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-

Danny's Buffalo Cuisine- South

4300 Abbott Road, Orchard Park
Visited Dec. 22, 2010
Written by Greg



Editor's note: During a recent foray in to the Buffalo area, we grabbed a bite at Danny's right down the road from Ralph Wilson Stadium. It's outside our boundaries, but I'm sure some of our readers will be out that way sometime in the near future for a game or what not. Anwyay, Greg had a strong opinion about Danny's and wanted to write a review, so we let him. You will probably enjoy his colorful, blantantly honest style. Enjoy.

Over our winter recess from our respective institutions of higher learning, Tyler, Joe and I took a day trip to Buffalo so Tyler could spend a few hours at the Ralph for his internship. Joe and I, in the meantime, walked a few hundred yards down the street to Danny’s South, a restaurant known to many a Bills fan for its Chicken Wing Soup.

We first sampled this delicious concoction at Taste of Buffalo the previous summer and fell in love with it; so much so, we drove an hour out of our way (kind of) to try it for real.

As you walk in you’re instantly greeted by walls adorned with sports memorabilia, including a section of metal bleachers from the Bills’ old stadium to sit on while you wait for a table. However, not being a game day (it was a Wednesday actually), we were immediately seated in the large and spacious dining room (we had the option of sitting in the bar), right next to the large exterior wall full of windows.

Overhead were a half dozen or so scale-model airplanes made of wood or metal, presumably. The walls were still full of sports memorabilia, though on a far wall there was a glass cabinet full of ceramic dolls and stuff. Creepy.

Anyway, it didn’t take long for us to be waited on. Our waitress kind of bothered me a little bit; she interrupted me twice while I tried to ask questions about their lunch special, and just in general seemed like she didn’t want to be there or like we were wasting her time, and apparently was allergic to cordiality.

Joe and I both opted for the $10 lunch special, which included an entrée preceded by the soup and salad bar. I ordered the Buffalo Chicken Finger platter, while Joe had 10 Buffalo wings. My platter included four rather large chicken fingers coated with Buffalo sauce, a moderate serving of fries, a few sticks of carrots and celery, and a cup of bleu cheese.

The fingers themselves were soggy, not crispy as they should be, and the Buffalo sauce could have been hotter (I don’t recall having an option of temperature), though it wasn’t overly buttery as some Buffalo sauces often are. Overall the chicken tenders were pretty generic, and the fries were quite disappointing. They had no seasoning whatsoever – a pretty poor effort if you ask me. I mean, throw some salt and pepper on there when they come out of the fryer at least.

The soup (and salad) bar was the reason we came here though, and it certainly did not let us down. The Chicken Wing Soup was just as good as we remember it, maybe even better.

It’s orange in color, and the large chunks of celery, chicken, and potato are clearly visible. It’s just the right hotness to consume quickly and in liquid form, and has very adequate amounts of chicken and its other ingredients. It had a very enjoyably creamy texture, but wasn’t too thick to slurp, or so watery it splattered.

They also had a basket of cheesy breadsticks, which we each got nearly every time we went up to grab more soup (3-4 times each in total). The breadsticks were cooked just right, the cheese wasn’t burnt, and they weren’t overly seasoned with garlic. Some marinara sauce would have been ideal I suppose, but dipping the breadsticks in the habit-formingly delicious Chicken Wing Soup certainly sufficed.

Joe had himself the $10 lunch special comprised of 1 dozen “hot” Buffalo wings. He said they were definitely hot enough, but he was disappointed with their size despite being full from the meal. He also thoroughly enjoyed the Chicken Wing Soup (who couldn’t?), noting that it was a satisfying reprieve from a bitterly cold day. Joe joined me in the practice of dipping the delicious breadsticks in the soup as well.

Joe agrees with me (after I convinced him, of course), that the service we experienced was certainly sub-par. He noted that the waitress seemed completely disinterested in us, as well as the friendliness we regularly experience at our favorites such as Hoock’s and HFR and how it makes our meals at those establishments that much better. Joe really took to the décor at Danny’s, as well as the fact that it’s right down the street from Heaven... I mean Ralph Wilson Stadium.

Ratings

Food: I was pretty disappointed with my entrée. It filled me up, but was boring and I could get much better chicken tenders somewhere else, and probably for a better price (could be said about Joe’s wings as well). However, the Chicken Wing Soup would probably bring me back here, if I were willing to give the menu a second chance.

Atmosphere: It’s a pretty neat place to eat, I suppose, what with all the sports memorabilia. Though, next time I’d opt to sit in the bar area with some TVs broadcasting various sports networks, and drinking some adult beverages.

