Dinosaur Bar-B-Que

I love this biker bar atmosphere. Their food is wonderful and worth the long wait. People wait up to an hour or more for this savory, lip smacking, tongue pleasing Bar-b-que. You have to try it at least once!!!

I am not too crazy about Dinosaur, it is just too overhyped. Granted, it is one of the only BBQ joints in the Rochester and Syracuse area. Yankees have only been eating the bbq chicken at the Fire Dept. fundraisers. Maybe it is that people around here just dont know what real BBQ is? Par-cooking and then putting the watered down meat on a gas grill is not BBQ. Hours of drinking beer and smoking a pork, beef, or what have you from 6 am on hard wood is what bbq is. I lived in the deep south for several years and stop at road side stands for bbq, that is where it at, not where you have to make a reservation to eat. I am sorry folks. Not for me!

Let me start by telling you that I live in the South...Georgia to be exact. I have exposure to several regional bbqs; both Carolina's, Memphis (TN) and of course, Georgia's. I also head up my Churchs Men's Group cooking team and we do a lot of BBQ. Since doing consulting work for a company here in Rochester I have heard so many good things about the Dino's ribs. I finally gave in and figured I'd give it a shot. Hey, if a guy from Southern Illinois can win the 2007 BBQ championship, maybe Dino can make great ribs.
Dino's has spare ribs, which are not as tender as baby back. But, cook properly, they can be moist and fall off the bone too.
My plate of a full rack arrived and it looked fantastic. Just the right amount of sauce and the color was darn near perfect. I grabbed the 'short end' and attempted to pull off the first rib. Nothing doing. I grabbed my fork and attempted to cut through. Nothing doing. I ended up having to use my knife to separate the ribs from each other.
Upon my first bite I noticed it was a bit chewy. Hmmm...don't think they par-boiled them (not a requirement but does make an easier time for spare ribs...my humble opinion). After several more ribs and still chewy bites I turned the rack over...there is part of the problem. The membrane is still attached. Removing the membrane is CRUCIAL to having tender ribs, spare or baby back but especially spare since the meat is already tougher than the baby back.
So, if you are in the mood for ribs, this may not be the place to satisfy your craving.