Fatty Cue - Brooklyn

Fatty Cue was way better than I expected, and certainly better than it needed to be. Clams with house-smoked bacon had people fighting for the left over broth. The hanger steak with birds eye chili / anchovy sauce was savory and funky and had a bit of fire to it. Lamb ribs were knockout, with a perfectly-melty layer of fat (though slightly out of place sauce). I bogarted the smoked catfish nam prik with crudites and pork rinds. Pork spare ribs left a little chew to be desired, but had a great balance of smoke vs. pork flavor, and a pleasing bit of sweetness (I would guess that the individual ribs were dunked in a slightly sweet broth before serving?). Beef brisket itself was good, but thepeking duck-esque bao/scallion/hoisin treatment was contrived and distracted from the beef.

The interesting bit about it in my mind, was that BBQ places often fail because they try to reproduce the 'cue of another region, but can't quite pull it off. Fatty Cue is applying traditional, hardwood smoking techniques to heritage breed animals, but basing their flavor profiles off of southeast asia. As a result, I didn't find myself comparing the 'cue to anything else, and was able to just enjoy it for what it was.

Cocktails were mediocre (too bold & brash) - head down the street to Dram.

Pies-n-Thighs, which is just around the corner, definitely not worth the visit. Wait until you come back to Chicago and go to Hoosier Mama.

Fatty Cue
91 South 6th Street
NY 11211-6026
(718) 599-3090

Pies n Thighs
166 S 4th St
Brooklyn, New York 11211
(347) 529-6090

Dram
177 S. 4th Street,
Brooklyn, NY, 11211
(718) 788-1444

-Dan

I went to Fatty Cue over the summer largely because I would kill for watermelon pickle and crispy pork belly salad at Fatty Crab and had a not so enjoyable experience. It was about 100 degrees in the restaurant and smoke was pouring out of the kitchen. We had a plate of BBQ pork that I believe was a special (completely unmemorable) and a mackerel cooked in a banana leaf (which was delicious). They fried the bones of the mackerel and served them but unfortunately they tasted a bit burnt. I think we we split an order of lamb ribs but I did not get to try them as the $12 order consisted of two ribs to split between the three of us. We didn't order much as we then headed to Fette Sau for the second half of our Brooklyn BBQ night.

If you haven't been to Fette Sau, I would highly recommend it. Very good BBQ, lots of American whiskey, good tap beer and smoked pork cheeks that I dream about from time to time.

Fette Sau

354 Metropolitan Ave
(between 4th St & Havemeyer St)
Brooklyn, NY 11211
(718) 963-3404
http://www.fettesaubbq.com

dansch wrote:Clams with house-smoked bacon had people fighting for the left over broth.

dansch wrote:The hanger steak with birds eye chili / anchovy sauce was savory and funky and had a bit of fire to it.

dansch wrote:Lamb ribs were knockout, with a perfectly-melty layer of fat (though slightly out of place sauce).

dansch wrote:I bogarted the smoked catfish nam prik with crudites and pork rinds.

dansch wrote:Pork spare ribs left a little chew to be desired, but had a great balance of smoke vs. pork flavor, and a pleasing bit of sweetness (I would guess that the individual ribs were dunked in a slightly sweet broth before serving?).

Fatty Cue wasn't the greatest meal I've ever had, but it was consistently delicious, and maybe even more importantly, full of novelty (to me, at least). After I finished rolling my eyes at the audacity of this Pan-Asian Smokehouse fusion experiment, I really enjoyed the meal. I'd love to have something like this pop up here in Chicago (in place, perhaps, of yet another Smoque imitator?).

--Rich

I've been wanting to go to Fatty Cue the past several times I've been in Brooklyn, and the photos just make me certain I have to go next time!

However, I was shocked at your (brief) review of Pies n' Thighs -- did you try the fried chicken? Or biscuits and gravy? I absolutely love Pies n' Thighs, especially the biscuits, but I will admit that the pie is lacking. I agree that Hoosier Mama is much better (I think even my own homemade pies are better), but the brunch is excellent and I definitely plan to go back for dinner...after I try Fatty Cue, of course!

As Pies n' Thighs was just an unplanned stop between dinner and drinks, we stuck to just pies. Perhaps the savory offerings are better, but the pies didn't give me much hope.

If I find myself in the area again, I'd give the fried chicken a shot - I'd just have dessert elsewhere.

