RC on the Scene: Percy Street Barbecue’s Free Lunch

Percy Street Barbecue’s free lunch promotion, which we first told you about last week, is in full swing (a recap: the first 20 customers through the door get a free lunch, every day this week, through Friday July 16), but how likely is it that you’ll be one of the lucky 20 folks who’ll snag a free lunch? Is there a line? The Restaurant Club was on the scene Tuesday (in the rain) to get the scoop.

The restaurant opens at 11:30 a.m., and that’s exactly when we arrived: 11:30 am, on the dot. But our punctuality did not get us a free meal — there were already 20 people (obviously undeterred by the apocalyptic downpour) seated and studying menus.  We weren’t the only ones to miss it by thatmuch, either. Had a group in suits arrived a few minutes earlier, their business lunch might have been on the house.  And to the two guys who ran in with hopeful looks on their faces at 11:35: better luck next time, but you do earn points for accepting defeat and sticking around for lunch anyway.

So, what’s our best tip to ensure you get your free grub? Get there early.  Preferably, before 11:15 a.m..  Hostess Desiree Howie told us that when she arrived Tuesday at 11 a.m., there was already a line forming by the door.

And for good reason: the promotion allows you to pick from one of Percy’s sandwich platters or one of their meat platters, but does not apply to take-out orders.  It does, however, leave plenty of room in the wallet (if not the belly) for a midday draft or a mouth-watering dessert, like the root beer float featured in the July issue.  If that isn’t enough incentive to go, perhaps this is: each customer who arrives early enough to receive a free meal will also have his or her name entered into a raffle to win a free lunch at Percy once a week for a year.

Percy Street Barbecue, 600 South 9th Street, 215-625-8510