June 05, 2006

Bubba FastPass for the VIPs at Big Apple BBQ

The Fourth Annual Big Apple Barbecue and Block Party, set for this coming weekend in Madison Square Park, promises to be bigger than last year, but you can probably still expect massive lines.

With at 10 pitmasters barbecuing everything from brisket and sausage to baby back ribs in the park and along Madison Avenue and 24th Street, lines will likley be long -- unless you splurge on the Bubba FastPass, which will get you express service as you order the sweet pig, cow and other creatures into your belly.

For regular folk, a plate of BBQ and a side costs $7 paid in cash or credit card at each stand. But the Bubba FastPass is more like a debit-card with priviledges. Available in $125 or $200 denominations, you can use the Bubba pass to buy food, drinks, merchandise and seminar tickets -- all from the express lines. (American Express card users get an extra $10 or $25 added on, depending on which pass they purchase.)

The seminars, priced from $10 to $35, will be held both days down the street at the Institute of Culinary Education. Among the topics are "Wine for Swine," a BBQ and wine tasting class with restaurateur Danny Meyer, and "Making peace with barbecue, a conversation about food and culture in the Jewish South."

Blue Smoke, RUB and Dinosaur of New York will be joined by pitmasters from places such as Driftwood, TX and Yazoo, MS. See the Big Apple BBQ web site for the complete list. Proceeds from the event go to the Madison Square Park Conservancy.

June 5, 2006 11:02 AM in Downtown, Foodology

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