Tale of the Tape: Percy Street Barbecue
Posted by Foobooz on November 18th, 2009
Percy Street Barbecue is open and is ready to serve you Texas style barbecue on South Street.
The Management Team
- Michael Solomonov
- Acclaimed chef of Zahav
- Partner with Steven Cook at Xochitl
- Former executive chef at Marigold Kitchen
- Steven Cook
- Partner in Zahav and Xochitl
- Former executive chef at Marigold Kitchen
- Executive Chef and partner Erin O’Shea
- Former executive chef at Marigold Kitchen
- Brought modern southern cooking to Marigold
The Space
- Former Crescent City at 9th and South
- Designed by Elisabeth Knapp who also designed Xochitl and Zahav
- Seating for 150
- Simple
- Church pew seating
- Exposed lighting
- Lights over bar hang in gallon jugs suspended by pulley hooks
The Food
- Two 4,000 pound smokers
- Signature menu item is the brisket
- Other highlights:
- Burnt Ends
- Spare ribs
- Pork belly
- Half and full chickens
- Order by the half or full pound
- Prices for the meat is between $10 and $19
- Sides $3 to $10 and include:
- German potato salad
- Collard greens
- Pinto beans
- Served nightly till 10pm
- Look for late night and lunch menus coming soon
- Menu in PDF
The Drink
- 6 taps
- Beer is draft only
- Order by the pint, half or full gallon
- Exclusive beverages:
- Yards Root Beer
- Sly Fox Rauchbier (a smoky number)
- Specialty cocktails
- Cherry Cola – Beam Rye, Cherry Heering, DiSarrono, Cola
- FM 423 – Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Peach Juice, Sweet Tea
Percy Street Barbecue
901 South Street
215-625-8510
For more on Percy Street Barbecue check out the following links:
What to Eat at Percy Street Barbecue [Grub Street]
Meat Your Maker [Daily Candy]
Percy Street Barbecue pictures and menu [Meal Ticket]
600 S 9th St, Philadelphia, PA
Related Tags: Barbecue, Percy Street Barbecue, South-Street
November 18th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
what was that manhattan tx drink on the board, but not on the paper menu?
oh and that bklyn manhattan beer is such a mind f*ck, glad i got a bit to sip
November 18th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
I went last night. Food was just ok, phoebes bbq is still the best around, service was horrible( I realize it was opening night but I think this was his first time ever serving) and I dont understand why they give you a tiny bread plate to eat everything off of. Also the server gave each of us one slice of bread and told us we were suppose to make sandwiches……….actually the whole experience was quite comical.
November 18th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
Erin O’Shea, apparently a very talented chef, left Marigold Kitchen to make brisket? I admit BBQ has its place, but you’re limited in what you can do with it, which this menu shows.
November 18th, 2009 at 8:28 pm
Brisket was great, everything else just alright. The concept is a bit wonky; looks and feels like a Texas BBQ joint but has yuppie trappings. The roll of paper towels and jam jar style mugs were cute, but bread, pickles, and onions should be plentiful rather than meager at this kind of spot. The tiny plate, as mentioned, was a hinderance, and there was way too much paper on the table (every portion of meat is wrapped in paper).
For $25+ per person (the sides really run up the bill) I’d rather go somewhere else. For beer and meat for dinner, I’d rather get a burger and wings from Royal Tavern or similar for cheaper. Might be good for lunch or a late night snack when they start that.
The pecan pie was amazing though.
November 18th, 2009 at 8:36 pm
And they didn’t have any wet naps!
November 18th, 2009 at 10:34 pm
I loved the food at O’Shea’s Marigold. I still sniffle when I remember that it’s gone forever. I am also a vegetarian and while I’m happy that there’s at least some sides I can eat, I was hoping for at least something to make it worthwhile to make this a new favorite spot. But I’m thinking not after reading the online menu.
November 18th, 2009 at 10:40 pm
@Still Crying,
The collards tasted like they were vegan and were pretty good. Mac & Cheese was also good and there was a vegan chili on the menu (didn’t try it). As I mentioned, the pecan pie was killer (not sure if crust has lard or not, but seemed like no). If you are an O’Shea fan, go try some of the sides you might like them.
November 19th, 2009 at 10:21 am
the new marigold kitchen is pretty badass. Wish it + O’shea’s version could both exist next to each other.
November 19th, 2009 at 11:39 am
anyone who thinks phoebe’s is the epitome of bbq has no sense of what true bbq is or should be. phoebe’s thas horrible bbq – its burnt, flaverless and the sides are crap
November 19th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
jimbo–speak truth to power.
you want bbq in this town you go to bebe’s. then you’ll learn how far phoebe’s is from bbq.
November 19th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
No love for Sweet Lucy’s?
November 20th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
rory i was just thinking the same thing. bebe’s is ridiculous! so damn good. the only thing that bums me out is that i almost never get out of work in time to make it down there. once a week on saturdays if i’m lucky… hmmm what to do tomorrow?
November 21st, 2009 at 2:04 pm
@ Jimbo- absolutely right, No smoke ring=not BBQ.
