Junior’s Restaurant near Times Square

After we checked into our Manhattan hotel Tuesday evening April 6, we decided to go down to the street level and see where we could get a bite to eat. My daughter had seen a place right across the street called Junior’s, so we experienced our first Manhattan pedestrian street-crossing (comments coming in a future article) and went inside. Junior’s is a large casual restaurant of American-style food that touts its cheesecake desserts, and it was packed with customers. As we entered it, I went through my own customary “inner groan”, expecting a long wait to be seated. But no, they sat us right down, not to mention in a seat where I could follow the Yankees’ season opener against the Red Sox on TV. I had one of their half-pound hot dogs with sauerkraut and fries. And topped it off with one of their plain cheesecake slices, as did my wife and daughter.

Now I enjoyed the cheesecake, to be sure. But the others in my party thought it was easily the best cheesecake they ever eaten. For me, I remembered the cheesecake being just as good in several other places, even the product that my local Publix grocery store makes (after the trip I ate some Publix cheesecake and reaffirmed my opinion). But I will say that I have never received such a HUGE portion of cheesecake as that which Junior’s provided.

Since Junior’s was so convenient to our hotel, we ended up closing out two of the following three evenings of touring by stopping off there before heading up to our room. With all three of us indulging in different varieties of cheesecake each time (my favorite was their pineapple cheesecake). The last time I was there, I also had a bowl of their baked onion soup. Now that WAS special, something I would definitely recommend to anyone who visits Junior’s (I dug that earlier half-pound hot dog, too).

Junior’s has its own historical narrative that it promotes on its menu. Apparently, in 1981 at its original location in Brooklyn, the restaurant caught fire. In the panic, shouts could be heard, “Save the cheesecake!” Junior’s was rebuilt and the following year, NY Mayor [I mean Governor, thanks Barry for the correction] Mario Cuomo (whose greatest political mistake was in not running for president in 1988, giving us "Poppy" Bush by default) declared May 27 as Junior’s Restaurant Day in New York. So this establishment does carry some weight with cheesecake enthusiasts.

I liked all of the food I had at Junior’s, but I was the most impressed with the bustling, quick, efficient, and friendly service its employees provided us. Each time we went there, the restaurant was packed solid with customers, but we never had a long wait to be seated. They also provided a choice of indoor or outdoor seating and piped in oldies music as a pleasant background ambiance.

I wouldn’t necessarily recommend Junior’s over the other Manhattan eateries, as my experience with them was rather limited. And I don’t want to give the impression that we just ate at Junior’s and nowhere else. But if you happen to be in the area around Broadway and 45th Street (y’know, Times Square country), why not give it a try?