Big Daddy's Home Plate BBQ — Restaurant in Town of Haverstraw

My expectations have been pretty tempered since I started investigating the northern Rockland County food scene, but this was a decent find. I stopped by to grab some takeout last week after developing a BBQ hankering. The one big caveat I'd give to anyone who's not familiar with the location - the parking situation is ROUGH. I had to do a U-turn and then probably ended up parking illegally by Big Daddy's kitchen off to the side (which I felt like I could get away with since I was just running in and out). If I were them, I'd include very specific information on their website concerning where to park. I would guess the easiest/best place would be the parking lot for a different business on the side closest to 202 going west, especially since there was a Big Daddy's van in that lot, but be aware that the parking lot directly behind the restaurant is covered in no parking signs and seems to be for the exclusive use of tenants in a different building.

I opted for the brisket combo ($29), which came with two (2) sides and a piece of cornbread. It's a little pricey, especially for the area, but I feel you're always paying for the BBQ prep with this kind of food. The piece of cornbread it comes with is pretty small - I think they could afford to make that a bit bigger, but I thought the other sides were pretty generous, as was the portion of brisket. Also, there were definitely some cheaper sandwich options that were less than half this price, so you could opt for something less stressful on the wallet if needed. Worth noting as well - it was a pleasant surprise to discover that some free brisket chili had been thrown into the bag. Very nice touch. I didn't end up sampling it, but it was a much appreciated gesture.

The brisket was decent - tender and flavorful. There were a few pieces that were fattier than I would have preferred but overall, this was solid. Honestly, most of the time that I end up getting brisket there are two or three bites that are completely inedible, and that wasn't the case here. I also liked the BBQ sauce, which was on the sweeter side. The yams were good, though not great - I feel like texture is super important with yams, and these seemed like they needed to be cooked a bit more; I never see this term used for anything non-pasta, but it was slightly too al dente for me. Excellent taste though. The mac and cheese was great, probably the best of what I sampled. Wonderful consistency and taste. The weakest performer unfortunately was the cornbread. Not only is it a noticeably smaller portion as mentioned (and part of that could be the packaging - it's by itself in a Styrofoam container and looks even tinier) but it was also dry and crumbly.

For me, the BBQ stars of the show need to be the meat and the mac and cheese. That was the case here, and the customer service (admittedly minimal due to this meal being takeout) was top notch. Definitely stopping by again, and this time I suspect I'll have an easier time parking with some much-needed experience now...

Called to order for takeout, was told 10 to 15 minutes. The place is 5 minutes away. Wife gets there to pick up, overhears the chef say he just got the order. OK, waits another 20 minutes for food to be ready. Ordered 2 fried chicken platters, paid extra for both for the chicken breast. Wife gets order, goes out to car and checks, she has no chicken in her container, just the sides. Goes back in, has to wait some more, finally she gets her chicken. Gets home 45 minutes later, we open up both containers. Number one, and this was probably the most disappointing, it turns out they don't make fried chicken on the bone. Maybe it's just me, but when I think of southern fried chicken, I think of it on the bone. And I would think that would be mentioned on the menu. Again, maybe that's just me. So the chicken breast we paid extra for was basically a chicken cutlet. And my wife's chicken, the one she had to go back in for, wasn't a breast, it was dark meat, even though we paid extra for the breast. The fries were under cooked so they were just soggy. My feeling overall was this was way way too expensive for what we got. $35 for some so so chicken cutlets and a handful of soggy fries. I like to give second chances, so I would probably try the place again, but I would definitely not get the fried...

Okay, so far I love what I did purchase from here. Everything was seasoned and the Ribs, pulled pork had the smoke needed to make it flavorful. The mac and cheese was the perfect blend of pasta and cheese and was delicious. The collard greens had just enough of a slight vinegar taste along with turkey smokiness. The corn souffle was tasty and the cornbread was very good. The only con that I discovered was the corn fritter was too greasy. The Caribbean spiced chicken is ghost pepper hot, so be cautious... if you can't handle it, don't get it. Now this will become a goto spot for that southern food craving.

Now this small place has what it takes with their flavor profiles and well seasoned foods to go toe to toe with any large competitors.

I recently tried Brothers Smokehouse in Ramsey, NJ and wasn't impressed so I have to say they are new, but all the positive reviewers may not have tasted true southern pit smoked BBQ or those well seasoned sides.

I will say give Big Daddy's Home Plate a try and you surely will not be...