Spanky’s BBQ

I had mixed feelings about Spanky’s closing last year. On one hand, it was so unbelievably touristy and super overpriced that it was hard to justify any visit here. Then on the other hand, the food had it’s moments of brilliance with a remarkable display of southern cooking mastery and at other times, culinary laziness. There are some restaurants that can make bad food but still remain in business (far too many), but for the most part, Spanky’s was not usually one of them.
Some of the things I appreciated here was their ability to sit large groups and couple it with large portions. Ironically the appetizers were quite small, but their big plates, such as their finger-​lickin’ ribs were a show stopper. The meat from the ribs literally fell off the bone, delicious in flavor and consistently hearty. Their sandwiches were also worth mentioning, namely the pulled pork and beef brisket sandwich. They were the most consistent of the bunch and comparable to some of the more decent southern establishments in the city.
The likely source of their doom was their asinine service and jacko prices. Junk food shouldn’t have to cost $ 16.95 for a burger or $ 25+ for a large plate. Good service means no attitude and frequent attentiveness. When any restaurant lacks those two very critical attributes, it’s only a matter of time before they’re done. And stick a fork in Spanky’s because it’s well done.

I’m a wing nut, so I made my way inside Spanky’s for one reason, and one reason only: Spanky’s Smoked Jerk Chicken Wings w/​Pineapple Dipping Sauce. The name itself makes me drool.
The jerk chicken rub recipe is very good here. It’s complex without losing its identity. The first thing I tasted was the wonderful spices. The various spices blended together very well. There were a few spices that were altogether new to me. I liked them; they complimented the chicken very well. Next I sensed the hotness; it added an interesting layer of flavor without stealing the show.
In a sea of typical flavored chicken wings (buffalo, honey bbq, korean, etc.), these wings are a unique and welcomed change to the norm. The wings were great as they came. The pineapple dipping sauce was a bonus, but it didn’t really make or break the wings.

Decent BBQ– my friend and i split a sampler platter for $ 23. It was a good deal– brisket, 3 ribs, pulled pork, ¼ chicken and 2 sides. I really appreciate a place that serves tater tots, and these were quite good too!
My friend had chili and it was cold… even after they took it back and nuked it. I would stick w/​the BBQ fare– although ours was a little cold too.
Also, tasty homemade sodas– Rootbear and Ginger Ale.

Used to tourists, not very tasty, go somewhere else.
I definitely got the impression from this place that return service is not their top priority. The waitstaff was very inattentive and completely unknowledgable. I asked the waitress in training what their specialty was and she showed me a drink menu. The only reason the beer is any good is because it comes from the local brewery. I guess you could be satisfied sitting at the bar and having some drinks and an appetizer, but forget about dinner.
I got a variety plate that consisted of ribs, pulled pork, and brisket. I liked the ribs, the rest was pretty forgettable, and they didnt have any good sauce. For side dishes I had the mac n cheese, and green beans. I did like that the green beans weren’t overly buttered, for some reason NYC BBQ places like to douse their vegetables in so much fat they only look like vegetables, but taste like lard. The mac n cheese unfortunately looked cheesy, but didn’t taste very cheesy, I thought that was odd.
I have been to just about all the BBQ places in NYC, you can miss this one and you won’t be missing anything.

When I had dinner at Spanky’s the other night, there were no other customers there, so it was nice and quiet and we got a lot of attention from the staff. The food portions were large (for little me) and it was some of the best BBQ Ive had in awhile. The ribs (we had both pork and beef) were cooked perfectly and the selection of bbq and hot sauce really made the meal. The drinks were a bit expensive and small but I tried to to get too pissed about it.
My boyfriend said the beer they had on tap was good as well.

well, I think the trip down hill is complete or should I say ‘stars keep slipping, slipping away.’? I think I started in the three to four range, but now I’m good at two and I’m not going back.
From the bartender who used her Blackberry instead of paying attention to the customers, they ran out of PBR’s before we got there (and we were there b/​f 7) and a non-​existent Happy hour. Happy Hour prices applied to nothing we ordered, so a $ 45 bill later for some beers, fries & sliders (which came out 15 minutes after the fries even though ordered at the same time) and I’m done with Spanky’s.