Service: The service definitely irked us, and might have even been bad enough for me to not return. Our waitress was curt, cold, and – at one point – downright rude. She made us feel like we were wasting her time, and didn’t make our time worth-while.

Overall: Wings somewhat disappointing, unfriendly service (at least from our experience). However, the Chicken Wing Soup is incredible, and Danny’s has a great atmosphere, especially on game day at the Ralph.

Grade: After much deliberation, we give Danny’s South a grade of C+.

Main Street Pizza

82 Main Street, Brockport
First visited Oct. 17, 2010
Written by Drew



On my 18th birthday, this past summer, my parents bought me a gift certificate to Main Street Pizza. My mom ordered it online through the Entercom Marketing Results Group and its half-price hook-up deal. For $25, I was able to treat my friends to a $50 meal, and of course I saved this occasion for a Sunday evening when we could all gather and watch football. That time came in week six of the NFL season.

One of the catches in this discounted deal was that we had to spend all $50 in one single order, so there was a lot of eating ahead of us. I headed over to the restaurant before going to my buddies’ house to put the order in. A sheet cheese and pepperoni pizza, along with four-dozen wings would be more than enough food to keep us college guys full for the night and most of the following day. We also made sure it was delivered, mainly because we didn’t want to carry all that food up three flights of stairs. Going into this night, none of us had ever had pizza from this location, but we all had heard good things about its pizza.


We ordered the pizza for 8 p.m. Right at 8, the pizza came. We quickly laid all the food out to see how it looked. After taking the appropriate pictures, we dove right in.


I went right for the sweet and spicy chicken wings. I loaded my plate up with five or six wings, a few slices of pizza, and a cup of blue cheese and walked over to plop on to the couch. With the first bite of the wings, I exclaimed that these were some of the best wings I’ve had in a long time.

Since going here for my pizza, I have returned numerous times. A few of my neighbors in the dorms and I ordered pizza and wings from Main Street about a week later. We noticed that there was a difference between the sheet pizza, which is Sicilian-style, and the smaller sizes of pizza, which some in New York style. I enjoyed the Sicilian more because the bottom of the crust was crisp, but the rest was still doughy.


The New Yorker was just crisp. And,I liked the wings so much the previous time, we ordered two-dozen wings (one dozen BBQ and the other sweet and spicy). Just like the first time, the wings were very meaty and saucy.


This past weekend, during the Bills’ game, I ordered another wings again, along with a slice of pizza. This was New York-style slice, so I was a little hesitant to get it but I was glad I did. It was very crisp on the bottom, and very easy to fold. As mentioned in several of the past articles, If I can fold my food, I enjoy it that much more.


This cheese slice I got to-go, along with the wings, was the call of the day. The wings the third time was just as good as the wings the first two times, so I can say they are some of the best wings I have had.

Main Street also offers subs, wraps, (garbage) plates, burgers and hots, as well as typical fryer items.

On my last trips to Main Street, I chitchatted with the owner. I commented him on his website, and found out he created it himself.

“I’ve got more to add to it, but I just have to find the time” he said.

I strongly suggest you go check out his menus over on his website www.mspizzany.com.

Ratings:

Service/Atmosphere: We ordered take out, however their store has a large-screen TV visable from any seat in the store, as well as smaller televisions that sit on the ends of the tables for the dining in customer.

Food: Some of the best wings I have ever had.

Value: The prices are a little bit higher then what the typical college kid would want to pay on food, but it is totally worth paying more because you definitely get for what you pay for.

Overall: My new go-to pizza place, when I’m out here in Brockport.

Grade: B+

Rookies Neighborhood Sports Bar

2351 Buffalo Road, Gates
Visited Aug. 21, 2010
Written by Tyler



It hurt to head to Buffalo Road and not stop by General Hoock’s. Alas, it had to be done. There are a ton of good restaurants in Gates and we had to cross another one off our list.

We were heading to a Rhinos game and felt like going to a sports bar on the way from Hilton, so we chose Rookies, which opened in 2007 right near Gates Center.

The lighting was a little darker than other sports bars we've been to, but otherwise it was everything you would expect from a typical sports bar; the walls covered with TVs (with sports on, of course), beer memorabilia everywhere and a lot of barstools.

The menu was pretty standard as well: wings, burgers, the usual fryer items and sides, chicken, sandwiches, a few pizzas, wraps, quesadillas and salads, among others.

Drew ordered a dozen Country Sweet wings ($7.95) and said they were pretty average; not too dry and a decent temperature and size, with a price just about right for a sports bar. They weren’t much different from the same type of wings anywhere else, but Country Sweet is always good.

I ordered a Cajun chicken sandwich (also $7.95), topped with jalapenos and lettuce on French bread (Martusciello’s, if I’m not mistaken). I was actually pleased with the size, and the Martusciello’s bread (best in town) helped make the sandwich. The jalapenos seemed to add more of a Cajun kick than the seasoning did, but all around it was a solid grilled chicken sandwich.

