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Check out our review on
The North Jersey Restaurant Guide "But if you
think it smells good, wait until you find out how it tastes. The pulled
pork is good, but Sibona spends a lot of time on his ribs, and with a
strong, smoky barbecue sauce (incorporating more than 15 ingredients)"
--The North Jersey Restaurant Guide
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(Excerpt from the
Star-Ledger)
Yes, there is good barbecue in Jersey.
The Munchmobile shows the way.
Friday, August 02, 2002
BY PETER GENOVESE
Star-Ledger Staff
TOP DOG
We found decent if not authentic barbecue wherever we went. The two
standouts were Joann's Bar / Hot Rods Real Pit BBQ in Mine Hill,
and Pop's in Madison
"People ask me if this is Texas barbecue or North Carolina barbecue,"
said Anthony Sibona, standing in the kitchen at Joanne's Bar/Hot Rod's
Real Pit BBQ in Mine Hill, Morris County. Sibona, a red chili pepper
bandanna around his head, smiled. "This is Yankee barbecue. It's the way
us Northerners do barbecue."
Sibona delivers his own tangy take on pork ribs, pulled pork and pulled
chicken sandwiches, and brisket.
"I think barbecue is the next big thing," insisted Sibona, 35. "It's
going to be like Mexican (food) was in the'90s.
Smoke Chef Anthony Sibona pulls pork
at Joanne's Bar/Hot Rods Real Pit BBQ in Mine Hill. (Ed Murray/The
Star-Ledger)
Joanne's Bar/Hot Rod's Real Pit
BBQ, Mine Hill
And then came a long, loopy ride to Mine Hill, where the Munchers found
themselves at a bar plunked in the middle of a residential neighborhood.
Barbecue here? Why not? The guy with the red chili pepper bandanna knows
what he's doing. Joanne's has been open about 15 years, while Sibona
opened Hot Rod's Real Pit BBQ there in April.
He makes some meaty music in Mine Hill, in more ways than one. Cassette
tapes he plays in the kitchen include the Hot Rod BBQ Soft Side (blues),
Motown and doo-wop.
"Ribs are my signature item," Sibona said in his kitchen. He removed a
slab of pork from the smoker and started pulling it apart, tossing the
stringy strands in a mix of barbecue sauce and water in a pan on the
stove. His BBQ sauce is tomato-based, like most BBQ sauces in such
barbecue strongholds as Texas and North Carolina. Sibona tosses in 15
ingredients, including paprika, brown sugar, celery salt and seasoning
salt.
It's a thick, husky barbecue sauce, a world away from the smooth, sweet
sauce at the Southern House. "This is the best sauce," Murray declared.
The ribs, while thick, could have been juicier; the nicely charred top
layer is on the salty side.
"We make the best baked beans in the world," says waitress Tracy Loeb.
No Munch modesty, but she can be forgiven; the baked beans are made by
her mom, Carmen.
They are beans worth bragging about, with a strong, almost intense,
smoky flavor. Okay cole slaw. Crisp corn on the cob, and cornbread with
maple butter. Miller liked the hush puppies here the most, but their
counterparts at Pies-on Pizza seemed crispier.
"Wonderful," Miller said of our night in Mine Hill.
A rib roadhouse, with jukebox and pool table. We sense, or hope for, a
trend. Miller's Munch day was over, but the Munchmobile's driver, ever
the saucy one, would ride another day.
MUNCH TEAM FAVORITES
Guest Muncher Sue Steele
Miller, pulled pork sandwich, full slab of ribs, Joann's Bar / Hot Rods
Real Pit BBQ, Mine Hill
Star-Ledger reporter
Peter Genovese: ribs, baked beans, Joann's Bar / Hot Rods Real Pit BBQ,
Mine Hill
Star-Ledger photographer
Ed Murray, cornbread, pulled pork sandwich, barbeque sauce, Joann's Bar
/ Hot Rods Real Pit BBQ, Mine Hill |
