Following the success of Daniel Delaney's Brisketlab, last summer, where Daniel brought by the pound Central Texas style 'cue to the streets of New York City, the young entrepreneur opened his first restaurant. Located on the south side of Williamsburg, at 359 Bedford Ave., BrisketTown is that restaurant.
BrisketTown is a 35-seat counter service restaurant that the casual pedestrian might easily pass by due to its low-key outside design, lack of signage and absence of windows, except the oval one in its door.
Inside, visitors see walls made of distressed brick and plaster that lead to a counter and kitchen lined with subway tile. The clean space is highlighted with some minimal design embellishments, including a piano, an American flag and the Delaney sign, a red cow outlined in neon, hanging from BrisketTown’s back wall rather than outside the restaurant.
The meat is good. Each evening, BrisketTown offers two or three smoked proteins, a seasonally driven salad, a slaw and some baked goods. In the morning, the restaurant serves smoked meat in Texas-style breakfast tacos.
Sadly, the location is yet to open itself during those middle of the day hours, but that may eventually change. Happily, one can still get the breakfast tacos until noon on weekdays, and until 3 p.m. on weekends, and yes they are just as good for brunch and lunch as they are for breakfast.
The two primary meat options are brisket and pork ribs. Both have a similar peppery flavor and complex smokiness indicative of their Texas origins. Brisket comes in both lean and fatty options.
Though individuals who think an oxymoron like lean brisket is a health food are probably only fooling themselves and missing out on a juicier and more flavorful cut, you will get more protein for your money by choosing the lean option.
The brisket will cost you $25 per pound, which makes it some of the costlier smoked meat in New York. Those ribs will cost you $22 per pound, or for about a half-dozen (and yes you are paying for the bones too). Both the brisket and ribs are tender to the touch, and the rib meat will generally fall off the bone if jostled or even merely lifted from your plate.
Your plate will come with white bread, raw onions and pickles, but BrisketTown’s sides are pretty good too. The restaurant offers a German potato salad and a red cabbage slaw, both of which cost $4.
BrisketTown plans on offering other sides in the future and rotate them by the day and possibly also seasonally. The restaurant indicated to expect a few new sides, including braised greens, baked beans, and possibly mac & cheese. The small menu also has a pumpkin pie and apple galette, both of which are $4 as well.
One issue that BrisketTown has for a customer off the street is that it allows patrons to preorder and reserve meat through its website. Since the product is made fresh each day and is limited in capacity, the restaurant can run out of meat in just a couple of hours. When that happens, BrisketTown is done for the day. If you can get some, notwithstanding the price, it is a flavorful experience that will make for a decadent and comforting meal.
One other thing to note: BrisketTown does not have a liquor license, at least yet, but they do allow you to BYOB, and there are plenty of bodegas on the block, as well as a liquor store about two blocks north on Bedford.
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