By COLlive reporter
Photos: Itzik Roytman/COLlive
Fans of Sruli Eidelman‘s Texas-style barbecue fare have been waiting a long time for him to settle down and open a permanent eatery.
This week, that culinary dream is coming true.
Izzy’s Brooklyn Smokehouse is finally opening, a year after Eidelman announced that he would be expanding the business run out of his home kitchen into the first Kosher authentic barbecue restaurant in New York city.
The unassuming restaurant at 397 Troy Avenue between Montgomery and Crown Streets in Crown Heights belies the big taste of the fare they dished out to eager customers and foodies at their unofficial opening, many of whom have been awaiting with great anticipation.
Eidelman says he has been dreaming of running his own restaurant ever since he tried the barbecue fare of Ari White, the Texas-born chef of Wandering ‘Que, a pop-up barbecue shop in New York city.
“After I tasted his amazing barbecue at a pop-up restaurant back then, I was hooked,” Eidelman told COLlive.com on Tuesday. “It began as a hobby, and then I began to enter competitions. That grew into a business…and now here I am,” he says.
Eidelman’s uncle and partner in the restaurant, Yaakov Baitch, has experience in the restaurant business, having owned Kingston Bagel Shop for many years.
Baitch says since opening, the response has been amazing.
“For a long time Sruli has been trying to talk me into opening this restaurant with him. And when I saw the feedback to his recent pop-up events – some of which drew almost 600 people – I realized this was a great idea,” he said.
The counter service restaurant seats 25-30 people, and does not offer waiter service, which many people preferred, Baitch said. “We want to keep this place upscale, yet affordable,” he says.
Popular dishes are spicy pulled beef and flavorful pulled chicken, house cured pastrami, as well as best-sellers succulent ribs and smoked hot wings which will have you licking your fingers.
They offer creative side dishes such as pit-smoked brisket and beans and a heavenly candied sweet potato with a pecan and honey glaze which perfectly offsets the spicy meat.
What makes their meats so special is the time it takes to prepare – the trimming, seasoning, and some taking up to 18 hours of smoking.
“There is nothing like Sruli’s food,” says Baitch. “He has spent years experimenting and perfecting…all I can say is – you’ve got to taste it to believe it.”
Izzy’s BBQ will be opening in approximately 2 weeks.
397 Troy Avenue between Montgomery and Crown Streets
Hours: 12 – 10 or until they sell out.
Under OK supervision
Website: izzyssmokehouse.com
that sounds so deliceous but it is not nice, for us as peaple and shluchim of the rebbe our nossi , to do such things as opening, a restarount and such a gashmiusdick thing to conclude! i feel that here, in the usa we do have lots and lots of different types of steakhouses. restaurants, sushi bars and lots more so why do we need to open yet another food place in the same country!! our nefesh habehamis is making us need all these places!! we dont actually need them to live, thats why i think that the usa is… Read more »
Where do you see nuggets on the menu? I heard they only have wings. I would like me some tasty nuggets, maybe once the final menu is released we will have our nuggets.
Looking forward to the grand public opening.
One day I wish to be from the select few that get to go to the VIP openings.
Gosh “For those who keeps Kashrus sacred” So the 99.99% of frum Jews who don’t eat strickly lubavitch don’t keep kashrus sacred?!! Please get off your high (CHK hechshered) horse.
If a majority of people in the neighborhood ask for it, they will use CHK. Kashrus wise I am not so makpid myself, but in the Rebbe’s schuna it is the right thing to do.
u r what u eat , kashrus is very important
Can wait to try those chicken nuggets, they look delish, it took a while for B&B to get nuggets but I am so happy to see izzy has nuggets straight on the menu, they look hevs!!!
looks good
I do not believe satmar are makpid about many things in shechita as most other hassidim are. sirches, etc. there is no reason to bring in shechitas chutz to our community. we B”H have lubav shechita
Please make meat sodium nitrite free .
WITH GOOD MAZAL
1.I went in and CONFIRMED it was OK supervision.
2.I agree totally with comment 24.
is the chicken and meat chk??
under ok hashgacha !!
Meal mart is satmar
if only the worst thing we did was eat satmar meat……
The OK gives Hashgachah in a place in Boro Park that the meat is from Meal Mart. For those who keeps Kashrus sacred, please make sure to ask what the meat and chicken is in every place you go to, and do not take it for granted that because the place is under the OK the meat and chicken must be our hashgachah as well. This pains me deeply.
Kol Hakavod
whose meat do they use? OK gives hashgocho on places that use satmar meat.
And they serve complimentary wine with every seating!!!!
IT IS UNDER THE “OK”
THEY ARE NEIGHBORS IM SURE IT WILL BE GREAT!
its nice to see dani branover happy with someone elses hatzlocha..
never mind the very good looking dishes WHAT IS THE HECHSHER PLEASE
Can’t wait
They are under the “OK” hashgacha.
Great, open just in time for the 9 days.
This by far beats any other food establishment in ch I have a feeling they will need to expand their seating very shortly
it looks like the food is great but very cheap on the portions .
$30 for a small portion is not worth it .Its waist of money
Only open till 10?
The food is amazing!!
Looks delicious, what hashgacha?
What’s the hechsher?
Now that is so cool! and old School!
Looks good.
BS”D
wow, can’t wait. My nefesh ha’b ‘ hamis is raring to go, its drooling
You know people are going to ask, so why not mention the hashgacha in the article?
Lets keep this a classy place that we can enjoy a gourmet dish .not a wild hang out . or a bar for goyim.
Who re they under?