Dinosaur Bar-B-Que

99 Court Street, Downtown Rochester
Visited several times
Written by Drew




When visitors come to Rochester, they need to shop at Wegmans and eat a garbage plate. Barbecue most likely isn’t the next thing that comes to mind for those visitors, but it probably should be.

New York – and any state north of the Mason-Dixon Line, for that matter – isn’t known for its barbecue. But there is one exception: Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, which originated in Syracuse, has had a second location right here in Rochester since 1998, and has since expanded to New York City (Harlem) and Troy (just north of Albany).

First off, I would like to apologize for our absence on RWG the last month or two. I have been working 40+ hour weeks, in numerous jobs. With that said, I have attended a several Red Wings’ games on my spare time, a few of which with my friends. On three separate occasions, my friends and I traveled into the city to eat at one of the state’s most know barbecue pits, Dinosaur Bar-B-Que.

Located literally right on the border of the gray area and fair territory, the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que overlooks the mighty Genesee River. This barbecue pit resides within an abandoned 1905 Lehigh Valley train station. When walking into the establishment, your eyes are drawn to every nook and cranny in the restaurant. Tons of memorabilia ringing of Americana hangs on the walls. Enough with setting the stage, let’s get to the food already.

Voted America’s best BBQ in 2009 by Good Morning America, Dinosaur sets the bar high when it comes to barbecue in the Northeast. Over the past few months, I have been craving barbecue, and after having the Dinosaur, nothing else even comes close.

Josh and I went to the Dinosaur prior to a high-school baseball game back in the spring, and little did I know I would be returning two more times in the following weeks. All three of my visits I ordered the same thing, the Original Pulled Pork Platter (pardon the alliteration). For $9.50, the platter includes a hefty pulled pork sandwich with two sides. I chose their macaroni and cheese and mashed potatoes for my sides all three times.

The pulled pork sandwich came piled high on one of their signature sesame seeded buns. One of the biggest things that puts Dinosaur’s pulled pork sandwich above the rest is the meat doesn’t come too saucy. The structure of the sandwich is well put together, seeing how the bottom half of the bun wasn’t saturated. Now don’t worry all of you “I like my BBQ saucy” fans, on the tables inside of the Dinosaur you’ll find many different BBQ and hot sauces to utilize.

As for my sides, the macaroni and cheese has to be some of the best I have ever had. It had a very cheesy consistency to it, and a bit of a bite. To the best of my knowledge, the macaroni and cheese is topped with Dinosaur’s rub seasoning, which includes some sort of hot seasoning.

Their mashed potatoes were more so the smashed variety, but still very good. The first two times I went there I ate all of my sides first because they were irresistible, on my third I ate them last, because I wanted to finish my sandwich in its entirety. After I finished these meals I was definitely full, and very content with my investment.

Josh ordered something that I would never have guessed he would have ordered, Jumbo Chicken Wings. Thirteen large chicken wings filled his basket with the steam and aroma of their barbecue sauce filling the air. Josh described the chicken wings as different than the normal chicken wing, but in a good way. The wings had a charcoal taste to them, since they are not deep-fried like almost every other chicken wing in the area. He went on and described their sauce as spicy. Josh finished all 13 wings, with much help of several beverages.

On my first return visit, Chad and I stopped at Dinosaur prior to a Red Wings game. We overestimated how much time we would need. We literally walked in, sat down, ordered and had our food in front of within five minutes; some of the best food service I have ever been a part of.

On our most recent visit, Chad, Joe, Kameron, and myself had quite a time eating there. As always, I ordered the exact same thing and Chad did the same. Joe and Kameron got involved with some appetizers. Both Joe and Kameron ordered three Jumbo Wings. Joe’s wings came ‘Wango-Tango’ style. When asked about the wings, he responded simply, “Delicious.”

For his entree, Joe ordered a half rack of ribs with corn bread, baked beans, and macaroni and cheese. Joe exclaimed that the ribs he ordered came to him perfectly. The meat fell right off the bone, and there was no need for him to put extra sauce on them because they already had the perfect amount on them. He went on to agree with my feeling on the macaroni and cheese. Joe would like to add that all-in-all he spent $22 on his meal, and didn’t have any qualms with that price.

After visiting the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que several times in the past few months, as well as other barbecue place in the area, I could say hands down the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que is the best barbecue in this state, if not the entire North.

