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How Kerry Fitzmaurice of Pure Grit BBQ in NYC made vegan barbecue happen

The new restaurant is smoking Impossible meats and churning out fried chick’n sandwiches

Holly Petre, Assistant Digital Editor

August 29, 2022

 

The concept of vegan food isn’t new, but what is new is the concept of vegan barbecue. It’s the one area that Pure Grit BBQ founder Kerry Fitzmaurice felt she was excluded from as a “mostly vegan.”

“The beans are mixed with pork, the fries are cooked with animal fat,” she said. It just wasn’t suitable for a vegan to dine in a barbecue restaurant before Pure Grit came along.

The New York City restaurant, which opened in May, serves smoked Impossible meat. Yes, smoked Impossible meat using a real smoker, causing the “meat” to break apart like real smoked meat.

“It’s not for everyone,; there are some people who come in here and say, ‘You don’t have meat, I’m out,’ and those people will never be my audience,” she said.

But for those who her audience — vegans and meat-eaters alike — Fitzmaurice has treats, alongside former Hell’s Kitchen contestant chef Emily Hersh, that will delight anyone, including chicken and waffles using Daring plant-based chicken and a gluten-free waffle. In fact, everything is served on a waffle at Pure Grit BBQ.

Learn more about this concept from Fitzmaurice in this video.

About the Author

Holly Petre

Assistant Digital Editor

Holly Petre is a digital editor for Nation’s Restaurant News as well as the host of NRN’s podcast, Extra Serving, and producer for Informa Restaurant and Food Group’s other three podcasts, One On One by Food Management, Off the Shelf with SN and In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn. Holly holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a concentration in Sculpture, fibers and Material Studies and Ceramics from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. A native New Yorker, Holly enjoys her place on staff as the resident pop-culture expert and millennial with a sassy attitude and great sense of style.

Holly Petre’s work on Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality often covers marketing and trends, either aimed-at or examined-through the millennial mindset. Holly is responsible for introducing TikTok and Twitch to NRN and RH readers as well as explaining terms like “Karen” to staff and readers alike. She also spends her time on staff trying not to make every headline a pun.

Holly Petre hasn’t spoken at any events or on panels, but she is readily available with a killer shoe wardrobe and several witty quips.

 

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