New barbecue joints worth visiting on LI

Roll down your car window and catch the scent of wood-smoked meat as it wafts out of Long Island's four newest barbecue spots. Even before you set foot inside South Shore BBQ Company in Patchogue, North Fork Bacon & Smokehouse in Wading River, Buenos Diaz Cafe in Woodbury or Maple Tree BBQ in Riverhead, your stomach will be growling for slow-cooked, spice-rubbed ribs, chicken and brisket -- maybe even some pastrami.

These debutantes are adding spark to an already smoking Long Island barbecue scene. For years, the arena has been dominated by classic restaurants such as Swingbellys Beachside BBQ in Long Beach, Smokin' Al's Famous BBQ Joint in Massapequa Park, Tennessee Jed's in Wantagh, Townline BBQ in Sagaponack and Bobbique in Patchogue.

Long Islanders can be passionate about barbecue. Indeed, in some circles, pitmasters can have celebrity chef status. Which is why fans are celebrating the return of Will Breakstone, pitmaster at the new South Shore BBQ. Breakstone, who manned the smokers at Lily Flanagan's in Islip and owned the former Willie B's in Bay Shore, didn't come out of a culinary school but, rather, off the competition barbecue circuit.

Interestingly, three of the four barbecue newcomers share a connection to that burgeoning scene. "There are more and larger events on Long Island and, every year, a more sophisticated view of barbecue," said Eric Devlin, editor of Smoke Signals, the online magazine of the BBQ Brethren, a worldwide association of enthusiasts that hosts a Long Island competition every summer in Manorville.

To best judge the quality and authenticity of the barbecue you're eating, Devlin says, first look for the narrow pinkish ring around the edge of a piece of barbecued meat that tells you it's been smoked, not baked. You also want to request any sauce on the side. All too often, meat is heavily sauced -- before and after being reheated on a grill -- so what you're tasting is usually a thick, sweet Kansas City-style sauce that obscures all else, he says. Here's what's smokin' at the new places: