(01/04/07)

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in Harlem is the third outpost of the legendary “honky tonk rib joint” that originated in Syracuse, NY in 1988 and later expanded to Rochester, NY. It’s somewhat of a New York BBQ institution that’s received national attention due to its popular barbecue sauces and a recent cookbook. Discussing barbecue with anyone who went to college in Syracuse or Rochester—or anyone who knows someone who went to college there—is almost guaranteed to get a fervent recommendation for Dinosaur. Long before I even thought about doing this site, I had Dinosaur on my radar.

The Harlem branch of Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, open since December 2004, sits at the corner of 12th Avenue and 131st Street, right off the West Side Highway and about halfway between Columbia University and CUNY. Outside, it has the look of an old warehouse or meat packing plant, with “Beef” and “Pork” painted in faded lettering on the brick wall. Outdoor picnic tables are a nice touch too. Inside, you’ll find the obligatory (for NYC, at least) stack of firewood as you approach the hostess stand. Further back is a takeout area. To the right is a bar with a spacious seating area; to the left is an even more spacious dining area. Here, there are high ceilings, lots of brick and even more firewood. All of the exposed beams have ornamental motorcycles, a nod to the flagship Dinosaur’s biker roots.

The Dinosaur menu is fairly ambitious. Appetizers include deviled eggs, peel-and-eat shrimp, soup and chili, two kinds of fried green tomatoes, two kinds of salads, and, of course, their famous chicken wings. The ‘cue here is pretty basic: just one kind of rib (St Louis cut), barbecued chicken, pulled pork, sliced brisket and sausage. Sandwiches include burgers, a Cuban, several varieties of chicken, several permutations of the basic sliced brisket (including a barbecue Reuben), and a smoked Portobello sandwich with zucchini. For entrées, Dinosaur appeals to the non-BBQ fan with Korean style beef ribs, a rib eye steak, fried catfish and chicken with Chimichurri sauce.

On my first visit, I wanted to focus on the most heralded items, so I started with a small order of the “Jumbo Bar-B-Que” wings (6 for $5.95), half with Wango Tango sauce and half with garlic chipotle. These arrived quickly, with the customary celery and bleu cheese. The wings were lightly charred and lightly sauced, with both sauces fairly pleasing, though not all that spicy. I thought the wings were pretty good, but they certainly weren’t jumbo (I'd say average size) and I’m not so sure they were smoked. From all the raves I’ve heard, I was expecting the earth to move beneath my feet, but that didn’t happen. Like I said, they were good, but not significantly better than what you’d get at hundreds of pubs and wing joints between New York and Boston.

Next, I tried the “Traditional Sampler” combo ($15.95) that includes ribs, brisket and chicken, specifically leaning toward the chicken based on reader suggestions. The ribs were a smallish cut that, while not wet, appeared to have several layers of glaze applied. They didn’t separate that easily and were extremely chewy. From what I’d heard, I expected fall-of-the-bone tenderness. I prefer more chew than that, but these swung the pendulum a little too far the other way. The flavor was OK, but I didn’t detect much smoke. The brisket consisted of about a half dozen slices about 1/4” thick, with a dollop of barbecue sauce and some jalapeño peppers for a garnish. Half of the slices were fantastic: a light, flavorful char along the edges, hugged by a beautiful pink smoke ring, cradling tender, tasty meat. The other half were drab, gray and dry. The first few slices were among the better pieces of restaurant brisket I’ve sampled; the remaining slices were below average. Chicken was the highlight of the combo. The skin was borderline crisp, the meat was very juicy and the flavor was very good, with just a hint of sweetness that didn’t overshadow the natural chicken taste.

The chicken served as the perfect vehicle for sampling the various Dinosaur BBQ and pepper sauces. All were pretty good, though all were fairly commercial tasting (you can buy them in many supermarkets). I found the pepper sauces to be pretty similar to each other, with cayenne the dominant flavor.

The sides were good. The fries were hot and crisp, with the skin on. Mildly sweet cornbread was fresh. Collard greens were finely chopped, with small pieces of carrot and a faintly sweet taste that didn’t mask the flavor of the vegetable. I appreciated the fact that these were contained in a basket to prevent leakage into my meats.

My server was friendly and checked back several times to make sure everything was OK. Soda refills were free and arrived without my having to ask for them.

No discussion of Dinosaur Bar-B-Que would be complete without mentioning the men’s room. The aged wooden substructures reminded me of something Leonardo DiCaprio would encounter in Gangs of New York. You’ll find plenty of graffiti and artwork on the walls, much of it house-generated. I didn’t want to stay in there long enough to inspect the details, but it was an experience.

The bottom line: A fun place with decent food, but for me at least, it didn't live up to the hype. Would I go back? Absolutely. Would I rush back? Probably not. Still, there’s more of the menu I want to try, and Dinosaur is an important-enough joint to justify tasting their ribs again. Based on my one visit, though, I’d rank them behind RUB and Daisy May’s, and in the same league as Blue Smoke among the big 4 of Manhattan BBQ.

other opinion:

Hot Sauce Blog's review of Dinosaur Bar-B-Que

New York Magazine's profile of Dinosaur Bar-B-Que

New York Times review of Dinosaur Bar-B-Que

NY Press review of Dinosaur Bar-B-Que

other info:

BBQ Pilgrim's profile of Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in Syracuse