I was in town to see Don Rickles at Town Hall on a Friday night. Coordinating a city show on a Friday night for a group of 8 people is now officially placed on my list of things to never do again. Back on topic, I had what i thought was a reasonable dinner reservation time set up next door at the Heartland brewery. I arrived at hb and the place was mobbed. Even with our reservation we were told 25 to 30 minutes, and the bar was jammed.
We had an hour and 12 mins to figure out what to eat, and to slam a few drinks. cue the music– Spankys. We walked right into Spankys, actually marched is more like it. My group grabbed one of the barrel table tops near the golden tee video game, and we ordered about 10 appetizers and drinks. The service was incredible. The food was editable, and the drinks were flowing. Plus a round of shoots for my birthday was a class act move. I also think they serve the same brewery beer as hb. If you are in a pinch, Spank it.

This place might be the very definition of a tourist trap. With crap service to boot.
Best to stay away, unless you are really desperate and hungry.

Just came home from Spanky’s, and this is what took place. Where to begin. Ok, the fried pickles were nothing to write home about, and the sad thing is that this was the best part of the meal. Then came the drinks. I first had a strawberry daiquiri, but had to switch to a wild berry instead, but they both were really bad. Think back to the vicks 44 formula days, and there ya go. The pulled pork sandwich tasted as if the cook had the night off, and they picked someone off the street to prepare it. And my side was the beans. Even the bbq runny sauce couldn’t help it. So what do I do, I order the key lime pie. Why? The crust was the only saving grace. I couldn’t even eat 75% of the meal. Please go to Virgil’s two blocks away. The waitress was very nice, so she help to make the night not a total disaster. I’m still hungry!

I’m so conflicted on this one.
Honestly, this probably is a 2.5 star review.
I was not expecting much from Spanky’s. We were planning on Virgil’s, which was slammed. We went around the block to Spanky’s because we were in a hurry. I found Spanky’s to be completely serviceable. It isn’t the best I’ve ever had but it was a welcome alternative to Dallas BBQ, which I don’t like at all. The staff was very nice and fast (we didn’t even mention we were in a rush). The food was north of passable. There was a rub on my chicken that tasted like it had sugar in it which was fine. I have no great praise (it wasn’t mind-​blowing) but I can’t slam it either.
How about labelling it «Pleasantly Unremarkable»?

A co-​worker and I did takeout for lunch one day. This was probably my first experience eating at a «BBQ» restaurant in NYC and I kept my expectations low. Unfortunately, Spanky’s wasn’t that great. Didn’t really like the sauce and found the meat to be too dry.
Not the place to go if you want real, good BBQ.

Beware the average poor rating of this place and eat elsewhere.
My first visit to Spanky’s, shortly after they opened, was an unmitigated disaster: long wait for our waitress to take our order, even longer for our food to arrive, and for the check. And some of our food was cold. And, the worst sin of all: the brisket was tough. It was one of those (thankfully rare) restaurant meals that was so bad in so many ways that — even though such a bad meal is probably an anomaly — I swore I’d never eat there again.
But I have over the years, twice. Both times when I let the other person choose where to eat. «It hasn’t gone out of business yet, it must have improved.» And both times the place has failed to redeem itself.
I loves me some BBQ, and the place smells GREAT upon entering, since the big rotisserie smoker sits right in front of the room. So you have high hopes for the meal. But the food is nothing special. Tuesday night we arrived, and although the restaurant was less than ¹⁄₃ full, the hostess chose to seat us at the worst possible table in the place, right next to the kitchen door and next to the large service station.
The appetizers are a little pricey and the waiter engaged in a lot of pushing and upselling. Still, nothing to get upset about. But the food was nothing to get excited about, either.
My appetizer of fried cajun shrimp were small and tasteless, probably poor quality and frozen for too long. My pulled pork sandwich advertised a potato roll but it seemed and tasted just like an ordinary hamburger bun. The pork was pink and smoked, but contained a piece of bone, so I wish more care had been taken in the pulling of the pork — my companion had the same problem with his BBQ chicken sandwich!
I ordered tater tots as my side but they screwed that up as well and initally served me fries (which they let me keep), but the tater tots are deep fat fried and as such the insides are actually undercooked and not tender as they are when you oven-​bake them at home. And the fries were gray and greasy.
We ate what we could, paid the bill and left. I observed with enough advertising in the right places (which Spanky’s employs), a restaurant in its price range in Times Square with its many tourists doesn’t need to worry about repeat business.
Now, I swear, I will NEVER step foot in that place again — even if the other person is treating!

