Midtown Lunch

Ouch! We heard Famous Dave’s BBQ (on 47th btw. 6+7th) was hit or miss when it first opened– but worse than the by the pound buffet at Smiler’s!?! Come on! Fork in the Road has released their weekly top 10 list and today it shines a spotlight on the 10 Worst Things to Eat in Times Square. Seeing as how Midtown Lunch is devoted to finding the best food around Times Square (and beyond) we’re proud to say we haven’t tried a single one of the ten things.

I know I promised that I wouldn’t post about the newly opened Famous Dave’s BBQ ever again… but apparently Midtown lunchers are interested, because a bunch of you went on opening day.  A few reports came in, telling two very different stories:

Photo Courtesy of Tasty Eating

“I went to the grand opening of Famous Dave’s BBQ on 47th and 7th Avenue today at 1:30pm. First, it wasn’t very crowded at all. Not a good sign. Next, the waitress took forever. Even the water and soda took a good 10-15 minutes. The food took a little longer. I had the Regular Ribs (4 ribs St Louis style) and it comes with a corn bread muffin (just okay), corn on the cob (dry), and 2 sides: mac n cheese (nice spicy kick) and fries (mediocre). The ribs were meaty but the flavor wasn’t really there. I didn’t really detect any long smoking flavor. It all came from the sauce. I thought I could make the same at home. My dish was $13. In all cases, it was just mediocre. Even their famous cradle of 5 BBQ sauces were mediocre. I’d would actually rather walk a couple of avenues to reach Daisy May’s ribs. Oh and my companions got the brisket, beef tips, and chopped pork. All very mediocre. Oh well, what did I really expect? -Hungry”

Yeah, none of that is really a surprise. You knew they weren’t actually going to be able to smoke meat in that space on 47th and 7th. And it’s opening day, so complaints about service are kind of unfair.

A trio of Midtown Lunch’ing dudes seemed to enjoy it though, but the amount of money they spent on lunch is downright shocking.

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I got a peak inside Famous Dave’s BBQ (on 47th btw. 6+7th) yesterday, and it looks pretty damn scary like they are ready to go. (It’s as if Brother Jimmy’s and TGI Friday’s collided into each other going 100 mph.) Very exciting! For all you fans out there (and I know you exist), tomorrow is the big grand opening. And, for Midtown Lunch I think this is the end of the line… unless business is slow and they decide to introduce an under $10 lunch special (or give out free food!)

In case there was any question (I’m not sure there was), the new sign for Famous Dave’s BBQ on 47th btw. 6+7th confirms that this place is going to be a big box tourist magnet.  They’re shooting for a March 10th opening, and I got a sneak peak at a menu.  It’s surprisingly reasonable for a Times Square bbq joint, but still too expensive to be a proper Midtown Lunch.  Sandwiches are $11, with a special $13 “Texas Manhandler” consisting of Texas beef brisket *and* hot link sausages, topped with hellfire pickles (sounds like my kind of sandwich!) The rib plates are $13 to $23, and combo plates are $17 to $22.

Maybe they’ll add some sort of under $10 lunch special that isn’t on the menu… if not, I probably won’t be checking this place out.

According to a tipster, and confirmed on their website, World famous (?) BBQ chain Famous Dave’s Legendary Pit Bar-B-Que is opening their first Manhattan branch right smack dab in the middle of Midtown Lunch central (on 47th btw. 6+7th). I would be down with some good BBQ in these parts (right now, the Daisy May’s BBQ cart on 50th btw. 6+7th is about all I can fully get behind) but considering how many touristy, big box BBQ joints we already have in Midtown (Dallas BBQ, Virgil’s, & Spanky’s) this may not be the answer to our prayers.

I don’t have anything against BBQ chains (if Corky’s opened a NYC branch, I’d probably pass out from excitement), and I’ve never been to a Famous Dave’s, which apparently has locations all over the U.S., but the background info doesn’t seem reassuring: it was founded in Minnesota (huh?) about 15 years ago by the same guy who helped found the “Rainforest Cafe“. Sweet!

There is a menu posted on their website, but there aren’t any prices, so I’m not sure if this place is even going to fall under the Midtown Lunch price range. I’m not holding my breath. Have you been to a Famous Dave’s? Let us know in the comments if we should be excited…

A interior taken-through-the-cracks-of-the-plywood photo is after the jump (if such a thing excites you).

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