Author Archives for Gary Goldblatt

BBQ Cabbage and Bacon


This is one of my favorite things to eat, because it’s quick, easy and relatively healthy. It also tastes great, because it also includes several of my favorite foods: bacon, cabbage, onions and spice.

cabbage, 1 head, chopped
bacon, 9 ounces (about 6 thick-cut strips)
2 small onions, smoked
dry rub of your choice
oil, as needed
1 chile pepper of […]

Flavor Bootcamp


I’m itching to dust off my WSM and do some outdoor cooking, but in the suburbs of Boston, that’s not a possibility right now. Cold weather in March doesn’t mean that I can’t start working toward what will hit the smoker in April.
I’ve been flipping through some of my favorite cookbooks, looking for things I’d […]

Father’s Day in February: The Zubba Bubba BBQ Kit


We’ve all heard of Christmas in July, but how about Father’s Day in February? At my local Barnes & Noble book store the other day, I saw this kit in the discount section, available for a mere $5.95. Curiosity got the better of me and I bought it.

The kit includes the following:

A bright red “Who’s […]

All About All-You-Can-Eat


In Defense of Buffets
Sometimes buffets get a bad rap, generally on two fronts: (1) the quality of the food isn’t as good as you’d get by ordering off the menu; (2) it’s all about (and only about) the gluttony. I’d agree that the first point is usually true, although it doesn’t have to be. I’ve […]

Is Barbecue A Sport?


Today, we welcome Gary Goldblatt from Pigtrip.net to Get Your Grill On. Gary has a great perspective on the whole barbecue scene. He’s done it all, cook, judge, competitor, restaurant reviewer and now food writer. I look forward to his posts. Take it away Gary…

(Left) IQue at the New England BBQ Championship, 2005
It’s been said […]

Gary Goldblatt

If a magazine published a list of the top 10 burger joints near my home in metro Boston, I’d consider it my personal challenge, like a checklist that had to be completed. I had to visit them all. Gourmet magazine’s top 50 restaurants in America? Same deal. High brow, low brow, you name it, I love it. But I keep coming back to barbecue, whose appeal has outshined and outlasted all the rest. There’s just something about that balance between the simplicity of the meat, the intensity of the spices and that backdrop of wood and smoke that does it for me–- when it’s done right. A few years ago, I set a goal to find and try every barbecue restaurant within New England or within a half hour of its borders in New York and New Jersey. Long story short, I wound up launching the website www.pigtrip.net to share my discoveries with barbecue fans across the Northeast region. I own my own smoker and I cook outdoors as often as I can. Someday, I’ll have my own team, and I promise to kick some serious butt.