Big Apple BBQ bites back

Before its “grand opening” in late April, Big Apple Barbecue in Glen Cove did a smart thing by offering an abbreviated menu. An early visit led me to believe the place would really take off once it was fully operational.

Now that the full menu is in place, though, it’s hard to figure out where all that potential went. A recent dinner is a steady downhill slide that begins with pretty good barbecued wings and a so-called “chopped” salad, your basic mélange of torn iceberg, cut-up tomato and shredded carrots.

A “tour” platter – a sampling of most meats on the menu – costs $29.95. Not calamitous, since it’s a lot of food (the $5 a person sharing charge is avoidable, the menu instructs, if everyone in a party orders the cheapest main course). Instead of being served on a platter, as it originally was, each element is brought out in a little casserole. There’s a decent single pork “monster” rib ($3.50 extra for each additional) that's bathed in barbecue sauce despite a request for sauce on the side.  I can’t find a scintilla of smokiness, let alone flavor, in either the pulled pork or chopped brisket. Meat loaf is fine, as is sausage. As for sides, the mac and cheese is grainy and bland, baked beans watery and syrup-sweet. Previously grand sweet potato fries are lukewarm.

A non-barbecue item, marinated skirt steak sandwich, features overcooked meat coated with an unsavory gray substance. The passive-aggressive waiter doesn't even ask why it's left virtually untouched.

As for me, I can't wait for the check to come.

Big Apple BBQ is at 64 Forest Ave., Glen Cove, 516-801-3667, bigapplebbq.net