From the moment I entered, all my anxiety of it looking like a kitschy chain was thrown out the window. The establishment was rugged and smoky with no cartoon-y dinosaurs prancing about, as their logo would suggest.
The friendly staff told me to sit wherever I liked and then brought me a beverage of my choosing. They had Franziskaner on tap and it being one of my favorite beers, I got a pint.
Though I really wanted to try their deviled eggs, they wouldn’t let me have any less than 6 of them, so I settled for one of their sliders. This cute little rare burger was topped with mild cheddar while floating on a thin coating of pink Cajun mayo. It was incredibly tasty, especially towards the center. The Cajun mayo gave it a nice kick which complemented the already flavorful meat.
Finally, the main course arrived and the waiter explained the variety of barbeque sauces on the side. The front ones were all Dinosaur Barbeque originals and from right to left, increased in hotness. None of them were truly hot, but that could be just because I have been drinking 1 Million Scoville recently.
Every single piece of the traditional platter was magnificent. Though it looked like too much food for one person at first, after the first bite, I knew I would finish it. Other than the cornbread, both sides were specials of the day. The collard greens had bits of pork and ginger. It tasted a bit peppery, sweet, and fatty, yet still firm even through all the cooking. Next was the traditional mac and cheese, made with shells and sautéed mushrooms and broccoli. It was creamy, with the signature sharpness of cheddar. I really liked it, but it did not taste like “traditional” mac and cheese at all. For the last of the sides, the cornbread was sweet, light, and fluffy. Its flavor, along with the beer, worked wonders in refreshing my palate as I moved from dish to dish throughout the platter.
The meats were brisket, ribs, and chicken. I was sick and tired of dry briskets and had this been any less than perfect, I would most likely have given up all hope on brisket forever. Luckily, this brisket was tender, moist, and delicious. The sauce on it was great, but none of the meats really needed any. Since everything was already fantastic, the only sauce I added was the hottest one to spice it up a bit. Next was the chicken, which was incredibly moist on the inside, with tender, yet slightly blackened skin on the outside. Its skin had the blackened flavor, but yielded like rotisserie skin, making it orgasmic. Lastly, I descended on the ribs. They were incredible. Marinated for 24 hours and slowly pit smoked, they had a smoky flavor while barbeque sauce permeated the meat. Most of all, they were very tender. I had to be careful to make sure the meat didn’t fall off the bone so I could still eat them with my hands. They were the kind of ribs that when that beautiful first morsel of slightly charred, red, saucy, and tender pork first hits your tongue, you can’t help but close your eyes and smile. That’s right; those kinds of ribs. Taking all of that into account you can understand how I was able to turn that massive plate into the following.
Dinosaur Barbeque has the kind of food that results in massive, artery-clogging, enthusiastic, gluttony. I would highly recommend ditching whatever you have to do and going there right now. Maybe I’m not the best source to trust on the matter as a Manhattanite whose only legit experiences with barbeque have been in Tennessee and New Orleans, but I still love Dinosaur Barbeque. They have some of the best barbeque I have ever had and I can’t wait to go back for more.
You can also see this post here: http://cornellsun.com/node/39083
No comments:
Post a Comment