Two NYC barbecue places worth considering are Fette Sau in Williamsburg and Royal Rib in Bed-Stuy. Fette Sau is a Texas-style place, not in the league with Hometown but still very good (and a lot cheaper).
Royal Rib is an long-time Bed-Stuy tradition. It closed for a while a few years ago and when it reopened, it was a major event, complete with long lines of residents who had eaten there since they were kids and coverage by the NYT et al. It has very irregular hours and, according to Yelp, terrible service, but Toni managed to find it open one day last summer. I didn’t have high hopes for it, since many old-time urban barbecue places have very little smoke and way too much sweetness in their sauces. But it was a pleasant surprise, very definite smoke flavor and pulled pork I’d call Carolina-style, even though it was almost soupily moist. Respectably good real barbecue, which isn’t always easy to find. Good collards too.
Not the most photogenic takeout order Royal Rib, but solidly good.
On my personal listing of barbecue places in the country, I have Fette Sau in my Top 60 and Royal Rib in my Top 70.
