I originally published this on October 12, 2003 at The Big Picture’s sister blog — essays & effluvia — back in the typepad days,
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Out and about today, shopping for floor tile and kitchen appliances. Leaves are starting to turn, so we take the long and winding back route home from Appliance store. On the way, mid-afternoon, starting to get a bit noshie. We’re heading West on Jericho Turnpike, when we see a big sign on the other side of the street — Texas Bar-B-Que .
A quick (and dangerous!) u-turn, we pull into the dirt patch that serves as a parking lot. It’s just a shack really, with picnic tables outside. Speak to the owner for a few minutes — he’s a native Long Islander, lived in Texas for 20 years, just moved back up. Makes his own sauces, smokes his meats 24 hours, dry rub.
Gives us a taste of the brisket, pulled pork, the baked beans. Delicious!
I order a brisket sandwich — which is utterly scrumptious, Mrs. effluvia has a few ribs.
“Omigod, these could possibly be the best ribs I’ve ever tasted,” Mrs. effluvia declares. I taste one — F@#$% Killer! Big too, looks like a rack will feed 3 – 4.
Different than the previously discussed Hickory’s Wood Flame Grill, which is also good. Papa Rick’s is somehow, I don’t know — homier, more authentic? It literally is a stand on the side of the road, next to a wood carver (the guy who makes those 6 foot bears out of logs).
Poppa Ricks (not Papa as originally written)
Texas Bar-B-Que (also known as “Poppa Rick’s Fine Foods”
1130 Jericho Turnpike, Woodbury
631-692-6928
Directions: Jericho Turnpike and Avery Road (just East of the end of Plainview Road) in Woodbury, 1/4 mile West of Sun Ming, near the Nassau/Suffolk border)
(I’ll update the info here later this week — he was out of everything –menus, cards, etc.)
UPDATE: Since we last visitied Poppa Ricks, they got a good review from the Long Island Press.
Here’s an excerpt from Chris Twarowski’s take:
“Poppa Rick’s Fine Foods is an eatery unlike any other on Long Island. Situated beside a nursery and horse farm next to a woodcarving shop just over the county line in Suffolk, drivers cruising down Jericho Turnpike in Woodbury might think the establishment a mere roadside yard sale, or the site of a mobile-home accident, were it not for an old white pickup truck parked in front, with a red and white sign proclaiming, “Texas Style BBQ & Much More.”
Make no mistake, fellow quality food hunters and thrill-seekers, Poppa Rick’s serves up some of the most flavorful, delectable Texas- and Southern-style slow-cooked barbeque this side of the Mason-Dixon: beef brisket, pulled pork, BBQ meatloaf, beans, ribs, hot sausage, corn, soup, gumbo and chili. And that’s not all—Poppa Rick’s also serves chicken Francaise, marinated steak and grilled Portobello mushrooms. The prices are reasonable, the place is family run, and everything’s homemade.
“The secret to what we do isn’t really a secret,” explains owner and chef Rick Anselmi, who traveled back and forth to Texas and Louisiana from New York countless times over the course of 20 years as an antiques dealer and comes from a long line of restaurateurs. He founded the place out of his personal love for Southern barbeque and to help save the farm from extinction, by partnering with the owners and splitting the profits from the kitchen. “All I’m doing is Old-World food. I’m just a Northern cook cooking Southern stuff.”
Posted at 06:02 PM in Food and Drink | Permalink
