By Matthew Dwyer & Damian Priestner

In the Ironbound at 89 Ferry Street, in Newark NJ, is a home-styled restaurant named Ferry St BBQ. The Food Bros. took a trip down Ferry Street to find this restaurant on the corner about a half mile past Penn Station Newark.

Walking in, the aroma of a charcoal grill hit you first with the smell of ribs and chicken being slow roasted over the coals. It is monitored constantly by the cook, slowly rotating and flavoring the food on the grill. The grill was hand-cranked so the cook can deliver his own specialty meals. Ferry St. BBQ has a walk-in sit down style of dining, where you will be waited on promptly by one of the servers on shift. They display a very basic menu with choices ranging between chicken, pork, and ribs. They offer eat-ins and take-outs.

Food Bro 1:

Walking into the restaurant, I received a very authentic feel coming from the atmosphere of the Ferry Street Barbeque. It may not be much to look at, but what this place lacks in flourish it makes up for it in substance, and by substance I mean charcoal grilled meat.

I am a sucker for barbeque, especially when it is cooked right in front of me. I was really excited, to say the least, and I greeted a full plate of ribs, rice, and fries. The ribs were cooked perfectly; they did not fall off the bone, for those of you with flawed views of ribs, but just enough to lock in the flavor and the juiciness as well.

The restaurant was very bare bones from the food to the atmosphere, but good food doesn’t need to be dressed up. To say the least, I will definitely be heading back to the Ferry Street Barbeque.

Food Bro 2:

As soon as you walk in you are hit with this family owned restaurant feel. Where all the people behind the counter are working to make food they enjoy and enjoy to deliver. I had ordered the half chicken meal, where they give you half of a bird, roasted on the rotisserie with rice and fries.

The style is Portuguese for the food, where the rice is tastefully boiled and having a spicy dressing on the chicken. Digging into the meat was delicious, the first bite made me say “Oh, wow!” It was well cooked, not dry, and had a strong flavor to it. Mixed with the rice made a great combination of foods. They were almost made to be eaten together.

Overall the place had a nice feeling to it, I just wish they had some music playing in the background. Other than that the food was delicious and cooked very well. Definitely recommend giving it a try.

Price: $—-

Distance: light rail to Newark Penn Station and a brisk walk down Ferry Street