Two Bells for Percy Street


Craig LaBan finds some inconsistencies at the Percy Street Barbecue but enough good to make him a fan.

Talk about a minimalist challenge. One mistake building your red-oak fire in the morning can mess with an entire evening’s worth of meats, says Erin O’Shea, Percy’s chef and co-owner.

But when it works, as it did with her crusty “burnt ends,” the results can be transcendent. Those irregular slices of beef, trimmed from both the fat-ribboned “moist” and “lean” ends of the brisket, arrive poking out of a white paper package like meaty treasures unearthed from a fire pit. Somehow still juicy and tender on the inside, their char-edged exteriors caramelize beef, fat, and smoke to their most intense expression

2 Bells – Very Good

Percy Street Barbecue [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Percy Street Barbecue [Official Site]