BBQ in Brooklyn?

The problem with living in Queens is that most people I know live in Brooklyn. Now, I love my neighborhood. In fact, it's hard to imagine living anywhere else right now. However, that does not negate the wrenching pull of dread that I feel whenever any of my friends in Brooklyn ask me, "hey, why don't you come over to my house?"

Since I'm a good friend and a nice person, I usually feel a giant wave of guilt for not wanting to cross the interborough lines and suck it up, get in Zack's minivan and drive down the BQE (as opposed to sitting on the subway for over an hour). So when Ana and Sarah asked me to come down to Brooklyn for the opening of a new BBQ restaurant, cheesy dvds and Rock Band 2, I said okay.

So where did we go? Billy Sunday’s (47 Lincoln Rd., between Flatbush and Ocean avenues in Prospect Lefferts Gardens), named after the early 20th century evangelist who was a huge supporter of Prohibition (it's ironic. Because it's Brooklyn). It has the distinct advantage of being around the corner from Ana's apartment. Here's Ana and Sarah, looking happy that I came to Brooklyn (or maybe they're just excited about the beer list that Ana's holding - you can get a half pint, pint or....whatever the next size up from a pint is. Damn. I should write things down more).


It's been serving drinks for a while now, but the food is brand new. They weren't serving the full menu yet, which I was initially annoyed about, but all my annoyance dissipated when they brought out a tray of free food for us. Here's our free chicken and ribs.


They were very good. Disclaimer: I'm from California, which is not exactly a BBQ haven of excellence. But as far as I could tell, this meat was good. It was nice and tender, fell right off the bone, and had a lot of flavor. It came with three sauces that I forgot to take a picture of - a mustard/vinegar type sauce, a more traditional BBQ sauce and my personal favorite (although it freaked Ana out), a berry infused sauce that was a little bit sweet and tangy.

We also got a plate of sides:


I could have had about a billion more of those biscuits. They were buttery and flaky. Other highlights were the breaded mac and cheese, the sweet potato (or maybe butternut squash? yams? I don't know) mash, and collard greens. I also liked the red cabbage coleslaw.

Bottom line - the drinks are good, the food is good and the decor is exactly like you would expect a BBQ place in Brooklyn to look (which to me means lots of wood and booths, but Cartoon Network plays on the TV). I would definitely go back again, even though it's all the way in Brooklyn. And hey, if you're already in Brooklyn, you've got no excuse not to go.