I love college basketball. More specifically, I love The University of Connecticut Huskies. Not only is it my home state, but the campus is in my hometown. On top of that, my high school was even located on UConn’s campus. So basically, I bleed Husky blue and white. Over my lifetime, their most hated and sworn enemy has been Duke University.  It all started in 1990 when the evil Christian Laettner beat UConn at the buzzer in their Elite Eight NCAA Tournament match up. We got revenge nine years later by beating them in the finals to win the championship behind solid play by Rip Hamilton and the rest of the squad.

So why do I mention all of this? Simply because of the name of the restaurant being reviewed. Just based on their name, Duke’s, it took a lot of gall for me to even walk in the door.

I’m glad I did.

For drinks, Duke’s boasts big time about their Duke-A-Ritas (their version of margaritas), but I’m a lemonade kind of guy.

Lucky for me they serve up quite possibly (no exaggeration) the best pink lemonade I’ve had in any New York City restaurant. Definitely fresh and absolutely refreshing.

You can tell a lot about a place by the freebie meal starters. Served here is a basket of mini-corn muffins and teeny-biscuits served with gravy.

It’s astounding how gratifying these little bread treats were. Both were baked so well and came out insanely soft with perfectly flaky outsides. I can’t stop thinking about the slightly sweet taste to the corn muffins.

As appetizers we had both the Southern Fried Chicken Tenders and as a free gift from the manager (thanks again!) Ma’s Macaroni and Three Cheese.

The chicken, coated in honey bbq and served with a tangy ranch dipping sauce, was absolutely phenomenal. With a slight spiciness, these chicken delights are served with a spot-on crispness. That honey BBQ sauce was down-right addictive.

Ma’s Macaroni and Three Cheese really took me by surprise.

Baked inside is bacon to give the dish an extra punch matches up well with it’s crispy top and creamy inside. Outstanding.

I’d have to say my favorite cut of meat is skirt steak. Duke’s offers a BBQ Sliced Skirt Steak that is DOUSED in their own BBQ sauce.

The sauce was so good that I wouldn’t even mind if the meat was not only doused, buy swimming in it’s own pool of BBQ flavor. Packing a lot of punch, this creamy concoction fits well with the wonderfully cooked cuts of moo cow. Served with your choice of two sides (french fries and creole rice pictured here), this entire meal, from beginning to end, would fill the stomach of even the mightiest eater.

I really have to mention that choosing what to eat was actually very hard. So many items looked great such as Chili Rubbed Quesadilla, Dukes Macho Nachos Grande, The Roadhouse Sandwich, Southern Comfort Burger, many of the desserts, and plenty more. What that means is more trips to Duke’s in the future!

Duke’s

99 E19th Street

New York, NY 10003

www.dukesnyc.com

Prices: BBQ Sliced Skirt Steak 17.99, Southern Fried Chicken Tenders $9.99, Ma’s Macaroni & 3 Cheese $7.99

Hours:  Mon-Wed 12pm-12am, Thu-Fri 12pm-1am, Sat-Sun 11:30am-12am

Access: L, N, Q, R, W, 4, 5, 6 Trains To Union Square; 6 Train To 23rd Street

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