These Guys Brooklyn

RING OF SMOKE: A brisket sandwich and slaw.

Who has two thumbs, bad-ass heavy-metal beards and huge piles of smoked meat? These Guys Brooklyn. The titular guys are hirsute co-owners David Enfield and Ben Hildreth, who serve smoked pork and beef in sandwiches and tacos five nights a week from a marshmallow-like white trailer in the parking lot of the Brooklyn Park Pub.

They take their smoking seriously and the final product shows it—tender, smoke-ringed brisket, sweet pulled pork and smoky cubes of dense clod heart, a notoriously tough cut from the steer's shoulder rendered merely chewy by a long, slow cook over cherry, hazelnut and plum wood. The meat comes in sandwiches with slaw ($8.50-$9) or on tortillas with onion and cilantro ($2-$3). 

While I like both pretty well, neither is quite as impressive as These Guys' chicken wings, doused in a thick, garlicky sauce that delivers a kick too many local hot wings lack. Don't skip the specials; on a recent visit, the guys served a pretty excellent Reuben, stacked so high with kraut and deli pastrami I had to cut it into strips. Eat your order inside, Ron Swanson style, with a double whiskey from the pub's 150-bottle list. Who has two thumbs and a full belly?

  1. Order this: Any of the sandwiches.
  2. Best deal: Six genuinely spicy chicken wings for $6.
  3. I’ll pass: The pork-and-slaw “Brooklyn” taco ($3) is too sweet for my taste. 

EAT: These Guys Brooklyn, 3400 SE Milwaukie Ave., theseguysbrooklyn.com. 5-10 pm Tuesday-Saturday. $.

WWeek 2015

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