Dinosaur BBQ - Syracuse, NY

Dinosaur BBQ - Syracuse, NY

246 W. Willow St.
Syracuse, NY 13202

http://www.dinosaurbarbque.com/

I had the pleasure of lunch at the original Dinosaur BBQ in Syracuse and always find the food, atmosphere and energy of this place quite good.  There is a lot of great history with this location as it is the original and started as a biker bar where they chose to add smoked meats to add to the beer offering they had. Even though it's not owned by the original owners any more, it's still a great BBQ restaurant...especially for the north east.

It was busy for lunch although we were able to be seated at the bar immediately where they server from the full menu.  I settled on the 3 meat combo where I sampled the pulled pork, sliced brisket and ribs.  While they provided the meat already sauced, that was perfectly fine. In fact, in the case of the brisket, it was welcome as the meat was slightly dry.

The pulled pork was pulled into smaller strings than what I often find in the Southeast.  While not a problem or a deterrent, I'm becoming more aware of not only flavor differences but also how the meat is prepared.  The pork had a good flavor and the sauce was a welcome addition as it was applied with the right amount.

The ribs had a good smoke and good "burnt ends" flavor on the edges of the end of the rack of ribs.

As mentioned the sliced brisket was slightly dry but the flavor was good and as I've come to expect from Dinosaur.  Good smoke ring that added the right amount of smokey flavor.

In order of preference...

Pork ribs
Pulled pork
Sliced brisket

Again...the flavor of the brisket was good. It's only at the bottom of the list because it was slightly dry.

Now for the sides...

I had the Simmered Turkey Neck Collard Greens and the West Texas Creamed Corn.  The collard greens were excellent.  Tender with a really good flavor. They can often be too bitter but not these.  They are highly recommended.  The creamed corn had a great unexpected smokey flavor that was fantastic.  Good and creamy.  The one criticism that I had was with the cornbread.  It was a little dry but I'll admit that I didn't even taste it until the end of the meal therefore my assessment may not be completely fair.

Overall a very good lunch and the Dinosaur BBQ in Syracuse is highly recommended.