They played the Red Sox game here. Extra points! Although, me and Joe were probably the only Red Sox fans there. Maybe it was because the host sat us at a table where I could BARELY see the TV (I was wearing my Red Sox hat), and I remember them giving me attitude when I asked if we could sit near the TV. =P
I can’t for the life of me remember what we ate. But I remember it being good. Expensive for a BBQ place, but good. Although, what can you expect in Times Square? Even though it’s on a random side street…
When we went, the place wasn’t busy. I think we WANTED to go to the ESPN restaurant, but there was like a 30 hour wait, or something crazy like that. So instead of probably spending twice as much, we came here. And douchbagedness aside, I liked the place. Even though I can’t remember what I ordered…
Moral of the story: When I go back to NYC, I will come back to Spanky’s (That sounds dirty)

Actually, I’m impressed with this place. I thought it was going to be a busted place with busted food. It was filled with top 40 music and an applebees atmosphere.
I was pleasantly surprised. I ordered the Toll house chocolate chip pie with ice cream. I know, I know. I’m at a BBQ joint.
I ordered the cookie because I was pretty full. I shared dishes with my friends so I was aok. The pie itself came with ice cream. The guy offered cinnamon, chocolate, and vanilla. I asked if I could have all three and he was totally cool with it.
That cookie was awesome. Warm and gooey with chunks of walnut inside. Awesome. Incredible. My favorite ice cream is vanilla. Chocolate does very little for me. The cinnamon ice cream tasted just like cinnamon toast crunch. I was ecstatic.
Anyway, seeing that I don’t like chocolate all that much, I bartered it for some food from my friend’s dishes. I made out like a champion. Tater tots, mashed potato, salad, and some chicken. The tater tots were solid. Very crunchy and little to no grease (at least no sogginess). I had some of the mashed potatoes (nothing to write home about) and some chicken. Over all the food was decent, but I didn’t have that much room in my tummy to get through everything.
I’ll definitely make it out there for another round of tater tots and chocolate chip cookie + ice cream

I simply adore this place. It got to the point where I was dining with my best friend and I was writing down a full page of notes to put into my Unilocal review. Its definitely one of those places… So here we go.
Spanky’s BBQ in my opinion is pretty much a Dalas BBQ with better food, better atmosphere… a better everything basically. Perhaps I shouldn’t even compare the two, since they’re pretty different but somewhat similar in type of foods served.
Atmosphere wise, Spanky’s is pretty nicely lighted, but dimmed. Various ceiling lamps and fans, and the entire place is slightly illuminated by the numerous neon signs (ala Beer advertisement neon signs). The entire place reminds me of a very spacious Texan bar filled with many tables, wooden railing, and brass. The music that plays there can be completely random, you’ll notice sometimes the waiters going back and forth without plates in their hands because their either changing the song on their iPod, or switching to another one of their co-​workers iPod. If you notice that, don’t hesitate to stop one of them to make a request. I had them play a couple Spring Awakening songs after hearing «Totally Fucked.»
Their food is incredible. I had the Smoked «Overnite» Brisket on a portuguese roll which was a cheap $ 11.95. It was impeccable… Sooooooo fucking good. That with the most delicious home made fries, and a side of freshly mashed potatoes and gravy. This included my drink of their signature home made Spicy Ginger Ale, which actually was spicy and gingery. They do have other home made drinks which include Root beer, Orange Cream, and Black Cherry sodas.
Bar wise, It looked like a full bar to me. They have a cocktails, beer and drinks menu on every table. One drink that looked good that I didn’t try however was their Berry Bling which contains lime, cherries, sugar, topped with ice and stoli raspberry. Yum right? They also have bottled beers and a tap. Bottle dbeers are a mere $ 3.75 to $ 5, and $ 5 from the tap. They also have a happy hour.
Last but not least, they have a private events section on the bottom floor. Hopefully I’ll be able to get Sam P. to consider it for our next Unilocal Elite event. Everyone will love it!
GO GO GO

