Dinosaur Bar-B-Que

Dear Ke$ha,

Thanks for having a song where you spell DINOSAUR.  I always want to write dinasaur or dinasour.  And when I get confused, I think of your song, and spell it out for myself.

I was going to get a brisket sandwich.  At $7.50, it seemed like an affordable, reasonably sized lunch that wouldn't put me in a food coma.  But that all went downhill when a coworker pointed out the Nuevo Sampler--some chicken, some ribs, and some brisket.  My inclination toward small plates is not about only eating a little, it's about eating a little of everything.  So sampler it was.  Pardon my cell phone picture.  It was somewhat clandestine; my former coworkers knew I was insane and food-obsessed, but I'm still laying on the downlow here.

If you're having déjà vu, yes, I did have a big plate of barbecued meat barely a year ago at the Salt Lick in Austin, Texas. 

To me, the brisket wasn't amazing.  It wasn't super flavorful, and even though our food came out quickly and it was the first bite I tried, it wasn't piping hot.  The mac & cheese didn't rock my world, it seems like a waste of calories (not that you're counting, you look wondaful).  The carrot/raisin salad (why did I pick that?  Choices overload) was nice, it had a bite to it (ginger maybe), in a good way.  I'd heard mixed reviews on the chicken; when presented with real meat, chicken can seem meh.  This chicken was definitely not meh.  It was delicious.  Super tender, hot, crispy skin.  If I were with family instead of coworkers I would have been licking the bones clean. The ribs were also delicious.

You should be relieved--you don't even need to come to the Capital Region to enjoy this feast. There are three other locations--from east to west you've got Harlem, Syracuse, and Rochester.  Syracuse is the original, but I have it on good authority from a frequent 'Cuse visitor that it's going downhill.  In her words, "they designed the Troy Dinosaur to try to make it look older and run down, but the one in Syracuse is actually old and run down."

I can see myself going back with J for laid back beers, chicken, and ribs.  And btw, this place gets jammed, but a couple of people can totally snag a place in the bar area.

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que
377 River St
Troy, NY