This is all you need to know when you walk in…
- Kansas City Baby Back Ribs wet & slathered with spicy chipotle bbq
- Memphis Style Baby Back Ribs dry rubbed with wildwood spice blend
- Denver Cut Lamb Spare ribs, Full Slab dry rubbed & smoked
- Full Cut Bbq Pork Spare Ribs dry rubbed with wildwood’s spice blend
- Sticky Ribs our full cut spare ribs served wet with our sweet and tangy barbeque sauce
- Fallin’ Off the Bone Beef Short Rib prince cut, 1 giant rib
There are two very distinct definitions of “barbeque” that pop up into my head when I think back to Australia. The first includes sand swept beaches, hundred degree weather, and grilling sausages on Coogee Beach (mind you that never happened because the line was ALWAYS so long). The second stirs to memory hot dogs during our study abroad barbeque lunch at UNSW. Where were the ribs or the BARBEQUE SAUCE for god sakes!
So Si, our exchange buddy, obviously needed an introduction to American barbeque….
We walk in and it couldn’t have been more different from Hill Country. Hill Country is “cafeteria style” where you go up, give your order, and you come back with a tray, heaping full of food. Wildwood is just like any other sit down restaurant. They present you with a menu, a mason jar full of water, and you’re ready to go.
Okay, I that’s a visual breakdown of our feast. Still semi-recovering from the flu, I decided that I’d go easy on my stomach by actually consuming some carbs rather than just all meat. Angela, Si, and Jenny ended up splitting a rack and a half of ribs- Half rack of Sticky ribs and a full of Memphis style. I wish I took a picture of that epic cornbread. It’s $4.95 but it comes in a skillet and it’s more like a loaf of cornbread. Gurpreet, with the help of everyone, still couldn’t finish it.
And those are them lovely Sticky’s. I’d compare them to Chinese spare ribs except these are sticker (really, now!) and not as sweet! The disappointment, for me, was that they were not as fall off the bone as I had hoped. But then again, they weren’t described as such on the menu. The Memphis style is more dry and the rub definitely made its way into the meat in flavor.
Barbeque Melt tender sliced pork, melted pepper jack, crispy fried onions, garlic mayo
That was my dinner. It was so. Delicious. I know that foodblogging 101 dictates that you should never use the word “delicious” to describe anything. I can’t help it if there’s no better word to describe it. I substituted the vinegar chips with the sweet potato fries. It was supposed to come with coleslaw but they forgot it. I’m not a big fan anyway.
According to NYMag, they also serve 32 varieties of Bourbon…
The verdict- it has it’s ups and downs. Not exactly what I was expecting rib wise, but my BBQ melt made up for my disappointment there. The mac-and-cheese was too dry for both Gurpreet and Jenny so skip on that. There is more of a variety rib wise here than at Hill Country, but I think that since you literally order meat by the pound at Hill Country, there’s that satisfying oomph to the end of the night after consuming, what, 2 pounds of meat? The service here is also a bit slow even though it wasn’t nearly as busy as it usually is.
MENU
225 Park Ave. South
New York, NY 10003
Near 18th St. See Map | Subway Directions 
212-533-2500
You should also check out:
- Crif Dogs (take 2)- best hot dogs ever
- Saturday brunch at Locanda Verde
- Bobo in the West Village
- Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill: Brunch
- Five Napkin Burger
