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Since 1963
Rating Details »
102 Smith St
(between Atlantic Ave & Pacific St)
Brooklyn, NY 11201
(between Atlantic Ave & Pacific St)
Brooklyn, NY 11201
- Nearest Transit:
-
Bergen St (F, G)
Hoyt-Schermerhorn Sts (A, C, G)
Hoyt St (2, 3)
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- No
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
7 reviews for Since 1963
I can't tell you how apprehensive I am about giving a four star rating to a place that is generally thought of as a dump by my fellow Yelpers. Even though I'm 44 years of age my taste-buds have a way to go before curdling. Or, maybe I hit 1963 on a good day, because I have to tell you that the bbq I ordered was pretty good. Granted, I've only been there for once and ordered a few items, but I thought the food not only tasted pretty good, but was some of the best smoke/bbq north and south of the Mason-Dixon.
I ordered a pound of dry rub short ribs, peppered pork belly, some cheddar biscuits and a side of cole slaw. All to go. The short rib was actually one big Flintstone sizet rib,where the meat was not only tender and falling off the bone, but extremely moist and permeated with real smoke. In terms of seasoning, there isn't much. But that's okay because the wood smoke is just enough to make the meat have a unique taste. Even the dry rub only provides a crisp on the top and fat. Peppered pork belly, well, it's very peppery. You need to ask for a taste, like I did before you order. Peppered pork belly is definitely not for everyone, it burns. Saying that, the taste of pork belly still comes through, albeit as an after-taste, but good non-the-less. 1963's bbq sauce goes well with the meats. I believe it's apple cider vinegar and ketchup. There is relatively little sugar.
I loved the cheddar biscuits, dense, doughy, GREASY and heavy on the cheese. Only Popeye's and Amber 2 in Knoxville, TN make equivalent if not better biscuits. Not only were they tasty they were hot. No bland and/or dry biscuits here. I also appreciated the cole slaw. Homemade, with very raw cabbage, just enough mayo and mustard. Both the rawness of the cabbage and the mustard provided a natural spice and kick.
As far the interior goes, it's a little bit too much with the antique bait shop look. Certainly tv's by the interior picnic benches and tables make for a distraction when you're going out with friends. The gentleman behind the counter was nice enough to let me sample the pork belly before I bought and was polite in general. About the price, it's hard to make a call. I don't think charging $12 to $14 a pound for smoked meat is that bad. Even if it includes a big bone, which by the way can be used to make stock, it's so saturated with smoke. I will certainly go back and try more of their menu. What really gets me is that this is probably run by the same type of young hipsters I used to see running other bbq joints in the Slope. You know, the chicks with the tatts or the dudes with the shaved heads and compensating Jim Neinhardt beards. They thought they were the shit but went out of business because their food sucked. Here, at least in my very strong opinion, these goofy white boys succeed. At least they did that day.
The single worst meal out I have ever had and I eat out a lot.
The food was inedible- we literally took a few bites- registered our disappointment and left.
Terrible, terrible, terrible. I cannot express to you how terrible this place is.
My boyfriend and I had been walking past this place for months wondering if it was any good. Last night, a hankerin' for some bbq sent us to its doors. My expectations weren't even that high, but I was confident it would at least be edible and walked in feeling great.
The ribs were priced by the pound, so we had no idea how much we were going to get but after ordering 1/2 pound of one kind and 1 pound of another kind we expected to get enough to feed the two of us. For $20, we only got 3 ribs. the one-pound order was only one rib! wtf? a $14 rib? are you kidding? (I refuse to believe that these weights were accurate.) I was angry enough about the price, but when I bit into a rib and tasted that disgusting, over-salted, dry, poor-quality garbage I just about lost it.
After our non-waiter (everything was self-serve) refused to take everything back, I tried to get him to refund $14 for ONE of the ribs we had ordered, which we hadn't yet touched (and didn't intend to... ick).
At first he argued with me and tried to tell me that he had never received a complaint about their food before and that most people thank him profusely and tip him when they leave. He then tried to say that maybe we just don't like the taste of BBQ, which isn't his problem and he isn't obligated to refund us.
Irish waiter dude, if you ever read this: The food you serve is disgusting and you are either an idiot without tastebuds or an evil swindler who is willfully robbing people blind. My boyfriend is a stoner from Texas, and I think that qualifies him beyond most people as a decent judge of BBQ. While I may not be from texas, fuck man! everyone loves barbeque! yours just tasted like shit and was overpriced beyond belief! I actually could not swallow the ice-cold cheddar biscuit, which you tried to tell me you baked for an hour and is meant to be served that way. Shutup!
