The Best Barbecue In Watkins Glen New York

NortheastAllie

10 months ago

On our visit to Watkins Glen, New York, there was one barbecue spot that was truly amazing. In between all of our hiking adventures, we happened to stop at Nickel’s Pit BBQ. It was the perfect place to relax and enjoy some of the most delicious locally sourced meats. They are located at 207 N Franklin Street, Watkins Glen, NY 14891. (There is also another location at 20 E Market Street, Corning, NY 14830.)

After trekking Watkins Glen State Park all day, we knew that we wanted to have a more “stick to the ribs” type of meal that would really fill us up from a long day on the trails. We happened to drive past Nickel’s Pit BBQ the first day that we arrived, and we were impressed at how packed the place looked. There was a decent amount of restaurants along the road, but this one in particular had droves of people waiting to get in.

As we made our way to this establishment, we luckily found street parking on the same road as the restaurant which was really nice and pretty convenient. As we walked up to the barbecue place, we noticed a beautiful mural. Road racing has been a very popular pastime in this area beginning in the 1940s, and today the area hosts the very famous Watkins Glen International, which is a prestigious NASCAR event. Some of the famous American road racers who participated in this event that you may know from the late 1940s are the cartoonist that created the Addams Family, Charles Addams, along with Miles and Sam Collier, who were major figures in early road racing. Today, on the current course, you can find exceptional drivers such as NASCAR champion Chase Elliot, who captured his own Watkins Glen International title in 2018.

As we stepped inside the barbecue restaurant, we were greeted by a really friendly hostess, and we made our way to a table pretty quickly. After checking out the menu, we decided on trying the smoked wings with the Nickels’ Everything BBQ Dry Rub, a pulled pork sandwich with mac and cheese, and a chopped brisket sandwich topped with onions and a side of cornbread.

The food itself was so delicious, and you can also order a multitude of sauces for your meal too. We felt like this was the perfect feast after our long hiking day, and great fuel for the next one too!

If you live in, or are visiting Watkins Glen, New York, I highly recommend checking out Nickel’s Pit BBQ restaurant. Let me know in the comments if you have ever gone here before and what you thought about it as well. I hope that you are having a wonderful day, and remember to click the like and subscribe button!

If you are planning a trip to the New York area, and are interested in hiking or viewing spectacular waterfalls, a book that I would highly recommend and also own myself is “Hiking Waterfalls New York.” This literature reviews a variety of hikes, from the famous Niagara Falls, to even more less known hikes, but spots that you will not want to miss! At the beginning of the book, I really like that the author categorized the trails from her favorites, best waterfalls for fall foliage, best gorge hikes, roadside waterfalls, best historical falls, and even waterfalls that may draw in more crowds versus less crowded waterfalls. There is also a very nice map that lays out where the locations of them are, and that can be an amazing tool when you are planning your trip. This is great so that you know how far of a distance you can expect to travel from where you are lodging, and you can really make the most out of your time and itinerary. With each hike and waterfall listed there is a full color photo, trail distance, difficulty, and even information about the actual surface that the trail is made out of in addition to so much more!