Legends Bar & Grill (CLOSED)

Gotham’s barbecue boom began with the revelatory (at the time) Pearson’s in the back of Legends, a Jackson Heights sports bar. Pearson’s is now only a memory, but Ranger Texas Barbecue—in the same congenial space Pearson’s once occupied—carries on its legacy, albeit in a diminished fashion. Appetizers vaguely nod at ’cue, and the short rib flautas, with tangy barbecue sauce for dipping, are crispy and spicy. The pulled barbecued pork is flavorful but overstewed, while the brisket recalls mom’s pot roast rather than Texas brisket. Best bets are the hot, snappy kielbasa sausage on a Portuguese roll and the Legend’s chili, a dense, meaty, nearly beanless concoction that wouldn’t seem out of place around a cowboy campfire.