Virgil's Real BBQ, Barbecue restaurant in Times Square, New York, United States.
Virgil's Real BBQ is a barbecue restaurant in Midtown Manhattan, situated just off Times Square on West 44th Street. The space spans two floors and serves slow-smoked meats cooked over hickory, oak, and fruit woods, with both indoor and outdoor seating available.
The restaurant opened in 1994 and quickly became a regular stop for both locals and tourists in the Times Square area. Over the following years, the brand expanded beyond New York, opening locations in Las Vegas and the Bahamas.
The menu draws from several American BBQ regions, mixing styles from Texas, Tennessee, and the Carolinas in a single place. This makes it possible to compare different regional approaches to smoked meat without leaving Midtown Manhattan.
The restaurant sits in the heart of the Times Square area, within easy walking distance of several subway lines at 42nd Street. Because of the busy location, it is worth arriving a little early, especially on weekends or during peak tourist hours.
Despite being steps from one of the busiest tourist areas in the world, the restaurant has kept its recipes and smoking methods largely unchanged since it first opened. This consistency over three decades makes it an outlier among Times Square dining spots, which tend to change frequently.
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