Mighty Quinn’s Barbecue

Mighty Quinn’s Barbecue – 103 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003 (they also have other locations) – One of the longer lines at Smorgasburg formed at Mighty Quinn’s. As soon as I walked up, I could see why. They had a huge smoker right there in their booth. The smell of smoked barbecue washed over me and I knew that I would be eating here. My friend (a friend from college now living in NY) and I both agreed to start our eating frenzy with a sandwich from Mighty Quinn’s. As we neared the front of the line, I could see that they were serving up tender brisket sandwiches. Nonetheless, my friend ordered a pulled pork sandwich despite the fact that there was no pulled pork in sight. One of the chefs immediately turned around and pulled out a tray from a rack in the back and literally started pulling pork apart. My excitement grew as I saw this and I ordered pulled pork as well. They placed the pork on a brioche bun, then expertly drizzled just a bit of barbecue sauce over the meat, threw a pinch of crystal salt at the sandwich, and topped the whole thing off with coleslaw before finally placing the top of the bun. As I bit into the sandwich, I had a hard time processing what was happening because the sandwich was that good. The pulled pork wasn’t mushy, but it also wasn’t tough or dry. It had this perfect balanced texture of firm yet tender that allowed you to take a gratifying bite of the smokey pork. The coleslaw didn’t overpower the meat and the salt added a nice zing now and then. Just a great sandwich. Highly recommended.