PRICE:
Frommer's Very Highly Recommended

In the heart of the theme-restaurant wasteland known as Times Square is a theme restaurant that actually has good food. The theme is Southern barbecue, and the restaurant, sprawling over two levels, is made to look and feel like a Southern roadhouse with good-ol'-boy decorations on the walls and blues on the soundtrack. Virgil's does an admirable job in recreating that authentic flavor so hard to find north of the Mason-Dixon line. The spice-rubbed ribs are slow-cooked and meaty, but it's the Owensboro lamb (smoked slices of lamb) and the Texas beef brisket that are the standouts. Both are melt-in-your-mouth tender; the lamb is sprinkled with a flavorful mustard sauce, while the brisket is perfect with a few dabs of Virgil's homemade spicy barbecue sauce. For starters, the corn dogs with poblano mustard are something New Yorkers rarely have the pleasure of experiencing, while the BBQ nachos -- tortilla chips slathered with melted cheese and barbecued pulled pork -- are a meal in themselves. Desserts are what you would expect from a restaurant emulating a Southern theme: big and sweet. Try the homemade ice cream sandwich, made with the cookie of the day. Virgil's is a great place to bring the kids; if they're noisy, no one will notice.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's New York City 2009, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

Find Hotel Deals on Yahoo Travel»