Wood. Fire. Meat. There’s something so wonderfully elemental about barbecue, and it’s had a hold on Billy Durney since he was a youngster learning to smoke meat at his grandparent’s cabin in Pennsylvania. Now the former security and personal protection expert is the “pitmaster” and co-owner at Hometown Bar-B-Que out in industrial Red Hook, Brooklyn, calling on all the cooking knowledge he picked up during years spent travelling the US and beyond. His former career may have been stressful, but Billy is more than happy to put in 80-hour weeks making sure the patrons at Hometown get the best possible barbecue experience.
The venue has two bars, one with a corner set up for live music. Hometown’s design has a Southern flavour influenced by the food, with a cabin feel coming from the weathered timber cladding, whisky barrels and the patriotic appearance of the national flag, set amid a roomy post-industrial shell of concrete and cinderblock. The place is counter-service and it’s first-come, first-served until that mouth-watering meat is all gone. There’s a selection of craft beers, an extensive range of American whiskeys, seasonal cocktails and Red Hook wines to wash it all down with too. If all that hasn’t made you hungry, nothing will…
Photography, Daniel Krieger
