Big W's Roadside Bar-B-Q

Posted By Bruce Bilmes and Susan Boyle on December 8, 2007 1:05 PM

We received the following update from Tom & Julie Musante: "Stopped by Big W on 10/21/2006 – the news is that he'll be opening up a take-out restaurant (with some limited seating) sometime in November. He’ll be located five miles north of his current location on Rt. 22 in a small three-store strip mall in the town of Wingdale, NY. He’ll be offering a slightly expanded menu that builds upon his current delectable offerings."

"Northeast barbecue" is almost an oxymoron in our (imaginary) book, yet we try and try again to find good Q in blue-state country. Once in a while, we even find some pretty creditable, if tame, versions of the stuff. Then there's Big W, in Pawling, NY. Now this is some serious Q!

Warren Norstein, with help from the family, is the Big W "pitmaster" - in this case, the pit is pulled on a trailer hitch to the parking lot of Pawling Collision at 4PM each day (except early in the week). It's take-out only - eat off the hood of your car, take it home, or head to a park in Pawling. When he sells out, he packs up and leaves. Oftentimes, that is not all that long after he arrives, and diehards can be found waiting in their cars for his arrival, to ensure their smoke fix.

This is some of the smokiest meat we've tasted, perhaps alarmingly so if you are not a smoke lover (we are!). The meat is soft and gentle towards the middle, dark and crusty on the surfaces, and a pure joy to eat! Mr. Norstein, a chef by training, serves his meat with a cup of homemade sauce, which doesn't taste like much of anything by itself. But drag a chunk of pork through this potion - somehow the sauce enhances his already excellent Q.

There are some good meaty beans to be had, along with classic slaw, and a delicious, if unconventional, rice that to our palates almost seems like basmati. Portions are huge.

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Posted By Walter Lipman on January 20, 2011 6:47 PM

To the envy of one and all, I've eaten my way through the menu. When working from home, there are times that I'll stop by for a lunch of side dishes, especially those beans. Such are the benefits of being a resident of Dutchess County!

I fully expect that my first meal in heaven, if I'm so lucky, will be an order of ribs, small cole slaw, and mashed potatoes. Perhaps some fruit compote to finish, if I'm not in a mood for banana pudding that day.

This is the mirror image of an old borscht belt joke: such good food, reasonably priced, and in such large portions!

Overall Rating

Pulled Pork Sandwich

Barbecue Sauce

Ribs

Rice

Beans

Cole Slaw

Dirty Potatos

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Posted By Ken Hall on November 24, 2010 7:02 PM

My wife and I drove to Wingdale after one of her therapy sessions for a knee replacement as a reward. We had heard of Big W's and were looking for good Bar-b-que in the area after having visited some other so called Bar-b-que places who just sauce the meat with no smoky character.

We were not disappointed. The portions were worth the money and left some to take home. The smoky characteristic we expected was there and very pleasant and evident. The sauce on the side was good and brought out the flavor to our individual taste.

I had the ribs which were just perfect with a good bark and a nice pink texture underneath. It's not fall off the bone but a nice easy pull off the bone which indicates to me a perfection in timing of the smoking.

My wife had the pull pork sandwich which was way more than she could eat and it was the standard size not the Roadside version. The sides were great. The dirty potatoes were unbelievable as were the beans.

Big W himself took us on a tour of the smokers and explained the process. You begin to realize with his background as a New York chef he truly enjoys this one of a kind American dish and has put his background behind making a great taste treat. His having to get up at all hours of the night to keep the smoker going is a true testament to his love to create a meal to die for.
We loved it.
Ken and Mary Anne
Somers, NY

Overall Rating

Pulled Pork Sandwich

Barbecue Sauce

Ribs

Beans

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Posted By Stewart Wurtzel on July 21, 2007 12:57 PM

The move from roadside to roadstop appears to have been very successful for Warren Norstein. The signature truck sits around the side but the large smokehouse and small but comfortable restaurant turns out first class barbecue and high quality sides. The restaurant, located in a little roadside shopping center, is clean and well laid out with a little area to pack up your leftovers (which you will undoubtedly have, as the portions are immense).

We tried the pulled chicken, pulled pork and the rack of ribs. The chicken, while technically a sandwich, is more appropriately called a monsterwich; it is a huge pile of well-smoked moist meat, piled ridiculously high on a bun. It was the unanimous favorite of the three of us who ate there. The pulled pork sandwich is equally daunting. Interestingly, the meat is not the typically shredded pieces of pork. Mr. Norstein explains that by keeping the pulled pork as large chunks of meat, the meat does not dry out or need to rely on sauce to keep its moisture.

The ribs have an intense smoked flavor from the combination of three local woods used by Pitmaster Warren. My own personal preference however, is for a rib with a little more pull; those who like a softer rib which tends to shred when you bite it will find the product here perfect. Their BBQ sauce has a great flavor: not overly sweet and it really helps to highlight the flavor of the meats.

The sides are good. My favorites are the baked beans, with loads of BBQ pork throughout, and the oven-baked cabbage, not a typical BBQ side dish but one which works very well. The macaroni and cheese is ok; it could be a little creamier and a lot more peppery (I admit I was spoiled by the mac 'n' cheese at Dinosaur BBQ which was the best I've had).

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Posted By Melissa Payton on January 1, 2007 10:02 AM

Warren is such a mensch! After picking up my husband from a three-day Appalachian Trail hike, which ended near Pawling, we headed to his roadside stand at about 6 p.m. This was a Wednesday evening and though I had read in the New York Times that he often closes early because he runs out of ribs, I wasn't worried.

So when we pulled up behind a group of three adults and learned that there were two whole chickens left and one rack of ribs, we were worried. The group in front of us bought the ribs, and then Warren somehow found another half-rack. Because we were his last customers, and maybe because we told him that Rick was famished from the trail, he sold us a whole chicken and the ribs, plus three of each of the sides -- beans, rice and slaw -- for $15! Then, because we wanted to picnic (we were too far from home, and Rick was too hungry, for us to schlep everything home) he gave us directions to a nice park in town, and cut up and divided the ribs and chicken into individual portions for the four of us (our kids were with us). It was one of the best picnics I've ever had: a beautiful day, great food, low price. Then we ate the leftovers for days. Amazing.

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Posted By Chip Johnson on December 24, 2006 5:07 PM

I made the lengthy trip off I-84 to Big W's. I was initially impressed with the heap of pulled pork placed on the bread of my order. I took it out to the car and opened it up, and at first I noticed a slight acrid smell... not exactly appetizing. Next I tried a piece, and unfortunately it tasted more bitter than it smelled. I don't know if this was a result of the red oak used in the smoking process, or an exorbitant amount of smoke exposure, but it wasn't pleasing at all. It wasn't succulent, like the pulled pork in Carolina, or even the better establishments in New England, like Redbones and Blue Ribbon.

It's not even a sandwich, as it buries three pieces of basic bread (sorry I don't want challah, rye or white with my pulled pork, I want it on a bun with slaw and sauce... hence a pulled pork sandwich). The "sandwich" doesn't come with slaw as a requisite; you can choose it as one of your sides (or mac 'n' cheese, beans, or pot salad). The BBQ sauce is in a pre-packaged one-ounce container. It didn't exude much flavor, and quite frankly is offensively small.

For $10 and change, I was thoroughly dissapointed. I won't be going back. Lucky for me, a double cheeseburger from the Red Rooster down the road salvaged my night.

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