Dinosaur Bar-B-Que

Location	©2007 Dinosaur Bar-b-que
99 Court Street, Rochester NY, 14604
Hours (as of December 2007)
Monday - Thursday: 11:00AM to Midnight
Friday & Saturday: 11:00AM to 1:00AM
Sunday: Noon to 10:00PM
Phone
585 325 7090
Website
http://DinosaurBarBQue.com
Reviews
2006-07-20 EatOutRochester Review
2008-03-14 Insider review
Evite user reviews

In 1983 three bikers, including John Stage, set off on the road to cater festivals, fairs, and motorcycle shows. By 1988 they had traveled and seen lots, and decided to settle down in Syracuse to open a barbecue joint. Dinosaur Bar-B-Q quickly became the place in upstate for blues, bikes, and barbecue. In 1998 they opened a second location, in the 1905 Lehigh Valley Train Station in downtown Rochester. In 2004 they opened a third location in Harlem.

The Dinosaur gains credit as one of the places to bring barbecue into style in the manner Cajun 'got style' in the 1990's. One popular cookbook about the best diners across the US featured two Rochester restaurants including the Dinosaur. In 2001 John Stage and coauthor Nancy Radke completed a cookbook, ''Dinosaur Bar-B-Que: An American Roadhouse''. They now sell sauces through supermarkets. Nowadays the Dinosaur brings more families and fewer bikers, but at least two things have stayed the same: good ribs and live blues.

Comments:

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2006-01-07 14:22:10   I hear they have opened another dino bbq in nyc? —TobinFricke

2006-01-07 14:22:30   oh, nevermind, that's already in the description. —TobinFricke

2006-01-13 19:26:45   If you are in a wheelchair, good luck finding parking. May need to park elsewhere and ride down the sidewalk. —PeterBoulay

2006-01-24 22:45:03   I love the Syracuse joint, but have yet to have the same level of greatness from the Roch Dino. —JcPop

2006-01-25 00:29:29   I agree 100% —FarMcKon

2006-01-25 19:15:04   The wings are great! Much healthier and tastier than their deep fried counterparts elsewhere. But beware they do not serve them at lunchtime. —LindaMarie

2006-02-14 14:57:22   There seems to be a problem with this page, not sure how to resolve it —TomMaszerowski

2006-02-15 12:26:04   A friend from out of town came to visit me. She hates BBQ. I took her to Dinosaur and she LOVED it. Plus, the cookbook that they sell is amazing. I have never been much of a cook, but one day I got ambitious and made several of their dishes, and they came out great! I've been to all three locations (I'm a bit addicted!) and I think the Syracuse one is the best and Rochester is a close second. The NYC one wasn't really up to par, but they had just opened so maybe they're better now. —RachelBlumenthal

2006-02-15 15:41:01   I like the Syracuse location too, but the Rochester location offers one “side” not offered there: Garlic Ginger Green Bean Salad —one of my favorite, especially during spring, when they can buy local crops. —JohnLam

2006-02-15 17:44:24   I've found it's much easier to order the food to go. No 2 hour waits! —Roc4Life

2006-02-16 19:24:47   I think it's way overrated. The live blues music is wonderful, but the food and atmosphere.. meh. Whatever I order feels like it came off a cafeteria line. They also tend to over salt and sugar everything. It's usually extremely loud. I will say that the service has been exceptional across the board, every time I've been in there... really nice and usually attentive wait staff. —MariahBetz

2006-07-12 19:15:01   Have to back Mariah up on getting one's senses "a-salted"...now, if only someone could get my mngt. to stop defaulting to a Dinosaur-catered picnic... —ChristineLeo

2006-08-23 13:27:15   They catered my son's bar mitzvah and my wife's monumental birthday party. Was impressed both times. Their take-out prices beat out famous daves. Was dissapointed with the size of bbq suace bottles provided. they appear to be shrinking in size. —MrPhil

2006-11-26 15:24:59   The food is good and the atmosphere unique, but it can be a very long wait to get a table. I usually go to Sticky Lips across town instead. Still, Dinosaur is very good. —StevenDibelius

2007-03-02 19:59:04   After all these people whining, I felt like I should chime in with a positive review. I love the Dinosaur. It's not exactly cheap, so I don't go there often, but when I do go I love it. I actually don't mind the long waits, as long as you plan on them. You go when you're hungry, and by the time you sit down you're ready to eat the massive portions they provide. I have eaten barbecue at numerous restaurants all over the U.S. and have never had ribs I like as much as the ribs here. Your mileage, will of course, vary. —IsaacVanDuyn

2007-03-04 09:09:47   By far the best BBQ this side of the US, ribs are amazing, pulled pork is amazing and their wings are to die for. You'll pay a premium price but you get better than premium food. I've tried many BBQ joints, and this one is my favorite by a long shot. —TravisOwens

2007-03-13 15:25:00   Not so fast there, TravisOwens. I can tell you haven't been to Max's in Red Hook. No no...don't say anything—just go there. My momma grew up eating the real McCoy out in the sticks of South Carolina and then in Columbia, and of course, I've spent a little time "down home", too. I introduced her to Max's and she says it beats even Maurice's, and you know Maurice's is some serious authentic barbecue. Max's is the undisputed king of pulled pork. Their pulled pork is one of the most delicious things I've ever eaten, and most people in Red Hook would agree with me on that. It's simply impossible to describe the experience with mere words, so I won't even try.

