dinosaur bbq

dinosaur bbq (646 w. 131st st, btw broadway and 12th ave, in manhattan) tonight... mmm... but my belly still hurts. k has been hunting for good bbq for her bday and dinosaur came recommended by alex and by citysearch geeks. we finally made it there after pulling our heads out of our asses after realizing that the 1 and the 2/3 do, in fact, split off, and hiking for a half hour through the rain from the 2/3 stop at 125th.

anyway, we got there finally and were happy:


although we had to wait a bit for our reservation, we didn't mind b/c the beer selection was excellent (we recommend the sweet action ale). the atmosphere of the restaurant was big (for manhattan), crowded, and very log-cabinish.

the appetizer came like 5 minutes after we ordered it, yummy fried green tomatoes. they were very crispy and delicious, not soggy or greasy at all, and came w/ a yummy spicy ranch dipping sauce. but honestly who can argue w/ anything that is fried and comes w/ ranch dipping sauce? these could have been fried green cow patties for all we cared:


the food also came very quickly after we ordered it, which was after our appetizer arrived. everything was hot but they must just have it all ready to go. unfortunately they were out of pulled pork... boo. next time bring your own pig for the slaughter i guess. k and i got ribs with baked beans and collard greens:


denise and becca got the rib and chicken combo. they had good things to say about the chicken. pictured here is denise's meal w/ macaroni and cheese and cole slaw:


the food was good but not amazing. but it was the best bbq i've had in NY. the beans were pretty good but for some reason i actually like busch's beans from a can better, i wasn't crazy about the fennel taste that they had to them at dinosaur. the collard greens were disappointing b/c they were vegetarian (note to self: read menu) so no bacony deliciousness. the ribs were meaty and delicious, but could have been juicier and more tender. that's a personal preference thing though, a lot of people like chewier ribs i think than i do (i like them falling off the bone).

bbq sauce was excellent, a good balance of tangy and salty and sweet, but wouldn't be a favorite of the vinegar-based fan club.

i made it this far until my stomach was about to explode:


at that point it was time for me to reflect on the life and times of the dinosaur by embodying that most dinosaurish of mammals (?), the wooly mammoth:


was i alone as a child in getting hungry every time the flintstones came on and fred got that huge rack of dinosaur ribs at the drive-in? if not, fear not intrepid NYer, dinosaur bbq is here to feed your craving.