In the end, I threw a fit and he gave me back $14 of the $40 we spent there. This is something I've never done before, and as a former waitress myself I would normally never cause a scene in a restaurant because I know how horrible that is to deal with. But come on! I don't have enough money to spend $40 on barely enough shitty food to feed one person, let alone two, and "since 1963" deserves to be punished for trying to sell that "food" as bbq for so much money. unfair!
Just writing this review brings back all the shock and anger I felt last night. I want to flyer around town, "never go to that shitty bbq place on smith street that doesn't have a name," which I'm now realizing is probably the only reason they stay in business. because if I had known their name beforehand I would have looked it up and known not to go there!
This place SUCKS.
terrible.
just, terrible.
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I really really wanted to like the food here because of how warmly we were greated when we walked in. The place is a hole in the whole with maybe 4 picnic tabless and there are T.V. showing old movies. Very shabby chic. In that regard, the ambience is about a 4. The food, however, is so sub-standard it really rates a 1.5 but I am being nice. We shared a trio of sliders and an order of sweet potato fries. Though fresh on the top, the bread was really steamy and soggy on the bottom. The pork shoulder slider was passable but the other too were pretty bad. The chicken slider had an unpleasant gritty overprocessed texture to it and the beef brisket was tough and stringy. On the bright side: the sweet potato fries were fresh tasting and not greasy at all.
I kick myself for not reading the reviews on here first. That's cause I didn't know the name of this place. I just saw it as I drove by one rainy night.
We ordered the St. Louis ribs, 12 hour smoked brisket and the pork belly. First of all, I have never seen a bbq joint that charged for ribs by the pound. I ordered a half pound of ribs which I thought would be enough. Well I was wrong. Half a pound of St. Louis style ribs comes out to 1 and a half ribs! That's more than $3.50 per rib. It was just ok. I can make better. The brisket was dry without much flavor. The pork belly was covered with some kind of marinade which was coated with pepper seeds and was way too hot. We also ordered the cheddar biscuits and it was awful. Dry and no sign of any cheddar at all. Pilsbury makes a better biscuit.
This place is one of the worst BBQ joints I've ever encountered. If you ever crave BBQ like we did, walk away from this place. No, run!
This place is lame. The name sucks, the dining area smelled funky and the food was just fine where it should be awesome. Oh well. I think the space is cursed. nothing has lasted as long as the dilapidated fruit stand that was there for years before all the eateries came in.
The universe was trying to tell me something, but i ignored it.
The first sight i encountered when my friend and i arrived at Since 1963 was the hipster-esque counterperson/server/host bent over some sort of restaurant-y task, and graciously (and gratuitously) exposing his underwear-less buttcrack. This would be a metaphor for the entire visit. I'll put the major complaints in list form so they're easier to digest.
1. Not to belabor the point, but really - wear some underwear if you expect to be in any sort of position that may offer restaurant patrons a liberal view of your crack. It may not be hip or ironic, but it IS professional. Just ask your mom when you call her for your rent check.
2. The table was dirty. Not just a little grease skid from someone's elbow, but a full-on canvas of at least the previous meal, and probably more because I had a hell of a time getting the thick, dried spots animal fat up. I suppose i should have asked Mr. Crack to clean it, but I felt like I had already started the process of being really disappointed, so I figured I'd just go with it.
3. We were the only people in the restaurant, and our food sat on the counter at least a solid 5 minutes getting cold before it was brought to us. We just sort of sat there incredulous while Mr. Crack his compatriots chatted happily away as the heat from our meal drifted up to the heavens.
4. When we finally got it, it was, as expected, cold on the outside, and lukewarm on the inside - which was no matter, because it would have tasted like sub-standard church carnival fare at any temperature. About 20% of the 'all day smoked shoulder' was moist enough to remotely enjoy, and the half chicken was easily the worst I've ever had in my life - overcooked, with almost indetectable seasoning. I swear you'd have work really hard to produce food this poorly executed, or just not care.
5. I concur with reviewer Thomas D. - the beans were awful. Bloated and flavorless. They'd have done worlds better to crack a can of Bush's.
I could go on about the aloof service and lousy sauce, but I'm not going to waste any more time than I already have on this place. I understand that restaurants and cooks have off days, but this place seems to suffer from much more deeply-rooted problems. I really want
places to succeed because I love my neighborhood, but I can't help simply feeling insulted for actually paying money for such a remarkably bad experience.