Robert G.
Yelp
Midtown Manhattan urban lunches - 1 of 2
I was transiting through New York City and it was going to take two subway rides to get to La Guardia Airport. However, I could put 2 to 2.5 hours in between the trains, get lunch, and visit with a friend from grad school I hadn't seen in at least two decades and who tries to live in other places but always returns to Manhattan.
We texted and talked and agreed to meet for lunch, but I only required that it be close to Port Authority (which I used to call Port of Authority through my teen years) and that it wouldn't be on the list of a few cuisines I do not eat. The first suggestion was Carlo's and I happened to be on that corner, looked in, and didn't want to go there, even though they had some lunch fare. Then, I wondered if the place was under the umbrella of the 'You can't arrest me ... I'm the Cake Boss!' guy. I told my friend I'd pass on that one. My friend lives far up on the Upper West Side and didn't know too many places to eat in Midtown. She tossed out a place named Dallas BBQ. I looked it up and, since I was also tired of sleuthing, I agreed to it.
Dallas is a Tri-state chain barbecue place and this store is not even a block east of Port Authority and, in reality, it's fine. You can get all the Texan stuff and the fixings, but there are other options. I had a chicken sandwich with fries and my friend had a Caesar salad. Accompanying these dishes were a soft drink and an iced tea, respectively. Upon walking in, you will note that this restaurant is big and that a lot of the seating is upstairs. We went up there and it seemed like the serving staff was "checked out" ... and they weren't even full. Once we sat down and started ordering, they became more engaged. (And, no, I refrained and did not speak Spanish to them, which could have really taken things in two opposite directions.) The deal was that they seemingly help each other and I couldn't tell who our server was. However, things started to click and the servers got to work. The tab was palatable for being in such a trafficked urban location.
I almost didn't want to eat here, either. It initially gave off a Hard Rock Café vibe and I have made it a point not to eat at any Hard Rock Café, unless someone were to pay for it. I liked sitting upstairs and Dallas has windows onto 42nd Street below. Laughter doesn't hurt and my friend has retained the same quirky and irreverent sense of humor. In unsuccessfully trying to live in other places to get more bang for the buck, she blurted out, "Low cost is boring!" and laughed. Classic. So, she slogs through the daily grind in Manhattan. I had to scratch my head here ... how is it that one goes to a (then) Big 10 university, initially stays in contact with only two people from that region, and everyone else I met and stayed in contact with was from the Northeast or foreign? Is there some kind of homing device that you meet these people almost instinctively without knowing where they hail from?
There is no halo effect for Dallas BBQ for this reunion and the laughter from looking back at some of the trying and ridiculous things about our program. The rating here is for food that's reliable, prices that are contextually fair, service that finally warmed up and got the job done, and being an acceptable option in proximity to both Port Authority and Times Square.