I visited the much anticipated Fort Reno last night, the second day after it’s opening. Located on Union St in Park Slope/Gowanus with no sign (as of yet), the atmosphere is warm and well thought out for the tiny, tiny space. I honestly don’t know why everyone is hyping up this David vs. Goliath battle with the soon-to-open Dinosaur BBQ a block away. If Fort Reno does a tenth of the business of a typical night at Dino, they’ll have their hands full.

As my group slowly gathered out side, I was horrified to see one of the staff erase Brisket from the chalk board menu, leaving only whole hog pork on the meats side. Panic-stricken, I ran inside and ordered a pound before that ran out too. Thankfully, they were able to find some brisket after all.
All the tables were full when I arrived, and they remained full for the duration. People seemed to be content in lingering after their meal, ordering a second or third beer. Once our food arrived, we hovered around a single platter at the bar, fighting one another for the next bite.
But enough scene-setting, on to the food. The pork was by all accounts, perfect. It was so juicy it was almost as if it was soaked in some sort of magic pork gravy. Miles better than the dry, fairly unimpressive shoulder I had at Fette Sau the other day, with plenty of depth and multiple levels of smokiness.

One great thing about this place is that there isn’t any BBQ sauce to be found. Like I’ve been saying over and over, great meat stands on it’s own. If the meat was pre-sauced, it wasn’t detectable, and only brought out the natural flavors of the pork. Instead, Fort Reno offers two homemade hot sauces that boast tons of flavor and heat, in two different and interesting ways. No need for watered down, tomato-based stuff here.
The brisket was wonderful as well, but the pork was just so amazing that the majority of my friends felt it was overshadowed. It should be mentioned though, that it had just the right amount of marbling, and was really flavorful. It might have been a touch on the dry side, but I thought that provided a nice counterbalance to the really juicy pork. The crisp dry-rubbed exterior served the same end.
Side dishes were equally wonderful. The Collards were great – just vinegary enough and meaty, but not overly so and not at all greasy. Mac and Cheese was simple shells sprinkled with breadcrumbs (seemingly after baking) but packed full of flavor, and quite al dente as opposed to what is often a dish widely accepted as soggy and saturated with cheese. Finally, giant fluffy perfect biscuits set off the well-balanced meal.
This was one of those times that I got more excited the more I ate. By the end I was in a pure glowing state, ready for more, but just satisfied. And what’s more! Prices are reasonable, my friends! Here is a place where it pays to have a group, as prices are a little cheaper when purchased in quantity. All told, a pound and a half of meat and three sides, which easily fed five people, totaled just over $40.
Can’t wait to come back and see what else comes up on the board at Fort Reno!