I got macaroni salad as a side but didn’t eat because I’m not a fan of any macaroni salad. Drew was too full to eat it, but said it looked very generic. There weren’t a ton of sides to choose from, which was kind of disappointing, and most of them cost a little extra.

We also enjoyed some complimentary popcorn, which is always a plus. It had a balanced flavor, so it wasn’t overly buttery, which is good. It was kind of salty and made me thirsty, but isn’t that the point?


Overall, this is a pretty typical sports bar with food fitting the same description, for the most part. There’s not a whole lot that stands out, but there’s not much to complain about either. It definitely seems like a nice place to gather to watch some games with friends, which we’re always kind of partial to, but it’s not at the level of Tully’s food or Bathtub Billy’s atmosphere, in my opinion.

Ratings:

Service/Atmosphere: The service wasn’t remarkably fast, but friendly and nothing to complain about, really. Felt just like a typical sports bar, but smaller than others I’ve been to.

Food: Pretty average, but a lot of tasty things to choose from and a lot of local favorites on the menu.

Value: Not bad; the portion sizes are proportional to the price. If you’re not completely satisfied, grab some free popcorn and grab another pop.

Overall: Another decent place to grab some food and watch a game with the guys, but nothing that stands out too much.

Grade: B-

Visit online: www.therookiesbar.com

Hose 22 Firehouse Grill

56 Stutson Street, Charlotte
Visited July 1, 2010
Written by Tyler

Hose 22 is a restaurant straight out of the Rochester history books, set in a former firehouse on the city’s northern tip. The building had been vacant since 1962 until renovations began in late 2007, with the restaurant opening last fall. From what I’ve heard, business has been good and the reviews have been decent as well.

I went with my family a few weeks ago as we celebrated my birthday. My mom had eaten here before and really enjoyed it.

A proud American will enjoy this place, as the cuisine is mostly American and the décor is basically all firefighting equipment. Even the original fire pole remains intact.
(Image courtesy of rochester.metromix.com)

The place was fairly busy, but we had reservations. The service was kind of slow, but we had an appetizer to sustain us for the time being.


Our platter of Firehouse Nachos was pretty good. The freshly made tortilla chips were warm and covered in a “blend of melted cheeses,” topped with lettuce, tomatoes, onions and jalapenos, plus we added pulled pork on top. It was a lot to handle, but we polished it off. You can get such a dish at most similar restaurants, but the tasty blend of cheeses and warm chips really set these apart.

We had a relatively long wait for our food. This was somewhat understandable because it was pretty crowded, but still longer than I would have thought. My mom promised us they would bring us free bread and butter and some point, which we finally asked for and received about a minute before our meal came. This was probably a good thing, because the bread was incredibly dry and boring, even though my mom said she had great bread last time she ate here.

I ordered a bowl of chicken chowder, which was very similar to white chili, one of my favorite dishes. The soup was fairly creamy and had a decent kick to it, but wasn’t nearly as hearty as I’d hoped for, especially lagging in chicken. Other than that it tasted fine, but was too thin and wasn’t as all-around good as other, similar soups I’ve had elsewhere.

My grandma had a five-cheese penne pasta topped with grilled chicken, which she enjoyed for the most part. I sampled it myself and it was indeed very cheesy, but I enjoyed the chicken in it.

Jake ordered Cajun wings, which ended up being overwhelming for him, not even finishing one before deciding they were too spicy. He returned them and got Buffalo-style wings instead, which he only ate a few of and didn’t care for either. I wish I would have tried one of the Cajun wings before Jake returned them, because the coating and seasoning was different than anything I’d seen before and actually looked quite appetizing. Oh well.

My mom had the Hose 22 Salad, which included roasted tomatoes, red peppers, artichoke hearts, spaetzle noodles and feta cheese with house balsamic dressing. This salad was basically the reason my mom suggested Hose 22 for this occasion, as it is one of her all-time favorites and she enjoyed it yet again.

My dad had the Back Draft Chicken Sandwich, which is blackened grilled chicken with peppers, onions, pepper jack cheese, lettuce and tomato. He said it was “fair,” but not nearly as good as similar chicken sandwiches at places, namely the Dakota Grill in Hilton. He did enjoy his side of French fries more, however, because they were freshly cut.

I sampled a bite of my dad’s sandwich and, being somewhat of a connoisseur of grilled chicken, I thought it was pretty good. I agree with my dad; it isn’t among my top two or three, but it is something I’d eat again.