It rates No. 1 overall in the Rochester area on UrbanSpoon’s restaurant rankings. It also takes the top spot in Syracuse, home of its original location, and No. 16 in New York City.

After feasting at Dinosaur several times over the years ourselves, it’s not difficult to see why.

Ratings:

Service/Atmosphere: It doesn’t get much better than this. Americana at its finest. I’ve rarely had to wait an extended amount of time here. If going during weekend dinner times, expect a little bit of a wait.

Food: Simply, some of the best barbecue and sides I’ve ever had.

Value: Priced a little high, but as Joe put it, he doesn’t have a problem paying for better quality food.

Overall: There is a reason why GMA voted the Dinosaur the best barbecue in America.

Grade: A-

Fedele's Deli

75 Lake Avenue, Hilton
Visited July 15 & 18, 2011
Written by Tyler




If a sub shop isn’t going to bake its own bread, the least it can do is bring in and serve the best bread in the area, which is exactly the case at the new Fedele’s Deli in Hilton.

Several restaurants have come and gone through our hometown, so we were interested to see how Fedele’s – which opened in June in the former Forest Hill Catering location – stacked up.

Drew and I gave it a shot one day during work. I ordered a grilled chickend sandwich, as usual, and he ordered a Buffalo chicken sub.

My chicken itself was nothing extraordinary, but being served on a Martusciello’s roll makes any sandwich delicious. The sandwich went from being ‘average’ to ‘good’ solely because of the bread.

Drew’s sandwich was much the same. It was simply chicken tenders, some wing sauce and some ranch dressing. It was nothing you can’t get at any sub place (though still tasty), but the addition of a Martusciello’s roll made all the difference.

Joe was so excited when I told him there was a place in Hilton serving Martusciello’s bread that he went to Fedele’s for dinner that night himself. He ordered an Italian assorted sub, which he was pleased – though not blown away – by.

I got Fedele’s again with my family a few nights later. I ordered the same thing, but got it topped with wing sauce. I couldn’t wait to have what was sort of a hybrid of what Drew and I each got the first time.

But you can imagine my disappointment when I opened the box and saw my sandwich came on a generic sandwich roll, rather than a Martusciello’s roll, making for an incredibly generic overall sandwich.

Fortunately for the others, their subs came on Martusciello’s bread. My mom and sister split a ham and cheese sub, and my dad had a steak sub with mushrooms and mozzarella.

My dad seemed to enjoy his. The chunks of steak were very thick compared to comparable subs from other places, and the sub was loaded with mushrooms.

Fedele’s puts more meat on its subs than Subway, but not nearly as much as DiBella’s. My mom agreed with me after eating hers.

If you’re a bread lover, like me, you will like Fedele’s. The contents of the subs are no better or worse than similar places, but the use of Martusciello’s bread – widely regarded as the best in Greater Rochester – puts Fedele’s subs a cut above the rest in Hilton.

A restaurant can’t have too high of a grade if that’s the main thing that stands out, but I see potential in Fedele’s. The owners seem very enthusiastic and frequently update their Facebook page.

The menu is relatively limited – cold subs, hot subs, a few fryer items, a few salads and a few items off the grill – but there are daily specials, which appear to change on a week-to-week basis. In other words, it looks look a lot of experimentation with different menu items is going on, and maybe some of them will catch on full time if popular enough.

Oh, and Friday is dessert day. According to Fedele’s Facebook page, the Oreo cheesecake sold out yesterday.

Again, I see some potential here. Fedele’s might be on to something. God knows we could use a little variety in our food out in Hilton.

Ratings

Service/Atmosphere: I haven’t actually been inside yet, but it seemed like the food was ready soon enough.

Food: Not much different than a typical sub shop – until you get to the bread. We’ll definitely have to try out some of the daily specials soon, because those just might be what gives Fedele’s a little variety, relative to other places in Hilton.

Value: Prices are right about where they should be, and match the portion size well.

Overall: Needs to have more than amazing bread brought in from somewhere else to make it great on a larger scale, but this place is brand new and has a lot of potential. I’ll be back soon.

