This is from a visit in March of '07 to Dinosaur BBQ in Harlem. I've since had better BBQ but never in a sit down place. The only place I've had better BBQ in NY has been at the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party. Sadly, I haven't made it back to Dinosaur since. Being a 2 hour train ride away makes it a bit of a pain in the ass. But I'm thinking a return engagement may be necessary. That's kind of the benefit of going through some of these old reviews...it's making me want to revisit some places. I have heard a rumor that Dinosaur is opening a location on Union Street in Park Slope in the near future. That would be fantastic.
When Good Carnivores Die, Heaven is
Dinosaur BBQ
For the first restaurant review of ’07
do we ever have a doozy. I think it might be the best place overall
that we’ve been to. I’ll have to remember to ask my other
companions for their opinion. Get a lil best of list going. Maybe
get some comments on what places anyone else thinks we should hit
that might make our list. We’re always up for some good food.
Well, off we go to the first review of the year.
To think at the beginning of this
little adventure Adrienne thought it might not be worth it to take
such a long trip uptown. Silly, silly girl. As we now know any trip
to Dinosaur BBQ will be well-rewarded. The train ride to 131st
street was so worth it I just don’t have the words to tell you how
worth it, it was. I met Doreen, Adrienne and newcomer Phil for a
railroad journey into Harlem to eat what turned out to be the best
damned BBQ I’ve ever had pass through my lips. Before I get to the
food, lemme tell you this place was PACKED! The amount of people
just standing around waiting for a table was insane. Don’t even
waste your time going there without a reservation. You ain’t
getting’ a table any other way. But once you do get a table there
is all kinds of cool stuff to look at. Everything inside is worn
brick and weathered wood. The food comes on blue plastic plates with
little separation-y things kind of like upper class TV dinner trays.
So not only do you get this amazing food but it’s kind of like
eating it in someone’s backyard. When it’s warm out it seems
that they just open all the windows and that must really add to the
atmosphere. Even the music was good…a lot of bluesy jazz type
staff. Now, on to the grub.
There was nothing that our waitress
Sheena brought to our table that disappointed. We’ll start with
the fried green tomatoes because that’s what we started with. The
sauce they came with was really the tastiest bit of that. The
breading was good and a lil tangy but there really was no taste of
tomato. I don’t know if that’s how it always tastes because I’ve
never had fried green tomatoes before. They were good but nothing
exciting. The ribs were what sex would taste like if it came on a
bone (no pun intended). They were so tender that I have no doubt
that if Age wanted she could’ve stuck the whole rib in her mouth
and sucked all the meat off in one shot just like in a cartoon.
After the 3 ribs I had I was already getting close to full. And I
still have pulled pork, potato salad, baked beans and a piece of
cornbread to get through. The pulled pork was awesome. The brisket,
which I snagged from Doreen, was fantastic. I had a side of potato
salad that was just a touch spicy, just to remind you that it said
Creole on the menu, sooooooo good. The macaroni and cheese, that I
didn’t have the foresight to order but I also snagged from Doreen
(she’s good for sharing food…usually) was the reason we breathe.
God put us on this earth to eat food that tasted this good. The
worst thing we got was the BBQ beans and they were excellent. If you
could’ve seen the looks on Doreen’s and Age’s faces when we
were finished eating it would’ve told the whole story. There was
total satisfaction and the desire to keep eating despite the risk of
exploding. The prices weren’t really bad at all. I think it came
to about $23 a person. You can’t go wrong being that kind of full
for less than $25. Next time I’m definitely trying the drunken
shrimp boil though. I’d say it’s certainly safe to say we’re
going to make a repeat visit…and I can’t wait for it.
700 West 125th Street
NY, NY, 10027
212-694-1777
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