Kiyo is a big fan of BBQ and we’d heard good things about John Brown Smokehouse. Since it’s near our neighborhood in Queens, we knew we had to check it out. Luckily I have a car so we drove over late one rainy afternoon. It’s not really located near anything of note; Long Island City altogether is not really known as a fun place, even though it does have some very cute hangout spots like Dutch Kills and Sage General Store.
Kiyo ordered some meat which came with Texas toast and a side of coleslaw. I ordered the iceberg salad: brisket piled high on top of iceberg lettuce and tomato with blue cheese dressing. The meat was good but honestly it was underwhelming. It was improved with additional sauce, but it wasn’t tender enough to fall apart when prodded with utensils, which is the way I think really good BBQ should be. Also, the Texas toast wasn’t toasted or buttered, which made it very dry and we didn’t finish it. The acidic coleslaw and the rich blue cheese dressing were the best parts of the meal. This place isn’t bad, but I wouldn’t say it’s worth traveling out to Long Island City for.
John Brown Smokehouse
Location: 1043 44th Dr. Long Island City, NY 11101 Phone: (718) 361-0085
Tagged: BBQ, blue cheese, bread, brisket, coleslaw, John Brown Smokehouse, lettuce, Long Island City, meat, Queens, restaurant, salad, salad dressing, Texas toast, tomato