-Dan

I made it to Fatty Cue last week with a friend after scoring free tickets to see TV on the Radio on the Williamsburg waterfrom. The setting was gorgeous and climate was perfect. A wonderful night to listen to one of the decade's great bands and stare at the lights of Manhattan. In keeping with the neo-hippy vibe of today's Williamsburg, only Brooklyn Brewery beers were served. I really really don't want a Brooklyn Lager with my outdoor concert - how am I supposed to drink eight of those sugar bombs? Bud light, Miller light, maybe PBR, that's it.

We trudged off to Fatty Cue after the concert, admiring the gentrified but preciously gritty surroundings. Young men and girls with tight jeans and hand cut t-shirts whizzed by on single-speed bicycles.

I expected the place to be mobbed, like every other restaurant in New York. Thankfully, it was only comfortably full, with plenty of bar seating and a table or two available. I could smell the wood smoke from about half a block away.

The waitress was very nice, exclaiming that their's was the only real BBQ in New York, in addition to Fette Sau, of course. We started with an order of lamb ribs, and toast with "master fat". The ribs looked good, but were disgustingly fatty. I like fat, especially lamb fat, my favorite. Sadly, the fat on these ribs was undercooked. To make thick strips of lamb fat palatable, they must be cooked slowly until they are fully rendered and crispy on the outside, like bacon. These ribs were cooked fast. The fat was grissly and greasy, with almost no char. I nearly gagged trying to eat the last piece and gave up.

The toast was much better, though I can't say I was a fan of the "master fat". According to the waitress, this stuff is comprised of the collective drippings of the smoked meats. I'm a big fan of duck, chicken and lamb drippings. Sadly, this stuff did not do it for me. It tasted barely-rancid and had no salt at all. A disappointment.

Things got marginally better after the appetizers. Ordering shots of mescal with tecate chasers didn't hurt. Pork ribs were pleasantly smoky, but as mentioned above, lacked the caramelized "bark" that makes good ribs.

A play on Laksa, the traditional Malay noodle soup, was pretty good. We were served a plate of pleasantly toothsome and chew noodles in meat broth. Unfortunately, the noodles were fairly one dimensional, tasting mostly of smoke. Truly a missed opportunity for a place that takes its inspiration from Southeast Asian cooking. A bit of acid, herb and fish funk would have elevated these noodles. I managed to improve the noodles by dousing them with fish sauce and pickled peppers (both came with another dish). A squirt of lime would have helped.

We finished with brisket and bao. The brisket was smoky and juicy. The plate contained exactly two slices of flat and two slices of point/deckle. For twenty-something bucks, this was a ripoff. To make matters worse, the point/deckle lacked char, though unlike the lamb ribs, it was completely rendered. Still, stuffed into bao and painted with a bit of the non-descript hoisin sauce that was served on the side, it was pretty good.

This has been a rather lackluster and lazy review. A good reflection of the meal I had at Fatty Cue. I'm looking forward to trying Fette Sau, which, I've been told, makes some pretty good BBQ.

A new Fatty 'Cue just opened up in the West Village a few weekends ago and while I had some reservations about having a meal there after a lackluster Brooklyn experience last summer I decided that I wasn't doing anything better that evening and may as well walk over there and give it a try.

Spike and I ordered the late summer tomato salad, broiled sardines (as he is a sardine freak), 1/2 pound deep fried bacon, and a special of lamb neck with rhubarb kimchee(?) over rice. The tomatoes come dressed with "charcoal", little crispy burnt pieces of lemon that add citrusy and earthy notes to the dish. Also, the deep fried bacon is delicious (as is the salsa verde that comes with it), but a little goes a long way and I don't even know how I got through three pieces of it. Definitely many notches up from the lamb ribs I had last summer. Also markedly different is the fact that they did not burn our fish skeletons this time when frying them up for us, a wonderful crunchy snack. For dessert we had the coconut-watermelon-menthol as the description hit many pleasure points for Spike. It was incredibly beautiful, I wish I had a picture. The dabs of menthol were bright green and you were meant to swirl the whole thing together so you got a mouthful of coconut-mangosteen sherbet, watermelon, menthol, and little pieces of meringue in every bite. That being said, I was so full I only had one bite, but Spike nearly licked the bowl clean.

Also Village Voice just recommended the buttermilk fried 1/2 rabbit, but at $38 I think you should really be getting the whole thing.

To me, the WV Fatty 'Cue seems almost like an entirely different restaurant to me, every component seems to run a little smoother. Maybe they felt they had to step their game up for the crowd over there?

Fatty 'Cue
50 Carmine St.
New York NY
212.929.5050
http://www.fattycue.com/