Sparky's Texas BBQ: Farmingdale,NY(Long Island)

I'm there, definitely by spring. Roadtrip?

The guy who is opening is the same guy who vends from that huge gatorpit trailer setup. He also competed Grill Kings 2 in hecksher. I had his food at a street fair in west babylon about 2 years ago. It was good.

My brother knows the guy. I have to ask Gary about it.

I am at 538 Broadhollow Road, will make sure to check it out next week.

MilitantSquatter said:

LIFO's - I just noticed this new BBQ place today.

Spanky's Texas BBQ in Farmingdale on New Highway (one block east of Route 110).

http://www.sparkystexasbbq.com/


I think it used to be a bar but don't recall the name... Not an ideal location but I would guess it is catering to the lunch time crowd of workers who drive trucks in that area or work around there as it's more industrial area. Sign out on front has the same logo as in the link along with a big sign that says "Brisket Ribs Pulled Pork"


PigTrip - I hear your name calling for a visit...

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Vinny,

You are in striking distance for lunch, check it out and let us know.

I passed by this evening about 8PM and it was busy

Per mapquest Sparky's is about 2.2 miles from my office so I decided to swing by today around noon.
Introduced myself and Sparky, aka Mark Semprebene came out from the kitchen and gave me the ol 'cooks tour'. He's using an Oyler from Mesquite, Texas and burning oak and maple.
He is not directly affiliated with the bar (formerly Sportspage) and the place definitely has potential.
Mark himself said he is staying under the radar at this point and they are just starting up and will take a while longer before the word should get out "officially" (in my opinion.)
Mark is a nice guy and you will recognize him from Grill Kings for sure.
Pigtrip, your spring roadtrip will probably be very timely.
Meanwhile, feel free to stop by and say hi. I grabbed a sliced brisket sandwich to go to bring back to the office and it was pretty tasty.
Dos centavos for now.

Howdy!

I stopped by Sparky's today and picked up their 'sampler' platter to go.

About the restaurant:
Sparky's has a decent size parking lot, with a row of spaces directly in front of the building and more space on the left side. When you enter there is a dining room to the right with roughly 12 tables and a barroom to the left with a full bar and about 8 tables.

The decor is simple, understated and comfortable.

The kitchen was clean and seemed well organized. They have a very large smoker made by J&R Manufacturing of Mesquite, Texas.

The bartender who took my order said they use a mix of woods that includes cherry.

The sampler had chicken breast (whole), pulled pork and brisket. It came with two sides and two rolls. I chose the baked beans and mac & cheese. With tax, the total came to $13.50 (and they didn't charge me for a soda at the bar while I was waiting, which was nice).

The order was huge. I'm a big guy. I can eat a lot. I couldn't finish this. Absolutely a great deal for the price. The sides were probably at least 10oz each and the portions of meat were very generous. The sauce was served on the side.

The brisket suffered from what you would expect in a standard bbq joint. It must have been sitting in a steam table for quite some time. The color and consistency was closer to that of pot roast. Appearances aside, the brisket was tasty and moist.

The pulled pork had the same problem, but faired better. It was a tad congealed, but was still good. The flavor was excellent. It had a nice smoky flavor and it seemed to have an underlying taste of a mild sauce.

The chicken seemed to have been cooked skinless with a pepper heavy dry rub. If you like food on the spicy side it was enjoyable.

The mac and cheese was made with shells and (seemingly) cheddar. It was a bit dry and the addition of bread crumbs didn't help that. It was, however, pretty good.

The beans seemed to be from a can and then jazzed up. It had a nice flavor that seemed reminiscent of yellow mustard. I would have preferred that it was a tad sweeter and included some brisket, but it wasn't bad.

The sauce was looser than a normal KC sauce and had a nice heat to it that lasted for quite a while. I believe that there may have been alcohol in it, but I couldn't be sure.

I didn't expect the food to be piping hot by the time I got home, but it was barely warm.

In spite of the problems, I enjoyed the meal very much.

