Last weekend I spent two afternoons at the wonderful Big Apple BBQ Block Party in Madison Square Park. Being a Southerner, I really can’t even think of passing on a chance to eat true barbecue without leaving the city, and I’m glad I didn’t–the food was just terrific. But, between bites, I also noticed 1) that the crowd was much bigger than I remembered it being last year (and that was pretty big) and 2) the people there didn’t look like typical BBQ fans–these people were young, hip, and skinny.

I knew that barbecue had become much more of a national phenomenon in recent years, presumably due to the efforts of celebrity chefs like Bobby Flay and national personalities like Al Roker. Still, it seemed strange to find myself among a very downtown crew when the food on offer is such a completely Southern thing. I mean, where I come from the best barbecue is usually found in a sketchier part of town in places that haven’t won any design awards.

I can’t tell you how it happened, but barbecue is in with young New Yorkers. And American Express, the sponsor of the event, seems to have done a great job reaching that audience with a Web site that presents visitors with just the sort of bright, fun, blocky design that they would find compelling. Also, whether Amex orchestrated it or not, some great word-of-mouth marketing surrounded the event on the Web, with a couple of Gothamist posts, and notices on Kottke and upcoming.org.

These aren’t exactly the front page of the Times, but they’re excellent free advertising to a certain demographic that is represented heavily in New York.

(I’ll do a little post about the food itself very soon.)