The Dinosaur up in Harlem is not bad, but not exceptional. I really enjoyed their fried green tomatoes with the dipping sauce, and the ribs had a good smoky flavor (just the way I like it), although they had gotten a tad dry. When I'm down in the city I like Daisy May's out on Hell's Kitchen maybe a bit better than Dinosaur. It's at 11'th and 45'th, I think. It has fantastic Texas beer-can chicken, and the ribs are excellent, too. Virgil's is overrated. Spanky's is hit-or-miss, but can be pretty good, depending on the menu item and the day.

I haven't been to either of the Dinosaurs upstate yet. Maybe they do a better job up there. I'll have to try next time I'm up there. Also, it probably matters to some extent what particular dishes you like to eat. I'm a pulled pork boy. That's dry-rubbed, slow-smoked (16 hours at least) pork butt, served dry and you're supposed to sauce it yourself to your preferences. Dinosaur's pulled pork didn't have that deep smoky flavor I like, and it was pre-sauced with too much of a tomato-based sauce. It wasn't bad, but I guess I must be spoiled. And where the heck is the cornbread?! How can you have BBQ with no cornbread??

2007-03-23 08:33:29   Not a fan. Everytime I go here (the one in Roch) my dish is overcooked and dried out completely. The sides are bland at best. Service leaves alot to be desired as well. —KimBee

2007-03-24 15:43:40   I agree with Kim, I go for the pulled pork which I find very dry and flavorless in comparison with other places around. I end up adding a ton of hot sauce and bbq sauce. —IaAdams

2007-04-11 18:44:50   they have reall great fried green tomato on top of all the other goodies they have. —JadeRaven

2007-05-16 03:00:24   I've been to Dinosaur's a bunch of times and enjoy the experience less and less each time I go. Yes, their chicken wings are amazing. Problem is, I can't find anything else on the menu worth ordering. The ribs are dry to the point where it feels like you're eating last night's leftvers. Anyone glimpsing over to the kitchen area can clearly see that they have mounds of precooked meat waiting to be thrown on the grill for a minute or two before being served to the customer. To be honest Beale Street is not much better. Sticky lips is soso. I am down on Rochester BBQ. For my money, if you're looking for the best ribs in town, head to Outback. —WegmansFiend

2007-09-25 20:08:58   We went (Rochester) last Friday, for the first time. We reserved a table in advance so we had no waiting.

I agree the atmosphere is a bit too loud, but that seems to be a common denominator with BBQs and steak houses. My wife got chicken and ribs, me just the ribs. We didn't find any of the flaws described in previous comments (overcooked, dried out, precooked, too much salt, ...): both dishes were just fine. We also took home some chicken and ribs and even the day after they were pretty smooth and juicy.

Service was quick and friendly too.

Anyway, I haven't tried many American BBQs, so I'd definitely wanna try the other places you recommended. —AndreaCogliati

2007-12-09 16:20:53   Who is commenting here, secret agents from Dave's? I don't agree with any of the above comments here. I've ate at plenty of BBQ restaurants down in Georgia and Tennessee, and this is the closest thing you're going to get to legit, amazing barbeque up in Rochester. There is nothing bad to say about the food, and the restaurant has this great, unique biker feel to it. The noise can get on the nerves of people who are looking for a more family oriented restaurant, and the lines can be quite terrifying. Sticky Lips is a better option if those things are a real turn off. Still, if you go at the right time (earlier and later are a better bet) and you don't mind the ambience, this is easily the best BBQ in Rochester, and the best I've tasted upstate. —NoahLeaf

2007-12-11 15:05:35   their food is AWESOME..i go with my boyfriend and we share some huge meal for two.. it includes 4 sides, chimchurri chicken, ribs and a steak. ALL is delicious. you could not possibly eat an appetizer too. we always have leftovers and its around $30.. that is not bad for a meal for 2! its also a fun place to go dance on weekends and their drinks are always STRONG!! —ParkAveGirl

2007-12-16 19:11:34   I just ate here tonight (delicious as usual) and our waitress told us that they are in the process of 'going green', at least in terms of take out containers. Right now they just have paper bags and foil instead of the old styrofoam containers, but soon they'll have paper boxes. —RachelBlumenthal

2008-01-28 23:03:11   Okay, best wings in Rochester. Hands down. Dry rub + smoked = delicious wings. I had their hottest wings (tossed in the "Hottest Devil's Duel" sauce) and they were so good. I will probably not do it again any time soon because I had to take a couple of Tums later but I strongly recommend their wings. —OneLove

2008-02-11 23:05:33   Fantastic! I've been there a number of times, and Dinosaur never disappointed. The place is consistently good, has wonderful service (occasionally spunky, in a fun way), and to top it off, has a really good selection of beers. What else could you want. —RemekKocz

2008-03-29 12:14:47   I ate here once and didn't understand all of the hype about it being the best BBQ in town becouse I have had better at chain restaurants like Applebees. The ribs were rubber tasting to me as if the weren't done well enough. —EnishaCray

2008-04-24 17:18:08   Maybe I'm just lucky, but I've always been very impressed by the food at Dino! The nachos are fantastic; when they ask if you want chili or pulled pork, just say you want both :) Chicken wings are amazing. I usually order the "Tres Hombres" platter — you get ribs, beef brisket, and pulled pork. Cajun corn and black beans & rice are my favorite sides. —NathanHenderson