I believe that any low points would have been ameliorated by my arriving earlier and/or eating at the restaurant. It is certainly worth visiting again.

Eric

I remember them from Belmont Grill Kings. My wife,myself & BIL/SIL all ate there stuff and we felt they were the best of the vendors. Nice people, we were there at the end of the evening and Laura(running the site) gave me a big package of rib tips to take home--nice touch, that was after we gave her the unofficial award of best of the vendors.

Porky said:

I remember them from Belmont Grill Kings. My wife,myself & BIL/SIL all ate there stuff and we felt they were the best of the vendors. Nice people, we were there at the end of the evening and Laura(running the site) gave me a big package of rib tips to take home--nice touch, that was after we gave her the unofficial award of best of the vendors.

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Are you sure you are not mistaking them for Laura BBQ shack? Was the set up a huge gatorpit trailer or a little loghouse?

Sledneck said:

Are you sure you are not mistaking them for Laura BBQ shack? Was the set up a huge gatorpit trailer or a little loghouse?

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Big Gator pit located on the west end of the parking lot. Log Cabin(Laura's BBQ) was at the opposite end. It was just a coincidence that the ladies name was Laura.

Porky said:

Big Gator pit located on the west end of the parking lot. Log Cabin(Laura's BBQ) was at the opposite end. It was just a coincidence that the ladies name was Laura.

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Thats why I was a askin.

Eric, nice write up, it sounds like despite the kinks the place has potential. The take-out factor may have affected not just the temperature but the texture (steaminess) as well.

The place used to be called Mary's New Way Inn, before Sportspage. They were a client of mine. I hope they cleaned it up, when I was there it was NASTY inside.
I pass the place at least twice a day, as my supply houses are in the area. I was wondering if the food was any good. Thanks Eric for the details of your meal. I would love to see a menu with pricing and see what he's charging for his food.

PS-I see a roadtrip real soon guys. let's make this happen real soon, maybe a Saturday night or early dinner????

I stopped in there yesterday to check it out.

Aside from the plain, but clean interior, it smelled great. I sat at the bar and was surrounded by TVs. There were a few folks in there at 4pm and it started to fill up as I left.

Menus could use some work - seemed like someone did them in Microsoft Word!

I was not very hungry but I ordered the sliders and asked for 2 brisket and 1 pulled pork.

They came on nice buns, sauce on the side and a paper cup of cole slaw. I am a cole slaw afficianado and this one was tasty. Fairly rough cut with a Helman's mayo base. A bit too runny but very crispy and enjoyable. Slight hint of celery salt.

On to the meats...

The brisket was tasty with a clearly defined S&P rub and was not dry or too moist.

The pulled pork was also very tasty. not too mushy or saucy - just enough to keep i moist. Sweet and a bit spicy.

The BBQ sauce was served in a squeeze bottle and was very good. Not smoky, but sweet with a slight pop from some vinegar and spice. Not a vinegar sauce but well balanced.

The owner, Sparky, was not in but I met the cook, Andy. Friendly young guy who is fairly new to commecial BBQ. He seemed very enthusiastic and gave me a tour of the kitchen. There were some briskets that had come out and they were really nice looking. Barked up and moist, too. It looks like they use flats only. There are no burnt endz or choice for chop or sliced. It makes it easier, I guess.

Kitchen was clean and well organized.

The J&R Oiler is TREMENDOUS. They had to rip open a wall in the kitchen for the front-end and the rest of the dang thing is hanging outside. It looks like a frickin' boiler on a ship!

They are having a Grand Opening on March 15th and it should be a big bash. I plan on attending.

Andy was excited to hear about a website dedicated the art of BBQ and I gave him the Brethren URL. Look for him to join soon!

All in all, I wish Sparky well. The bar is a great draw and if he keeps the food honest, he will do well.

Great review! Thanks Greg.

And to allay fears of cleanliness, both Greg and I were in the kitchen and I certainly didn't see anything that was problematic.

Eric

me too, see post 9.