Looking for a Virgil’s BBQ alternative at Times Square? Maybe you should visit Spanky’s. Maybe not.
There were plenty of seats, no wait. The interior is a little dark, southern and «down home». There’s nothing uptight about the interior, definitely casual and conducive to «shooting the shit» with friends.
Had the pulled pork sandwich with corn, mac and cheese. The sandwich was decent, but I didn’t like the mac and cheese. It had sun-​dried tomatoes, mushrooms and greens in it. No… That’s not authentically southern and this isn’t a gourmet type of place… They also didn’t have sweet tea and failed to serve any cornbread or biscuits. Neither were we offered a hot, damp towel at the conclusion of our meal. Just offered a cold wet wipe packet.
I’m willing to give Spanky’s a 2^nd try, but I’m not looking forward to it.

Wasn’t what i’d expected it to be. Was looking for another bbq place but we found this. Food wasnt as good, forgot a few of our orders.
Left me with a stomache, never again for me.

This place is underrated. Not sure if it’s the location (midtown), its owner (Heartland), or its lack of hype (vs, say, Blue Smoke or Dinosaur)…
I tend to stick w/​the sandwiches here since I usually come for lunch. The beef brisket sandwich is very good — nice thick slices of smoked beef on a portugese roll. I recommend this over the pulled pork which is solid but par for the BBQ restaurant course.
If you’re going for the entrees, I recommend the pork ribs. Tender and nicely spiced.
As for sides, the cheese grits and mac & cheese are both great. The BBQ beans are okay.
The fried pickle appetizer is worth trying at least once — consider them like anti-Lays…you really can (and want to) have just one. The chicken wings come w/​an interesting pineapple dipping sauce but I’ve never felt compelled to order them again.
Beer (from Heartland) is very good — I recommend the Red Rooster and Pale Ale over the watery Cornhusker Lager.
The vibe is a little hokey but it beats the stuffiness of Virgil’s.

Pulled pork was tasty; mac ‘n cheese… was not.
The extensive dessert list was drool-​worthy; the lack of vanilla ice cream for the apple pie a la mode… was not.
Our waiter was hot; having a pig serving up pork barbecue as your icon/mascot…was not.
Overall a decent experience. I have a feeling there are more (i.e. «better») options out there.

BBQ. Had the Full Rack of Ribs, Mac n Cheese, Tater Tots and Jerk Buffalo Wings.
I found out about this place at the 9^th Ave Food Festival 2 years ago, decided to try it out a few weeks ago.
Food was ok, I think the best thing from this meal was the mac n cheese, which I will definitely go order again. There was an interesting taste to it because they had mushrooms in it. I liked it alot being a mushroom fan.
However, everything else was left to be more desired. The ribs were ok, they did not fall off the bones. There wasn’t even much sauce on the ribs. The jerk buffalo wings had too much rub on it and it was cooked to the point where it was almost burnt. I’ve had homecooked Jamaican Jerk wings before and they didn’t look that bad. You can’t really screw up tater tots, except for not making them well done.
The only thing that gave this review 2 stars, was the mac n cheese!