{"id":379774,"date":"2026-10-22T15:24:39","date_gmt":"2026-10-22T15:24:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/379774\/"},"modified":"2026-10-22T15:24:39","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T15:24:39","slug":"brooklyns-rising-pitmaster-ruben-santana-picks-pork-over-beef","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/379774\/","title":{"rendered":"Brooklyn’s Rising Pitmaster Ruben Santana Picks Pork Over Beef"},"content":{"rendered":"

What\u2019s the last thing you ate?<\/p>\n

Last thing I ate was leftovers from my fridge, which consisted of some moro de guandules en coco and chicken wings.<\/p>\n

What do you love to eat alone?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m truly simple and direct, some protein and light on carbs. So usually, like, a grilled chicken wrap with avocado, lettuce, tomato, and honey mustard.<\/p>\n

What dish do you wish you\u2019d invented?<\/p>\n

Tartare. Love it whether it\u2019s tuna or beef\u2014so good.<\/p>\n

What do you think when someone sends back a dish?<\/p>\n

First thought is, \u201cHope I can fix this.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the one food trend you\u2019re relieved is finally over?<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s over yet, but the overeating mukbangs.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the one food trend you\u2019re embarrassed to admit you love?<\/p>\n

Can\u2019t really say there is one to be honest.<\/p>\n

\"Ruben<\/a><\/p>\n

What\u2019s a food hill you\u2019ll die on?<\/p>\n

Pork is a far superior BBQ protein than beef.<\/p>\n

What won\u2019t you eat?<\/p>\n

Hard to get me not to try something. I\u2019ve seen some street food videos online that have definitely tested that theory though.<\/p>\n

What do you drink too much of?<\/p>\n

Coffee.<\/p>\n

What do you eat straight from the fridge?<\/p>\n

Fruits.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the first thing you notice about a restaurant when you walk in?<\/p>\n

Ambience.<\/p>\n

\"Plate<\/a><\/p>\n

What\u2019s the most underrated city to eat in?<\/p>\n

Santo Domingo.<\/p>\n

Where do you eat on your night off?<\/p>\n

I rarely eat late, but if I do, it\u2019s usually at this Colombian food truck in Corona, Queens, called Los Amigos Chimichurry. Really good. Father and son operated for like 25 years.<\/p>\n

What did nobody tell you about owning a restaurant?<\/p>\n

That even with everything being new, it will still break down.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s a dish that defines you as a chef?<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t really call myself a chef, but if there\u2019s one dish at Bark that sums up what I do, it\u2019s our beef carnitas. We take all those good brisket trimmings, chop them up, and put them over tostones with our green sauce and pickled onions. It\u2019s Texas barbecue mixed with the food and flavors I grew up with.<\/p>\n

What do you do in the hour before you open?<\/p>\n

Touch base with all team members and make sure every department is ready to receive customers. I also check that we are fully stocked with all our sides and meats out front.<\/p>\n

What is the ingredient you could not live without?<\/p>\n

Oregano, adobo, sofrito. I\u2019ll make anything with that.<\/p>\n

\"Ruben<\/a><\/p>\n

What do you eat when you\u2019re sad?<\/p>\n

Honestly, nothing. I lose my appetite when I\u2019m sad, so I\u2019ll take losing a couple pounds as a silver lining.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the restaurant everyone should go to before they die?<\/p>\n

Bark Barbecue Bushwick. Come on now!<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the cookbook everyone should own?<\/p>\n

Peru by Gaston Acurio.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the dish everyone should learn to make?<\/p>\n

Soul food. For me, that means Dominican criollo arroz, habichuelas, and pollo guisado, or American soul food like fried chicken, greens, and potatoes.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the one condiment that changes everything?<\/p>\n

Salt\u2014either you have enough, too much, or nothing at all. It\u2019s the one ingredient everyone looks for and identifies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What\u2019s the last thing you ate? Last thing I ate was leftovers from my fridge, which consisted of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":379775,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[139341,98,100,99,9449,8032,9868,139342,9,24,63,36129],"class_list":["post-379774","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-bark-barbecue-bushwick","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-bushwick","tag-chef","tag-cooking","tag-gaston-acurio","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-soul-food"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379774","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=379774"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379774\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/379775"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=379774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=379774"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=379774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}