By Sally Deering

 Hobokenâ€s 13^th street just got a new kid on the block: Smokin†Barrel Authentic Texas BBQ is the most recent addition to the neighborhood and the place is jumping with locals who like smoked meats and a choice of 50 domestic beers to watch the big game on one of 23 flat screen TVs.

Partners Robert Kakov, Tony and Danielle Lenardo, Chef Otis Gordon, consultant Marc Bernstein, and partners Narev Patel and Richard Gaetor enjoy a Sunday afternoon at their new Hoboken restaurant Smokin’ Barrel

 The brainchild of a group of business-partners Robert Kakov, Nirav Patel, Richard Gaetor, and Anthony and Danielle Lenardo – Smokin†Barrel fills a void on Willow Avenue where thereâ€s a dearth of restaurants and local places to hang out with friends and watch a game over some cold brews. There are glass topped-barrels that serve as bar tables, and if you canâ€t find a stool at the bar, you can always hitch a ride on one of the leather saddles affixed to a thick coil for a little “Yee-Ha” with your BBQ.

“Itâ€s a vision,” Anthony Lenardo says. “We have the only in-house smoker in Hudson County.”

Other restaurants in Hudson may serve their version of BBQ, which might be “pouring BBQ sauce on meat thatâ€s already been cooked,” Anthony Lenardo says, but authentic Texas BBQ is a different and slower process. With authentic Texas BBQ, the cook applies a spice rub to the meat and then smokes the meat in a smoker for 10 hours. Thatâ€s what they cook ribs, pork and brisket at Smokin†Barrel. No cut corners, here.

Chef Otis Gordon, former chef at Harlem BBQ in New York City, and consultant Marc Bernstein, the owner of Harlem BBQ, have teamed up to oversee the BBQ meats process, while Chef Otis ensures orders are going out on a timely basis.

“We do brisket the Texas way and Carolina Pork,” Bernstein says. “The Texas way is the smoke and the rub; the Carolina way is a vinegar BBQ you add after you smoke the meat.”

 Smokin†Barrelâ€s menu is a hearty selection of Starters, Wings, Salads, Sandwiches, Burgers, Entrees and Sides and itâ€s all laid out on one page. Starters include Rib Tips, Smokin†Barrel Nachos, Short Rib Chili, Catfish Bites, Bacon Wedges, Pulled Pork Slider, Smoked Brisket Slider, Blackened Salmon Slider, and the Slider Sampler. ($7.95-$14.95) Thereâ€s one more specialty on the Starters menu: Fried Pickles, slices of kosher-dill pickles battered, deep fried, salted, and absolutely delicious. ($7.95)

Salads feature Caesar; Arugula; and Iceberg Wedge ($8.95-$9.95). (Add Grilled or Fried Chicken or Shrimp, Blackened Salmon or Grilled Steak for additional $3.95-$5.95.) Sandwiches and Burger selections are Angus Beef Burger, Turkey Burger, Hickory Smoked Veggie Burger, Smoked Beef Brisket, Smoked Pulled Pork, and Catfish Po-Boy Sandwich ($9.95-$11.95) (Add cheese or bacon for $1; add both for $2.)

Wings are served either boneless or traditional with your choice of Bar-B-Q, Honey Buffalo, Mango Jerk, Honey Mustard or Spicy Chipotle Bar-B-Q. (5 wings for $4.95; 10 for $8.95; 20 for $17.95.)

Entrees include Smoked Brontosaurus Short Ribs, Smoked Baby Back Ribs, Chicken & Ribs, Roasted Half Chicken, Brisket and Pork Platter, Blackened Salmon, Grilled Shrimp Skewers, Grilled Hanger Steak, and Grilled Porterhouse Pork Chop. ($15.95-$21.95)

Brunch is served Saturday and Sunday from 11 am to 4 pm and the menu features Wings-n-Waffles, Steak & Eggs, Fried Chicken on a Biscuit, French toast, and Omelets with a choice of fillings). ($9.95-$14.95)

Sides are Grilled Corn, Cole Slaw, French Fries, Sweet Potato Fries, Pit Beans & Pork, Mashed Potatoes, Homemade Mac & Cheese with Bacon, Basket of Corn Bread, Collard Greens, and Baked Potato. ($2.95-$6.95)

“The menu may be minimal, but itâ€s a very big process,” Bernstein says. “Thereâ€s a lot of labor, a lot of prep time that goes into this.”

The beers are all domestic and thereâ€s a choice of 50 on tap and in bottles; and some old style Southern drinks with a choice of high-end bourbons.

BBQ meats; 23 flat screen TVs and a choice of 50 beers. Smokin†Barrel may not be the first BBQ restaurant to open in Hudson; but with the in-house smoker, itâ€s a stand-out.

And where else can you get battered Fried Pickles?

