Rick works in the Graybar Building attached to Grand Central Terminal.
Grand Central Terminal is so much prettier than the Graybar building I took a couple pictures of that instead :) But essentially, this is where Rick goes to work.
After I arrived and easily wrangled my inviation, I met Rick on the corner of 42nd and Lex. He and folks in his office had recently discovered a little diner he was anxious to share with me. We walked to 37th and 3rd, and paused to decide - should we sit inside or out? Although the outside tables are near the street, they are protected by bushes and plants and you actually step down away from the hustle and bustle. Today was pretty warm, so we elected to eat with a little a/c. After sitting there for a few minutes, we decided the temp was about the same in both places :)
Duke's (http://www.dukesnyc.com/) is a real retro place with kitchy decor - kind of like the Friendly Toast in Portsmouth, minus the tattoos and piercings. Duke's serves southern comfort food, and they have lots of options. Rick ordered the pulled pork sandwich and I ordered the po-boy. Rick's sandwich had a sweet smoky bbq sauce mixed right into the meat and it was piled on a soft homemade white roll. My po-boy was made with blackened red snapper - the grilled fish was amazing. The sandwich was made with a nice soft white bread shaped like a baguette, but not crusty like one. It had a sweet spicy sauce that was not unlike tartar sauce along with lettuce and tomato. Heavenly. Our sandwiches came with a big pile of very crunchy shoestring french fries and a small container of cole slaw.
We enjoyed our lunch and it was good to get out and enjoy the day!