My sister had macaroni and cheese, which was much fancier - more of an actual pasta - than your basic Kraft dinner. It had penne with a blend of Asiago, cheddar jack and mozzarella cheeses, along with a bread-crumb topping, which she said was good.

Hose 22 is said to have very good pizza. It has five on the menu, and all are what I’d consider ‘specialty’ pizzas; Buffalo Chicken, Barbeque, White Florentine, Margherita and The Downtime Specialty (alfredo-based white pizza with sausage).

I am interested in going back soon to try out a chicken dish of my own – because I saw some promise there – as well as a pizza.

Our reactions to our visit to Hose 22 scaled one extreme to the other in terms of food. We all agreed the service wasn’t terribly fast, but it certainly has a nice atmosphere. There is a lot of potential for this restaurant – which hasn’t even been open a year yet – to be special. Business has been great thus far and the firehouse setting makes it a true novelty.

Ratings:

Service/Atmosphere: The service wasn’t great, but it was fairly crowded, especially for being a Thursday night. The atmosphere is great; a unique slice of history.

Food: A hit for some of us; a complete miss for others (Jake). All around the food is good, and there are several interesting items on the menu I’d love to try, namely the pizza.

Value: The portion sizes are decent, but the prices are expensive relative to the other restaurants we reviewed.

Overall: A unique, historic novelty with potential to be a popular and respected restaurant.

Grade: B-

Visit online: www.hose22.com

Anchor Bar

355 East Ave, Rochester
Written by Drew

Visited Dec. 26, 2009

For this trip, Tyler, the crew and I piled into the car to get two things done: Go to the Anchor Bar and then proceed to an Amerks game.

Going into this road-trip experience, we all were looking forward in trying out the restaurant whose original location, in Buffalo, is the birthplace of the chicken wing. I knew that I would have to get some wings, while the others had their own agendas.

We traveled into the city, part of our ‘Grey Area,’ though we made our visit before conceiving the idea of a blog.

The parking situation is a bit tricky, however we found a free parking spot on a side street that was within walking distance of the restaurant.

Upon arriving to the storefront, we were temporarily confused on how to enter. There were two doors, both unmarked.

The restaurant was located in a very fitting spot, with the façade of the building having an antique look to it. As soon as we entered, our eyes wandered all over as we took in the second edition of the world famous Anchor Bar.

We were seated promptly; upstairs where we were the only ones for about 15 minutes. With a hand full of large-screen televisions and an animated fireplace, it felt like the five of us had our own VIP lounge to eat in, though we were isolated from most of the action downstairs.

With a quick glance at the menu, I was speechless by seeing a few of the prices. I was thinking that the price of a dozen wing would be the typical seven or eight dollars, but for ten medium Anchor Bar wings, I paid $9.49.

One variety of wings that makes the Anchor Bar stand out is its Suicidal Wings. It costs $10.49 to sweat through some of the hottest wings around, which none of us the guts to do on this night.
But even though the 10 wings I had were pricy, the Anchor Bar set the ‘bar’ high when it came to quality. Each wing was meaty and loaded with flavorful sauce. With the price for 10 wings stuck in the back of my head, I ate every piece of the meat off the bone. It was worth the price, for the most part.

Tyler, on the other hand, ordered his typical grilled chicken sandwich, which came marinated and basted in a choice of wing sauces, which he ordered medium, topped with lettuce.
He said he enjoyed the sandwich, with the Anchor Bar’s legendary sauce giving it just the right kick to make this one of the better chicken sandwiches he’s had recently.

Jake opted for the Nacho Platter ($6.99), topped with grilled chicken for $2 extra. Additional topping choices include pulled pork, chili, meat hot sauce and ground beef. The tri-colored chips are homemade and come “smothered” in melted cheddar, diced tomatoes and jalapenos.
The platter looked very appetizing to us, and Jake agreed after downing them, saying, “they were good and cheesy” and “there were a lot of them.”

Overall, the Anchor Bar trip was a success. Its location isn’t too bad, for being in the city. There were some sketchy things apparent on the surrounding streets, but those were well outside the restaurant. It would have been nice to get the full experience down on the main level of the restaurant, but it appeared to have a nice, somewhat fancy sports-bar atmosphere.

Ratings:

Service/Atmosphere- No wait to be seated, quick service for being on the second floor, on a busy Saturday night. Able to see a television or two from any seat in the house. We didn’t get the full experience being isolated from most of the crowd, however.

Food- Excellent, simply great.

Value- Some of the prices are pretty steep, but the quality mostly makes up for it.

Overall- Great food, fitting location, not a bad place to stop on your way to or from a Rochester sporting event. Definitely pricy, but good quality. It would be interesting to see how this compares to the original location in Buffalo.

Grade: B-

Note: Read this additional article from City Newspaper.