Fletcher's

Dekalb Market Hall, 445 Albee Square West, Brooklyn, NY

7/13/18 (spooky!)

Pulled Pork Sandwich (Pulled pork, Fletcher's BBQ Sauce, potato roll, sweet pickles,*coleslaw)

*There was supposed to be coleslaw but they were out :(

Sides: Pork Ribs, Waffle Fries, Cornbread

* They were also out of Rib Tips

3.9/5 I would like to start this review by saying that barbecue is my absolute favorite food in the entire world. I've been waiting for fate to do me a solid and make that sandwich wheel land on Fletcher's all summer long. After all, no good summer is complete without some decent BBQ, right? As you can imagine, I was very excited for this week's sandwich. Not even the freakiness of Friday the 13th or Alex's apathetic claim that Fletcher's is the "4th best barbecue in the city" could get me down. But onto the review, where I try to maintain objectivity, but will most likely fail.

Fletcher's normal restaurant in Gowanus is currently closed for summer renovations, so on this Friday, I set off for DeKalb Market Hall in Brooklyn to pick up their signature "pulled" pork sandwiches. Emphasis here on the quotation marks, as their pork was most definitely chopped, not pulled. As for the quantity, the sandwich was overflowing with meat. This had both pros and cons. To start, it was super filling. Add this to the fact that it was fatty barbecue on a hot, summer day and you can bet everyone needed a nap by the time rating was finished. The pork was nice and smoky, but bites were inconsistent due to their generous servings. Some had trouble keeping their sandwich from falling apart (me) but fortunately, Elizabeth, with only one hand due to surgery, was able to eat her sandwich with ease! The bun, a Martin's potato roll, wasn't anything special, but it got the job done. Had it been toasted...well, now that's a different story. The sauce, on the other hand, was met with some controversy. Some liked it, some didn't; different type of BBQ sauce exist all around the country and Fletcher's sauce is super. sweet.

All in all, the sandwich was decent. The whole thing was pretty one-note and it could have definitely been improved with the addition of coleslaw (which it's supposed to come with anyways). The sweet pickles were a nice touch, but for the most part were drowned by the copious amount of pork in this sandwich. The sides were disappointing - waffle fries didn't hold up well in the travel, cornbread was dry, they were out of rib tips, and they don't even serve mac 'n' cheese! (C'mon Fletcher's, you're a BBQ joint.) Props to the two employees who were working the food stand at DeKalb though. Their heads looked like they exploded after the words "11 pulled pork sandwiches, please" left my mouth. They apparently run out of food pretty fast at this location so apologies to anyone who paid them a visit after this monster order. In conclusion, Alex may have been right when he said this is the 4th best barbecue in the city, but it's totally worth checking out. And if you end up hating it, the good thing is you can always just try a different stand in DeKalb Market!