NY 2017, day 3

AG picked me up at the Bronx house. We've been communicating for about two years, so it was exciting for us to finally have the chance to meet. It seemed as though we spent half of our time together stuck in traffic. And if she's reading this, I'm sure she'll cringe, but I can't help but point out the baby blue Nissan Cube that she drove us in. And since she's probably reading this, I'm not going to say anything else about it.

Our first stop was Prospect Park. We walked three and a half miles around the entire park. There was actually a half-marathon that morning which started in Prospect Park and finished south in Coney Island. So with some people still running, we were kind of going against traffic. When we got to the north section of the park, where Green Army Plaza was, they had a farmers market going on, the same one I stumbled across the previous year. We got to sample smoked duck breast, several types of pickles, and I sampled a local pale ale, which would have cost $10 a bottle. I probably saw about 15 different kinds of bread that I wanted to sample, but unfortunately, they were not available.

Next it was grub time. And there was only one place to go. Hometown BBQ in the Red Hook section. I had been waiting to go to this place for maybe 2 years. We had to wait on line for about thirty minutes just to place our order. The meats get ordered by the half pound. We started with brisket, which any BBQ joint needs to know how to make, unless it's in the Carolinas. The seasoning and bark on the outside was absolutely perfect. It wasn't overly smokey, but this seasoning is very peppery. The brisket itself was a little fattier than I would have preferred though. I was really impressed with the sticky BBQ sauce, the sweet and smoky flavor worked perfectly on it. They also have a hot and sweet sauce, but it tasted too much like a straight hot sauce for my liking.

The Jamaican jerk ribs were a definite highlight. We got six meaty baby back bones, covered in green onions. There was a hint of spice, but by no means were they hot. But they were cooked spot on. They fell off the bone without collapsing off the bone. The Vietnamese wings...well I took those to go. And the bacon pastrami, I obviously had to try that. Similar to the brisket, it had an awesome bark on the outside, but was pretty fatty. The meat itself was incredibly tender though.

And then the sides. For me, it all starts with the cornbread, some of the best I've ever had. No kernels, that's a key for me. And it was incredibly rich. It tasted like honey was mixed into the batter itself. It added an element of richness to the cornbread, but it wasn't overly sweet. No butter or honey needed. The potato salad was white in color and quite creamy, it had red potato skin and chives mixed in. Very smooth. The cole slaw was crunchy and well balanced, tasting more of vinegar than mayo.

Also, thumbs up on the great music. Hall and Oates, Creedence, Ray Charles, etc. I got an Arnold Palmer from the bar. It was great, but it was a very small glass and there were no free refills. That was disappointing. And can we have bathrooms that are gender specific please? Thank you...

AG and I had about 90 minutes to get back to the Bronx, thanks to a steady stream of traffic on the Brooklyn Queens expressway. We chatted about fitness, driving, colleges, living in New York, her kids, etc.

I got back at 4pm. Not wanting to sit in the house, I walked down the street to the Pelham Bay library. I planned to do some writing and charge my phone. Well that did not take long. The library closed at 5 on Saturday. So after 45 minutes, I walked the two blocks back to the house, where I promptly passed out in bed. I hadn't been drinking or anything, I was just worn down. Maybe it was all the BBQ.

Jimmy got home from work around 6 and his friend Alex came over around 7:30. We watched the first two matches of NXT. As soon as the Tyler Bate vs Pete Dunne match for the UK title ended, we caught an Uber to City Island. Gina was having a late birthday party at a Puerto Rican club/ restaurant. We got there at 9:15, but she and her friend did not arrive till 10.

I was still pretty tired and really had no appetite after all the BBQ I had eaten. And this place was not where I needed to be. The music was so loud and blaring, that there was no way to have a conversation with another person. We had dinner and I just had a tomato and avocado salad and one empanada. I did have some free garlic bread, which was great. But I was not in a mood to dance or anything like that. By 1 in the morning, I was ready to go, though I would have been ready to leave at midnight. And an Uber took Jimmy and I back by ourselves and I finally got into bed around 2. The catch was I had to be up at 5:30 to get my plane to go home. Thankfully, I did get my dozen bagels!