Barbecue is the fastest growing segment of the restaurant industry, but that doesn’t make every contender a decent player. Rarely, in fact, do those following the pack make their mark.
If there is no smoke, there certainly is no fire. Philly’s Percy St BBQ is smoking. Part of the Cook N Solo restaurant five-member band along with Zahav, Federal Donuts, Dizengoff and Abe Fisher, Percy Street isn’t just getting into the game. The South St. venue’s Chef/Owner, Erin O’Shea, has been starting fires since 2009. The 100+ seat, casually fun space sets the tone for O’Shea to work some smokestack magic.
“Barbecue is super challenging,” confessed O’Shea. The smoking process that defines real BBQ is “not a la minute,” referring to the more hasty cooking style that involves saute pans and a quick flip of the wrist. Rather, to satisfy the 350+ guests on a busy weekend night, O’Shea admits, “It’s challenging to smoke meat ahead of time; you don’t want to run out!”
Keeping with the contemporary trend of offering a succinct, well-defined menu, O’Shea bowls over BBQ devotees with the likes of BBQ fries—blanketed in a more-than-generous shake of house-smoked brisket—pulled pork and BBQ chicken. This isn’t the grilled stuff doused in overtly sweet ketchup. Rather, Percy Street gives the nod expected from the empire that brings us outlandish fried chicken and perfect donuts at Federal Donuts. The attention to the details of the food spills all over the relaxed, fun eatery. Cucumber soda and lavender lemonade mean there is attention to the edges and not just the center of the plate. The humongous catalog of canned beers means Percy Street is fun without being annoyingly kitschy. The cute, petite bottles that ride along with the fries, for example, trump the usual awkwardly spicy and offensive sauce that get dispensed at other BBQ spots. The biscuits get Chef O’Shea’s finely pointed brush of culinary detail with green tomato jam to dress the perfect biscuits. Yes, those kinds of details.
The experience flows all the way through the dining room, wafting across the smoky plates of great pork belly, collard greens and buttermilk chive cornbread to the warm pecan pie. It’s a real struggle to find the belly real estate, but visit Percy Street for the BBQ. Stay for the beer. And pie.
Find Percy Street BBQ at 900 South St., Philadelphia; phone: (215) 625-8510.
- Photos: Jim Berman
