Bark used to be the only reason we’d endure Dumbo’s Time Out Market. Before that, it was pandemic pop-up, starting in the owner’s Ozone Park yard. Now the barbecue spot has reached its fullest form.
At their massive, warehouse-with-a-glow-up in Bushwick, the style is part Dominican, part Texan, and uniquely New York. There’s crisp chicharron, longaniza, and arroz congri on the menu, and instead of white bread you’ll get a couple of tostones with your half-pound of juicy brisket.
photo credit: Kate Previte
photo credit: Kate Previte
photo credit: Kate Previte
If you’re just ordering one thing, make it the tres golpes sandwich, with chopped smoked chuck, cubes of queso frito, maduros, and aji verde to keep all of that fattiness in check. It’s the best expression of Bark’s Texas technique and Dominican flavors, and outshines the other sandwiches here.
photo credit: Kate Previte
photo credit: Kate Previte
photo credit: Kate Previte
We’d be sad if you were just ordering one thing, though. Bark is a great spot to come with a group and try as much as you can. The place itself is considerably minimalist, with logs and smokers neatly contained behind a glass wall (and in the yard). People lounge in leather chairs that look like they were pulled from vintage Chevelles, and dads wearing New Balances stand on line, making small talk with the meat cutters loading up their trays. This is Bushwick, after all. There’s bound to be a few New Balance dads. Bark is an excellent reason to join them.
Food Rundown
Tres Golpes
This sandwich—with chopped meat stuffed on a potato bun with a maduro, queso frito, and drizzled with aji verde—is Bark Barbecue in a sandwich. Technically, you have a choice between smoked chuck and pulled pork, but you should always go with much juicier chuck.
Brisket
A Texas-style (ish) barbecue restaurant is only as good as its brisket, and Bark’s wouldn’t be out of place in Texas Monthly. The bark is thick and peppery, the inside is, dare we say, gooey, and the entire thing tastes like a day on the ranch.
Pork Ribs
These ribs are tender enough that you barely need to use your jaw to bite into them, but they don’t fall apart. We’re into the sweeter rub on the outside here—a little sugar goes a long way.
Half Chicken
There’s always discourse about the price of a half chicken. Bark’s smoked-then-fried offering is $15, big, and delicious. It deserves a place on your barbecue tray.
Longaniza
Sausage is a staple of Texas barbecue, and Bark’s longaniza, studded with Dominican spices, is juicy, snappy, and just a little hot. They rotate exactly how they make them, but the ones we’ve tried had little cubes of melted gouda.
Carnitas
Bark’s pulled pork comes in two forms: standard and carnitas. You want the latter. They’re dripping in lard, and get soaked in aji verde by the people cutting the meat.
Sides
You have to have sides with barbecue, and Bark’s are where you’ll see the most overt Dominican influence on the menu. There are many choices, but what’s most important is that you get maduros, a vegetable (cole slaw or pickles), and either the mac and cheese or torta dominicana, Bark’s version of cornbread.
Sofrito Smoked Chicken Sandwich
The only thing on the menu that really doesn’t work. Unlike the smoked half chickens, the thighs on this sandwich can be pretty dry. Get a tres golpes, or a half chicken instead.
