Neely’s Barbecue Parlor
1125 1st Ave., Upper East Side, NY
What I am about to say probably won’t surprise you. We are not fans of Neely’s Barbecue Parlor. This place might as well be a Bubba Gump’s Shrimp Company, and it might as well be on 44th and Broadway. But to be honest, we were a little bit surprised that we didn’t like it more.
Of all the Food Network personalities out there franchising restaurants and selling sh*t with their face on it, we actually expected the Neely’s to deliver on the food. Their well-known barbecue restaurants in Memphis are what put them on the map, and they aren’t particularly heavy on shtick. If Guy Fieri opened up a joint in NYC, we would know what to expect – a restaurant shaped like a car that serves mojito glazed tequila steak poppers. Enough said. But in this case, I guess we were hoping that the Neely’s could at least hook up some decent ribs.
Unfortunately, we haven’t found much on the Neely’s Barbecue Parlor menu that even qualifies as decent. The aforementioned ribs aren’t very good, and the pulled pork is dry and somehow lacks flavor. Our waiter claimed that the mac and cheese was the best in this city, when in reality it might not even be the best on this block. Most of the food here tastes like it was cooked somewhere else and heated back up before service. I suppose we should have known what to expect – this is less a barbecue restaurant and more a marketing concept. Let’s see if those famous names can keep this place in business.
Food Rundown:
Hickory Smoked Chicken Wings
We thought that wings would be a pretty safe order here, but that’s not the case. The hickory smoke has a strange taste to it, and we were hoping for something more flavorful. Pass.
Texas Style “12 hr” Smoked Beef Brisket
Dry and unimpressive. This is another menu item to be skipped.
Pulled Pork
I’m not sure that either of us have met a plate of pulled pork that we didn’t like. Until now. These big chunks of cold pork have little seasoning and no sauce. How is all this food so bland when all I see around me are spice bottles with these people’s faces on them? Are those just full of sand?
Memphis Style Baby Back Ribs
We did these dry, so that we could apply sauce at the table and maybe sprinkle some of that famous Memphis sand on there too. That was a mistake. These taste like they were smoked somewhere off site and then put into a walk-in cooler for a day or two.
KC Style “Sweet & Sticky” Ribs
Better than the baby backs, but still nothing that we’re coming back for. These have the sauce on them when they arrive at the table, and that helps.
Macaroni & Cheese
Billed as the best in town, this mac and cheese was really boring. Someone needs to go to Blue Smoke and get learned on a few things.
Black Eyed Peas with Pork & Bacon
The one thing we liked at Neely’s were these black eyed peas. Finally, something from the menu with some flavor. Spicy and smoky and just the way I like them.
