All 'Cued Up: The Tastiest Summer Food Events in NYC
June 1, 2016
The Viillage Voice
By Zachary Feldman
Last July, Carolyn Angel and Adam Shopkorn turned a landmarked, 1840s-era meatpacking district townhouse into Fort Gansevoort, a multistory art gallery and incubator space. They christened the back courtyard Fort Gansevoort BBQ (6 Little West 12th Street, 917-639-3113, fortgansevoort.com) and gave their pal, fashion-week DJ and burgeoning pitmaster Franco V., free rein over a lone smoker and takeout window. New for summer 2016: a duo of red-gingham picnic tables, so diners can enjoy Franco’s ‘cue at the source. “This season we’re inviting customers in,” Shopkorn says of the scrappy al fresco operation — an especially hospitable gesture considering the sauciness of Fort Gansevoort’s barbecue sandwiches. Franco heaps pulled pork shoulder (smoked for a minimum of twelve hours) and chicken shredded from whole-smoked birds between soft challah, then he tops the sandwiches with pickles and deeply caramelized onions. Both come doused in South Carolina–reminiscent apricot-mustard barbecue sauce. With the expanded seating comes a deeper smoked-meat roster, and ‘cue-rious visitors might encounter specials like sweetly glazed baby back ribs or buffalo wings imbued with mesquite, covered in hot sauce, and served with a buttermilk–blue cheese dip. Gild the lily with an order of cast-iron-cooked macaroni and cheese, or finish off with a slice of pie before heading indoors. Shopkorn, a curator and film producer, tells the Voice that he’s excited to showcase the “incredibly graphic” wave paintings of Californian artist Roy Fowler; those will debut in “either July or September.” Currently, you’ll find geometric abstract paintings and drawings on display from septuagenarian musician Richard “Dickie” Landry, which will stick around until June 25 — provided no barbecue-sauce stains taint the artwork in the interim. — Zachary Feldman