Dinosaur BBQ – Troy, NY (2017)

Hello.

Your eyes do not deceive you.

I am back.

Sort of.

I was approached with a sponsorship opportunity. A podcast was willing to sponsor me writing one derryX Dines post with the terms that they would give me a sum of money (sorry, you can’t know everything) in exchange for services. I had to meet someone at an undisclosed location, and they drove me to the dining destination which was a secret to me until we arrived.

So, first, let’s thank our sponsor, The Keith and Will Podcast. Click the banner below to find their podcast on iTunes. Subscribe. Enjoy. Maybe leave them a review. I wouldn’t have agreed to do this if they weren’t good.

So you’ve probably gathered by the title that I had to eat at Dinosaur BBQ…again…

Once I was there, I knew I had to forget about the first time. It was 6 years ago and the most commented post on this site. It even led to a man puking in the corner when he spotted me at a social function.

I wrote about it a second time.

Those posts are neither here nor there. Read them, of course, but the past is the past for a reason.

It’s 2017, and Dinosaur BBQ is just another place that’s around, and people don’t seem to be talking about enough. It’s worth exploring to see whether there is any reason for anyone to be talking about it.

We arrived sharply at 5pm on a Saturday, and found a parking space in the lot.

They tried to seat us in one of those high tables where my feet can’t touch the ground, but we opted for the more-painful-for-two-decently-large-men booth. Our waitress quickly greeted us and wanted to put appetizers in for us right away.

I needed a little time to look over the menu. Keith and I debated the merits of having access to deviled eggs on a menu. Keith intended to order three halves for $3.99. No offense, but $4 is a little steep for me for an egg and a half with some mayonnaise and paprika. (And what do they do with the other half?) Interestingly, in involving our server in the discussion about this, we learned she loved deviled eggs and was confident she could get 27 (halves) down. My hat is off to this young lady.

I ordered 3 of their smoked “Devil’s Duel” wings. On my handful of visits, these wings have been the evergreen: the one thing I know I can order and enjoy to a certain degree. This visit was no different. They did seem particularly a little more spicy than usual, but I like spicy stuff.

What to get for dinner was a little more complicated. Keith ordered the Jerk & Pulled Churrasco Chicken sandwich (smoked chicken, sauteed peppers, caramelized onions, coleslaw, and jerk glaze) with sides of mac and cheese and Cajun corn, the latter of which is a special, infrequent side dish Keith described as “Dino’s best side.” I basically had them double the order. Keith had his with no slaw; I just asked for the slaw. I was compelled to ask whose order was the more difficult, and it was Keith’s. We didn’t really broach the subject of who was actually indecisive up until that exact moment. I figured this was a facet of the menu I haven’t explored, so it seemed like it would be interesting.

The jerk sauce on the chicken tasted familiar. When our server came to check on us, I asked if it was something developed by Dinosaur BBQ, and she wasn’t able to answer that. I don’t expect or think they’re making their BBQ sauces in house, but I imagine they have someone somewhere working on proprietary formulations for those. I am speculating, but I don’t think this is the case with the jerk sauce. It wasn’t bad, just not at all unique or interesting.

The structure of the sandwich was very good. It was nice to have everything pressed and crisped within a Cuban roll. Between the sauteed peppers, caramelized onions, and coleslaw and pulled chicken, it got a little sloppy after a while, but it tasted really good together.

The mac and cheese was nothing special at all. And (sorry, Keith) the corn was a big disappointment. My expectations were above canned corn dolled up with some spices, but that’s exactly what this was. Again, not bad, just nothing special.

For the price (I think I was in the mid $20s after tip), I can’t complain. It was a completely average experience. Sometimes, that’s ok, too.

I would, again, like to thank the sponsor for this post, The Keith and Will Podcast, for making this installment of derryX Dines a possibility!