Dinosaur Bar-B-Que: An American Roadhouse (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Nancy Radke (Author), James Scherzi (Photographer)
Key Phrases: creole seasoning, perfect rice, cook til, Mutha Sauce, Mojito Marinade, All-Purpose Red Rub (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que kicked into gear in 1983 when John Stage, a Harley-loving biker with a taste for barbecue, took to the road cooking sandwiches on a sawed-in-half 55-gallon drum at "biker gigs" up and down the East Coast. Stage sampled world-class barbecue in Virginia, Texas, North Carolina, and Memphis, soaking up "the Southern barbecue vibe" (and picking up Creole, Asian, and Cuban influences along the way) before setting up shop in Syracuse, New York, in 1988. Dinosaur Bar-B-Que: An American Roadhouse captures the reach-out-and-taste-it smell of slow-cooked barbecue that hits you two blocks away from the "genuine honky-tonk rib joint," where outfront a row of gleaming Harleys stand at attention and inside a sassy, ready-to-bust-your-chops wait staff cuts through the eclectic crowd of bikers, students, suits, and blues lovers (there's live music almost nightly), serving up half-racks of Dinosaur-Style Ribs, Texas Beef Brisket, and Honey Hush Corn Bread.

Between recipes for Drunken Spicy Shameless Shrimp with Brazen Cocktail Sauce and Not Your Mama's Meatloaf are samples of the restaurant's infamous restroom graffiti ("When life gives you lemons... add vodka") and photos of staff tattoos. Stage and coauthor Nancy Radke realize that not all backyard grill masters own smokers, let alone the kind of hickory-log-fueled industrial pits at the Dinosaur (nicknamed "The Coffin" and "The Doghouse"), so they present home cooks with a helpful Techniques of Outdoor Cookin' section that offers advice on how to grill and smoke with wood chips.

And no matter the season, this cookbook will quickly become a dog-eared favorite, as many of the more than 100 recipes are perfect for indoor cooking anytime of the year. Whip up a batch of the all-purpose Mutha Sauce (a versatile starting off point for many of the dishes) and you'll have enough ammunition for a weekend's worth of recipes. If you want to come any closer to living the complete Dinosaur experience at home, you'll need a Harley out front, a cold beer in hand, and Roosevelt Dean and the Spellbinders jammin' in the living room. --Brad Thomas Parsons

Product Description

The renowned Dinosaur Bar-B-Que is beloved by bikers, blues musicians, and barbeque aficionados for its famous barbeque and colorful regulars. Cooks can enjoy the Dino vibe at home with recipes like World Famous Dinosaur Ribs and Drunken Spicy Shameless Shrimp with Brazen Cocktail Sauce. Including everything from starters to desserts, plus house secrets behind the restaurant's famous pit-smoked specialties, this is one distinctively down-home, must-have cookbook.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Ten Speed Press; illustrated edition edition (March 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580082653
• ISBN-13: 978-1580082655
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 8.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #102,059 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #13 in	Books > Cooking, Food & Wine > Regional & International > U.S. Regional > Middle Atlantic
  #83 in	Books > Cooking, Food & Wine > Outdoor Cooking > Barbecuing & Grilling

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a Jurassic Classic! Smoooookkkkinnnnnnn!, May 24, 2001

By	Barney D B Woofer "bayleadog" (Berkeley, CA USA) - See all my reviews

I've got a lot of BBQ books, maybe 40 or 50, and I would have to say this one has moved to the top of my list! Its got it all over the others. This book has "the vibe" its got soul, funk, rock and roll and some of the best damn barbecue recipes you'll ever come across. I'll have to settle for having to recreate the recipes as I am nowhere near this juke joint (but I am putting it on my BBQ Mecca list!)but just flipping thru the pages of this gaw-jus book I get a feeling like I can hear the music, smell the 'que and meet the characters that inhabit this place. Who says Dinosaurs are extinct! Chow time! Get cookin' get smokin! This is one 'Saur that Roars!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If you ever wanted a recipe for Dr. Pepper cake..., August 18, 2001

By	M. J. Walters "dargelos" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This is your book. "Dinosaur Bar-B-Que" is a wild, funny, exciting cookbook filled with a lot of good eating. It's not a cookbook for the serious chef, but rather for those who appreciate high flavor, good times, great music and ambience and a general sense that food is an intrinsic part of a good life.

Many of the recipes are best made on a grill, but you can adapt them. They won't be quite the same, but then flexibility is all. The point is to eat well and have fun. And you can do both with the help of this book.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars American cuisine with a barbeque twist.....YUMMM!, August 2, 2001

By	Daniel F. Moore (Yarmouth, Maine USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I must admit that I avoided purchasing this book as I have been disappointed in the past with cookbooks that are written for a particular restaurant. Too often, the recipes in such books are only close approximations of the real items. Alas, this book forgoes that tendency and gives the actual menu directions. Dinosaur Bar-B-Que cooks traditional 'American cuisine'. The recipes for 'Not Your Mama's Meatloaf' and 'Macaroni and Cheese Shepherd's Pie' were big hits. Each section (Beef, Poultry, Seafood, Pork etc.) contains some suggestions for the barbeque novice. But what separates the 'Dinosaur' from other cookbooks are the recipes for sauces, rubs and marinades. I have grown habanero chiles in my garden this summer and used them to make the hot version of the Mutha Sauce. Problem is, I can't get enough of this stuff. The combination of tastes will just dance on your tongue and you too will use it in more and more recipes. The Creole Rub is also an easy to create but versatile spice combination. On a lighter note, the compilation of the best of Dinosaur graffiti is hilarious. It is obvious that this establishment takes its food seriously without taking itself all that seriously. Buy the book....make the sauces....assemble the rubs and try the recipes. As the authors suggest, this will be only a guidebook for you. Feel free to experiment with your own spices and flavors. If it isn't already, barbeque will become an indispensable part of your culinary experience!