If you go:

Smokin†Barrel

Authentic Texas BBQ

1313 Willow Ave.

Hoboken

(201) 714-4222

www.smokinbarrelnj.com

The post Hoboken’s Smokin’ Barrel Serves Up House-Smoked Texas BBQ and 23 TVs for Sports Fans   first appeared on River View Observer.

 By Sally Deering

Danielle Lenardo

At 29, Danielle Lenardo of Bayonne received news every woman dreads, she had breast cancer. After going through chemotherapy and beating the cancer, Lenardo hit the gym to strengthen her body, mind and spirit. She not only strengthened, she built some serious muscle.

In June 2013, Lenardo took her new muscular physique and competed in the NPC (National Physique Committee) Championship Competition where she won First Place in Figure in all divisions. In November, she won her Pro card in Figure with the NGA (National Gym

Association).

On Fri, April 11 at 7 pm, the night before the NJ Golden Gloves†Open Championship bouts, the IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) Local 164 will host its annual NJ Golden Gloves Novice Championships bouts. The championship is also a boxing charity event that raises money for the Project Grandma breast cancer fund. (The fund was named Project Grandma about 20 year ago by IBEW Local 164 because all women should live long enough to be a grandma!)

A highlight of this yearâ€s event, organized by Golden Gloves trainers Tommy Ewaska and Paul Dunleavy and Local 164 business agent Keith Misciagna, will be when they honor Lenardo with the Heart of a Champion award.

“Every year we give the Heart of a Champion award,” Dunleavy says. “Chuck Wepner of Bayonne, who fought Muhammad Ali got it one year. This year, we decided to give it to a woman and who better than Danielle Lenardo. She had cancer and sheâ€s 10 years passed that. She got her pro body-building license. Sheâ€s an inspiration. ”

A Pro Figure competitor, Lenardo, 41, trains at the Forum Fitness gym in Bayonne.

“Pro Figure Competition is when you go on stage and pose and youâ€re judged by symmetry, muscularity and stage presence,” Lenardo says.

Always into fitness, after she beat cancer Lenardo threw her heart and soul into training so she could be as healthy as possible.  She works out at the gym six days a week, where she lifts weights and does kettle bell and sandbag training. She also works full-time teaching “Pre-k” in Jersey City. Lenardo says lifting weights and becoming a body-builder was her way of fighting back after her cancer diagnosis and her refusal to feel like a victim.

“When Iâ€m lifting heavy weight or my trainer is pushing me I feel strong and know if I want to do something and set my mind to it, I can,” Lenardo says. “Whenever I leave the gym I always feel one-hundred percent stronger. I would recommend other women do it. Especially women who are in remission or recovery. Itâ€s so much better than sitting home and itâ€s a proven fact that exercise helps reduce the chance of recurrence.”

Lenardo doesnâ€t consider herself a power-lifter and says sheâ€s more about endurance, although she can lift 195 pounds.

“When I train in the gym, some guys say to me, ‘I want to be you when I grow upâ€,” Lenardo laughs.

Being a body-builder excites her, Lenardo says, and she never asks ‘Why me?†when referring to her bout with breast cancer. Instead, she believes the experience has made her a stronger person.

Meanwhile, sheâ€s very excited and looking forward to receiving the Heart of a Champion award on April 11. The award is being custom-made by Sartonk of Union City.

“For them to honor me, I hold it very close to my heart,” Lenardo says. “It truly is a mission in my life to raise awareness. I could have crawled under my covers or stand up and fight and I stood up and fought and I did it for my children and my husband. You come out of it a stronger person and with a different view of things you took for granted. There is life after breast cancer.”

Founded in 1901, Local 164 remains dedicated to the IBEW’s objective to help make life better for its members and those around them. Originally established with exclusive jurisdiction in Hudson County, Local 164 was expanded to include Bergen County in 1928 and Essex County in June 2000.

At this yearâ€s boxing charity event, there will be special guests, past Golden Gloves contenders and champs including Roy Mercer, Mark Medal, Vito Antuofurmo, Bobby Czyz, and Larry Barnes who will sign autographs and take pictures with guests and their children. Dunleavy says most boxers are gentlemen and givers.

“These guys who are supposed to be so animalistic are really compassionate people” Dunleavy says.

If you go:

Fri, April 11, 7 pm (Bouts begin 8 pm)

IBEW LOCAL 164

NJ GOLDEN GLOBES NOVICE CHAMPIONSHIPS AND CHARITY EVENT

65 West Century Road

Paramus

Tickets: General Admission $20

Ringside: $40; $100

For tickets call:

Cassie at 201-265-7273, x213; or,

Theresa at 201-265-1700 x246.

The post Danielle Lenardo Proves -You Gotta Have Heart first appeared on River View Observer.