Rub BBQ Righteous Urban Barbecue

What seemed to be a promising opening from the Kansas City Baron of Barbeque, Paul Kirk, instead emerged as a ho-hum yet busy joint. New York has seen a profusion of new BBQ places, and by throwing his hat in the ring near the Chelsea Hotel, Kirk seemed to want to establish himself in the cutthroat Manhattan restaurant world. But the place lacks decoration and style. Unlike other recent arrivals such as Dinosaur BBQ, Rib, or Bone Lick Park, Kirk apparently gave little thought to comfort and decor that Manhattanites so prize. The acoustics are strange, the space is awkward, and you leave the restaurant smelling a little like the kitchen because of poor ventilation. (On a hot day, don't even think about sitting up front.) If it's all about the food, the portions could certainly be a little more generous. For example, a $9.75 brisket sandwich comes with a bun and two tiny pickle slices--and that's it. A $3.50 side of fries has a weird combination of spices and sugar on it. Tap beer is served in plastic cups, at Manhattan prices. Now if Kirk's restaurant wasn't down the street from Dallas BBQ (where some portions are literally double in size), it might just work. Kirk makes good BBQ, but alas, like most other NYC barbecue places, it just isn't authentic enough. The brisket is fine, but it's nothing special. Maybe a few guys out back with a big ancient smoker would do the trick. The half chicken is fine, but two slices of white bread really don't have anything to soak up. We know good BBQ isn't cheap, but this setting really can't command such prices. We wanted to try the Sichuan smoked duck and deep-fried ribs, but they weren't available. The most amusing menu item is "The Empire - That's The Taste of the Baron and a Bottle of Dom Perignon Champagne" for $275.00. Yeah, right.