmer & the Fish, this counter-style pitstop is Westchester’s newest smokehouse. It opened its doors in 2023 and won our 2024 Best of Westchester “new barbecue restaurant” award.
Stop in for brisket and chopped pork shoulder by the half pound, baby backs, kippered (a.k.a. hot smoked) salmon, very recognizable (if you’ve had it at Purdy’s Farmer & the Fish) crispy fried chicken, and an array of stacked sandwiches. Some are specials that incorporate fresh-picked, seasonal veggies right from the eatery’s own farm, so stay tuned to their Instagram for the heads up.
The chili-lime cucumbers complement the meat, and the cornbread is a good way to sop up any sauce you missed. And if you can score a table, stay for a cold dessert, as soft serve cups and cones, shakes, and sundaes — including the Sweet & Smokey Sundae with candied bacon, peanuts, and caramel — are second fiddle to the barbecue.
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Crafty ‘Cue
County-wide
Book this barbecue food truck for your next event, anything from a birthday party to a wedding reception. Based in Mount Kisco, the truck has been feeding people at festivals and other sites across the county and into Connecticut for more than 10 years. With a motto of “innovations in barbecue,” don’t expect traditional combinations. The food truck caterer specializes in authentic, pit-smoked meats prepared with the classic Southern techniques of smoking; incorporating that into a variety of flavor profiles (with playful names) that represent the many styles of American barbecue.
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FarmEats BBQ
48 Main St, Irvington; 914.231.6646
Located in the space once occupied by Revenge BBQ, FarmEats brings a taste of the Lone Star State to the Rivertowns with Texas style ‘cue. It uses the best quality meat, free of hormones and antibiotics, from Sweet Tree Farm in Carlisle, a New York farm that specialized in grass-fed beef and pasture-raised pork and chicken.
FarmEats owner Drew George officially opened the mostly takeout spot in 2021, but locals have seen him slinging barbecue at area breweries as well as at farmers’ markets in Hastings-on-Hudson, Chappaqua, Irvington, and where he started selling salt-and-pepper rubbed, slow smoked meats (and where he still does) six years ago in Bronxville.
What you might expect from a regularly changing menu are the norm of pulled beef, pork, and chicken, but George uses every part of the animal he possibly can to stick to sustainable practices, and that’s why you’ll also see big beef ribs, short ribs, the always rare find of pork belly burnt ends, a smoked steak sandwich, and an array of sausages like pepper jack and chili pepper, kielbasa, cabernet-garlic, and even a smoked hot dog.
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Pik Nik BBQ
45 Main St, Tarrytown; 914.631.5600
Alberta and Hassan Jarane’s second act as restaurateurs has been a successful one. He was a fashion photographer, and she was a brand strategist before they opened the popular, Michelin Plate-designated Mint Premium Foods in 2003.
While Mint is a hybrid market-café with a focus on globally inspired fare, Pik Nik is its polar opposite, cuisine-wise. In 2016, a block away from Mint, Pik Nik began intoxicating Main Street’s passersby with smoky aromas emanating from its ribs, briskets, and wings.
The reason for the Jaranes’ cuisine 180° from Mint to smoked meat is simple: It’s good business. “If you’re gonna stay in the restaurant industry, you have to do something different,” Alberta says. “There was a need for it here. If you can do it, do it, but do it well, with quality ingredients and Prime beef.”
What’s different about Pik Nik is that it’s not pigeonholed into a particular barbecue style. You’ll spot influences from North Carolina in the pulled pork and the spirit of St. Louis in the tender, dry-rubbed ribs. Other sought-after selections are brisket that’s smoked for 20 hours, burnt ends, and chicken wings smoked daily with cherry wood, with house-made sweet-chili Thai, jerk, Korean barbecue, Carolina mustard sauce, and OG barbecue choices.
Staff also have creative freedom to express themselves on the menu with regular specials, like smoked pastrami done up Jewish-deli-style, sweet and sticky Korean baby backs, and fried chicken drizzled with honey mustard vinaigrette.
Noticeable at Pik Nik is the plating when vibrant sides are added in the mix. Kale and apple slaw, cucumbers and fennel salads, and house-brined pickles are all there to lighten the smokiness. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get cornbread, fries, or baked beans.
A key to Pik Nik’s success is its loyal customer base, sure, but it ultimately comes down to what’s on the plate. “The opening response was incredible, and it still is,” Alberta says. “It’s a mixture of locals and people from the Bronx and Long Island. People can tell the difference with what we’re doing here. If you’re ever not happy, our job isn’t to debate it; it’s to make you happy.”
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Smokehouse Tailgate Grill
320 Mamaroneck Ave, Mamaroneck; 914.341.1655
587 North Ave, New Rochelle; 914.813.8686
266 Route 202, Somers
This multiple Best of Westchester winner for “best barbecue” wasn’t even originally intended to serve anything smoked when it opened its New Rochelle flagship in 2007. Founders Justin Zeytoonian and Michael Hofer figured their restaurant would be chili-focused, stemming from their enjoyment of tailgating at sports stadiums.
“We were called Smokehouse Chili with intentions of doing a couple types of chili that we enjoy making when tailgating — burgers, fries, stuff like that,” Hofer says. “We liked the name ‘Smokehouse’ because it sounded cool. We went in not being experts and didn’t have a smoker. We had little stovetop box smokers. A growing passion for the craft took us that way, and I became obsessed with smoking meats. We bought a smoker at a hardware store, then upgraded to a J&R smoker from Texas.”
For Hofer and Zeytoonian, it’s about evolving based on input from an eager staff and customers. Smokehouse isn’t simply pulled pork and cornbread. It’s those, plus creative barbecue tacos, crunchy-coated fried chicken and waffles, craft beer, bourbon, cocktails, and fresh-ground burgers that take backseats to none.
Because ’cue is the focus for this story, Smokehouse’s wings are a definite staple. They’re brined, spice-rubbed, smoked, and kissed on the grill with a basting of agave butter. Next to the wings, Hofer is proud of the Prime beef brisket, formerly a weekly special that was too popular to keep at bay. It’s simply seasoned, not rubbed, with kosher salt and 16-mesh black pepper that’s not too fine, not too coarse, enroute to an 11-hour smoke. Choose the fatty, the lean, or both, but they begin slicing at 4 p.m., so avoid a sellout by not procrastinating.
Hofer’s favorite, though, is the pastrami, which is house-cured for seven days and smoked just like the brisket. “It’s not talked about enough, and I think it’s up there with Katz’s,” he says. “Every Wednesday, it’s pastrami on rye, and Justin makes a rye whiskey cocktail to go with it.”
They’ve since added an upstairs outpost inside of DeCicco & Sons Somers store where you can take a break before or after shopping or make a trip just for Smokehouse’s greatest hits like brisket, pulled pork, ribs, a hot honey-lathered fried chicken sandwich, and a mockup of a Shake Shack smash burger. The bonus? It’s right next to DeCicco’s beer bar that always has a stellar list of craft brews.
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