By Brooklyn Magazine

Keeping up with the culinary action in Brooklyn is almost futile. Even with our help, there aren’t nearly enough meals or minutes in the day to hit them all, which is why we’ve been trying something new these last few weeks, sending some suggested destinations directly to your inbox, so you always know where to eat, no matter which corner of Kings County you might be exploring. 

The days of carefree cookouts may be coming to an end for 2026, but meats, grilled and otherwise, are not.

This week, we checked out Kirbee’s, a new Greenpoint spot from Texas pitmasters Jonny White and Chuck Charnichart. The best friends built the menu around four set plates, allowing them to feed people quickly from a small kitchen. Everything we ate was phenomenal.

If you, like us, are in search of more barbecue this week, Bark’s still-new Bushwick location is a safe bet, with its Dominican-Texas flavor. And if you want to close summer out on a classic note, there are always hot-dogs.

Check them all out below. We’ll see you next week.

Photo by Scott Lynch

At Kirbee’s, NYC’s Best BBQ is Served with a Side of Spectacular Green Spaghetti

Best friends Chuck Charnichart and Jonny White are elite-level pitmasters; each runs a highly acclaimed restaurant in Texas; Barb’s BBQ in Lockhart and Goldee’s in Fort Worth, respectively. Charnicart grew up in Brownsville, White in Arlington, and they met while working at a spot in Austin.

So it is our amazing fortune that, for their first joint venture (and first foray outside their native state), the duo chose an otherwise unremarkable corner of McGuinness in Greenpoint to set up shop. White moved here last year, Charnichart came this summer, and together they opened Kirbee’s a couple of weeks ago, serving, literally, the best barbecue I’ve ever had in my life.

“We really wanted to open a restaurant in New York City, and this is the coolest space,” White told Brooklyn Magazine. “It has the perfect barbecue look and feel to it. Plus, out of all the spaces I looked at, it was the only one we could afford! Chuck was all in, too, and we signed the lease the same day I saw it.”

Photo by Scott Lynch

Bark’s Brilliant Dominican-Texas Barbecue Gets a Huge New Space in Bushwick

Ruben Santana has come a long way since those Ozone Park backyard pop-up days early in the pandemic. Back then, with his HVAC installation business on pause, Santana would fire up a few basics like wings and ribs on a grill, send out messages to his network of friends and contacts, make a few bucks while feeding the crew—done. Very casual, very loose.

But, as Santana tells Brooklyn Magazine, something clicked for him when the algorithm served him clips of pitmaster legend Aaron Franklin hyping the stuff going on at Franklin Barbecue in Austin, Texas. “This guy spearheaded modern Texas barbecue, with things like offset smokers and wrapping his briskets,” Santana says. “Plus, he just didn’t look like a typical pitmaster. More like a skateboarder geek.”

Inspired by both Franklin’s vibe and his Texas techniques, Santana upped his prep and grilling game, and then really changed everything when he decided to throw traditional Dominican ingredients into the mix. “I grew up in a very Dominican household,” Santana says, “and these are the flavors of our homeland.” The journey led to Bark Barbecue, which Santana opened as a stall in 2022, at the Time Out Market in Dumbo and expanded, spectacularly, with a massive location in industrial Bushwick.

Photo by Scott Lynch

The Best Hot Dogs in Brooklyn Right Now

A great hot dog is a welcome treat at any time, but it feels like I eat a lot more of them when summer hits. A time-honored tradition: a glizzy straight off the grill at your buddy’s barbecue, or on the boardwalk after a day at the beach, or while sipping beers on the back patio of some local bar. Endless days and a juicy, snappy snack. During this amazing NYC Summer of Immaculate Vibes, it doesn’t get much better than that.

But while there are lots of spots throughout the borough that do a fine job of feeding us franks, some dogs are more memorable, and more craveable, than others. Here’s a look at 10 of my current favorites, from places both well established and spanking new.