Grade: B-

Tony's Birdland and Pizzeria

2680 West Ridge Road, Greece
Visited June 7, 2011
Written by Greg




Tyler, Kameron and I recently ventured down Ridge Road in Greece looking for a place to eat and review, and after much deliberation and menu previewing settled on Tony’s Birdland and Pizzeria.

We were the only patrons there when we entered, which wasn’t too surprising, I guess, being late afternoon. It wasn’t the cleanest place we’ve ever been to, but probably not the messiest either. One of the two employees promptly yet casually attended to us.

There isn’t a very large dining area – just a few tables and booths – but the kitchen and food prep area consumes most of the space, and by the looks of the extensive menu, they probably utilize every square foot.

I ordered a Buffalo chicken wrap, and Tyler ordered two slices of pepperoni pizza and a grilled chicken sandwich.

He noted that for $3.49 the chicken was a great value, despite not being anything particularly unique. Tyler also enjoyed Tony’s own signature sweet-and-sour sauce, which added more flavor to the subsistent sandwich.

He also considered the two slices of pizza a great value at $1.99, and I agree after tasting one, and considering their liberal size. Tyler says they had enough sauce, while not too much cheese, with a crust that was right in between too doughy and too crispy. His two primary reservations were that the pizza was a tad greasy and lacked a good crunch in the crust.

My wrap was a little frustrating. It was a fairly decent-sized wrap, but was poorly put together. When I picked it up the thing, it just fell apart into the foam tray. Also, it had way too much bleu cheese on it.

I could barely taste any of the Buffalo sauce because all of the bleu cheese just negated its hotness and flavor, and I love me some buffalo sauce. The wrap did have a nice ratio of chicken to lettuce and tomato. Also, the tortilla wasn’t a plain white tortilla; I believe it was some sort of sun-dried tomato tortilla, if I’m not mistaken, which provided an unexpected, but appreciated, element.

While my wrap was frustrating, it was still a decent value at $5.99, which is a dollar or two cheaper than comparable wraps I’ve had. I also ordered a side of onion rings, which were pretty standard (read: generic), but dipping them in the Tony’s sweet & sour sauce made them more enjoyable.

Kameron ordered the Jamaican Beef Patties, which were unique, to say the least. They were beef patties inside of a flaky pastry shell, with Jamaican seasoning on them. They were certainly not what I expected, and to be honest, tasted like something one might find on a cafeteria menu somewhere.

We agreed that they tasted alright, but their flavor was rather one-dimensional, the beef had a weird mushy texture and the pastry was pretty dry. They did, however, liven up when dipped in sweet & sour sauce (noticing a theme here?).

Kameron also ordered a Tony Plate, with cheeseburgers, baked beans, home fries, meat hot sauce, ketchup, mustard and onions, with a side of sweet and sour. He also recognized the trend.

“The beans were bland and the burgers weren’t anything extravagant,” he said. “But once I put their sauce on the plate, it kicked the flavor up a lot.” Go figure.

We weren’t disappointed by Tony’s. The service was friendly and somewhat quick, and the food is an above-average value. But most of the food was something that you could find anywhere else (save for the pizza and sweet-and-sour sauce).

You probably noted by now that nearly all of our food items were better when dipped or slathered in their sweet-and-sour sauce. It is my personal opinion that food should be pleasing and attractive without the addition of non-included sauces and condiments. Condiments should be the cherry on the cake, and used at each individual diners discretion, not the flour in the cake batter (or a necessity, if you will).

Anyway, Tony’s menu is rather extensive. The chicken dinners seem to be popular, as does the pizza, obviously. Salads, wraps, appetizers, calzones, wings, subs and grilled items are available, and all at relatively low prices.

It’s probably in our best interest to sample the fried chicken next time, as that is part of Tony’s namesake. Overall it was a good value, and we’d probably go back if we’re in Greece and don’t feel like tapping into the plethora of national chains lining Ridge Road.

Ratings

Service/Atmosphere: Exactly what you would expect from a typical pizza shop.

Food: Pizza and (presumably) the fried chicken stand out, but everything else seems to be pretty standard. Homemade sweet-and-sour sauce helps anything, though.

Value: Some of the best prices around. A lot of bang for the buck here.

Overall: A great value, and a lot to choose from. It’s nothing that will wow you, but it’s a safe pick.

Grade: B-

Note: Tony's has a second location, at Northgate Plaza on Dewey Avenue in Greece