Thursday, May 29, 2014
Snaxtime was live and in line as hungry fans of Dairy Queen patiently waited for the first ever DQ in Manhattan to open its doors. DQ Grill & Chill on 14th St. in NYC promised that the first 50 customers would receive a free gift card that would grant 1 free Blizzard a month for 1 year. Also, the first 200 customers would receive a free custom NY DQ T-shirt. We arrived early at 7:45AM and were close to the front of the line. Enthusiastic Dairy Queen fans brimmed with excitement, some sitting in lawn chairs since the night before. Pix11 News and Fox5 News were on the scene, interviewing eager individuals. At 8:30AM a fight broke out when an angry older man began yelling at people in line because they would not let him cut. Security calmed the man down, and by 9:00AM DQ management arrived to pass out golden tickets to the first 50 customers (including Snaxtime!) for the long-awaited gift card. At 9:30AM T-shirts were handed out, and at 10:00AM the official ribbon cutting took place in celebration of the grand opening!
Snaxtime started with a Mini Banana Cream Pie Blizzard which was smooth, icy cold and scrumptiously sweet. The real banana chunks and crisp pie crust pieces melded beautifully with the banana pudding flavored soft serve.
We then tried the Original Double Cheeseburger with French Fries, and the 4-pc Original Chicken Strip Basket with Honey Mustard, Texas Toast and Onion Rings. All of the 'Hot Eats' were fresh tasting and hearty with good ole American flavors that did not disappoint. The Original Double Cheeseburger was especially delicious with a generous amount of melty, tangy American cheese and good grill flavor in the burger meat. The chicken was very moist with a nice crunchy crust.
We ended the meal with a Strawberry Marshmallow Sundae and an Oreo Cookie Blizzard. The Strawberry Sundae was tart, sweet and crazy good, and the classic Oreo Blizzard had a nice cookie crunch to compliment the cold soft serve.
The restaurant itself feels spacious with 2 floors that are clean and very modern with touches of retro/throwback decor that give the space a much needed nostalgic boost. There are also lounging couches on the 2nd floor so that you can relax while eating a frozen treat. The staff and management were extremely helpful and friendly. The manager spoke with us to make sure that everything was good. The line was constantly out the door, but the service was so fast and efficient that nobody had to wait longer than 5 minutes. Oh, and the food is brought to your table!
Overall, the grand opening of Manhattan's first ever DQ Grill & Chill was a raging success! They are definitely off to a great start.
Keep an eye out as Snaxtime will be using the gift card to feature a different Blizzard every month for the next year.
Stay hungry!