@ Marty Bebe’s is great but way pricey. Sweet Lucy’s is still the best in the city.
Hoping to try Percy St this weekend.
November 24th, 2009 at 11:17 am
Percy Street is a fresh new twist on BBQ! Anyone with the nutz to open a joint in such expenaive real estate has to be commended. Plus BBQ is not an endeavor for the faint of heart. The food is of a high quality, and the service is pretty good, considering you have a bunch of Yankees trying to play southern hosts.
(not easy to pull off) Also, the entire operation is brand new, smokers and all. In a few short weeks they will have it mastered. I think it is a wonderful addition to the street and look forward to the smoked delights they will produce in the years to come. The pecan pie is off the hook, even though I prefer whole pecans on top as opposed to chopped on my pie, theirs is as rich and wonderful as my grandma’s. On another note, anyone that knows about nitrates can produce a smoke ring on their meat. You only get the “ring” of you burn the whole log, which releases the nitrates, if you use a smoker that only produces smoke from hardwood, but leaves behind lump charcoal as a byproduct, then you don’t get a smoke ring, which is fine, unless you need lots of nitrates in your diet.
November 24th, 2009 at 12:29 pm
bebes is “way pricey”??? on what planet is a gigantic, $6 pulled pork sandwich (that could actually be two sandwiches) deemed pricey? he could charge more and id still think it was a good deal.
November 24th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
me–that seemed weird to me. Plus, with the high likelihood of getting free stuff, it’s more like 6 bucks for the sandwich, a rib, and some sweet tea.
November 24th, 2009 at 2:51 pm
true…i forgot the tea. had one (on the house) last time i dined there. i need to try some ribs and some sides next i go.
November 24th, 2009 at 3:23 pm
I was generally very happy with my first trip here, but was a little taken aback by the brisket we were served. We ordered it moist, with full knowledge that moist was a euphemism for “fatty.” I was not expecting, however, that the two slices in our 1 lb. order would be made up of 50% nicely moist meat on end,and 50% pure, unadulterated fat without even a hint of lean on the other end. The end that actually contained some meat was delicious, but the other end was not really edible (and I’m a lot closer to Jack Sprat’s wife than I am to Jack) When you’re paying a lot for 1 lb. of meat, it hurts for 40-50% to be left on the plate when you’re done.
I mentioned this to someone else that had been there and ordered the “moist” brisket, and they said this was nothing like what they were served. Obviously, there’s going to be different places on the spectrum between “extra lean” and “extra moist,” but they’re going to need to pay attention to that in the kitchen, and make sure the pure fat slabs stay in the kitchen.
November 30th, 2009 at 10:49 am
I tried PSB this past Saturday and can’t say that I was impressed whatsoever. Everyone has this idea that “Texas barbecue” is this one singular style and let me tell you that it’s a big state and plain smoked meat is only a piece of the story. I was born and raised in West Texas by parents who were from East Texas. What’s preferred in east Texas is quite different than the German style that’s found in the hill country. My brisket had a nice smoky flavor but the meat itself looked like it was out of a can — so perfect, almost fake looking. It was almost like there was too much care put into it, too much fussing. On the other hand, I liked their sauce a great deal — hot and NOT sweet. And I certainly agree with others that being served all these dishes with only a tiny plate to eat on was weird — as was the metal tray. I didn’t quite know what they wanted me to do with all of it. When I saw pinto beans on the menu I could tell that the crew who went on the field trip had actually listened while they were down there (even if the beans were cooked in a completely different manner than I grew up with). It was the fact that pinto beans were on the menu at all that made me decide to try the place. And I was all hot about trying their banana pudding but was more or less talked out of it by my waiter. He claimed that it’s “just a bowl of vanilla pudding with some bananas and a few vanilla wafers”. Okay, no dessert for me then. I’d be willing to give PSB another try but my suggestion to the kitchen and management is to lighten up. Barbecue doesn’t have to be so serious, so perfected. Add a little raunch to your feel.
November 30th, 2009 at 11:30 am
@Diva Dog – for someone who wasn’t impressed whatsoever, you seem to have quite a few positive things to say about the brisket, sauce and beans
I went last night, and I thought the food was great. Mac and cheese was great – creamy throughout with BC topping, pinto beans were very good and spiked with large chunks of meat, and collard greens were decent. Lean brisket was still very juicy and smoky, and burnt ends were great. BBQ chicken was still extremely moist and pretty much tasted like pure smoke.
Only two negatives IMO: 1 – it felt fairly pricey. I’m not sure that’s a fair assesment because the small side dishes were fairly sizable and the mac and cheese was a huge portion, but the meat felt expensive. For bbq that’s kind of a problem, because I’m not going to consider it as a special occassion kind of place.
2 – Why no mix and match or combo plate? If I order half a pound of moist and half a pound of lean brisket, why should I be charged for two half pounds instead of the one pound price? Little stuff like that makes me feel taken advantage of. Combo plates can also alleviate that pricey feeling, and you could probably even serve smaller portions of sides.
And yes, the small dishes are stupid, mainly because when I see it I feel like I’m supposed to use it. Just give me the basket and a fork.