The Stone Street eatery is hosting all-you-can-eat (and drink!) beer, bourbon & BBQ bonanza on Saturday.
BY COLIN MIXSON
The Route 66 Smokehouse over on Downtown’s Stone Street is serving up a $60 all-you-can-eat barbecue, beer, and bourbon event for three rollicking hours on Saturday, giving locals a taste of the restaurant’s home-made delicacies, a chance to hobnob with distillers and brewers, and a perfect opportunity to get smashed, according to the eatery’s head chef.
“The first two hours will be nerding out, and the last hour will be getting drunk!” said gastronomic guru Billy Kooper.
The event will feature items from Route 66’s traditional menu, including its excellent smoked chicken wings and pulled-pork sliders, along with a few food items the greasy grub purveyors only rollout for special events.
Likewise, some of the more than 20 beers and 10 bourbons on offer will be culled from the smokehouse’s bar, while other, seasonal, top-shelf brews and spirits will be on hand along with their creators solely for the March 25 event, giving locals a chance to discover unique flavors of hooch they might otherwise miss, according to manager Sarah Barrows.
“We’re hoping they can learn about beers they haven’t tried before, that they can taste some higher-end bourbons they haven’t had, and taste some stuff we’ve poured or heart and soul into,” she said.
To keep things from getting out of control, Route 66 will be serving modest half-ounce pours of whiskey and three-ounce pours of beer, in addition to dishing out the type of stick-to-your-gut, alehouse soul food that soaks up firewater like a sponge, Kooper said.
“This is not light fare,” the chef said. “It will absorb the alcohol.”
After patrons have had their fun, management at Route 66 hopes they’ll grab a beer and an outdoor seat at the smokehouse’s cobblestone café along Stone Street, or head elsewhere along the pedestrian thoroughfare and explore one of the Downtown area’s hidden gems, said a spokeswoman for the diner.
“We’re all about Stone Street, and we want people to come experience and explore this unique part of the city,” said Amanda Brokaw. “We’re all kind of a family on Stone Street.”
Eat barbecue and drink bourbon at Route 66 (46 Stone St. between Coenties Alley and William Street in the Financial District, 212-943-1602) March 25, 3 pm. $60. Tickets available at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bourbon-brew-and-bbq-tickets-31734163738?aff=es2
