's Best of 2001
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


Book Description
Where can you show up for world-class barbecue, stick around for the blues, and shut the place down philosophizing with some colorful characters? At Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, of course-the renowned Syracuse-based honky-tonk rib joint just hankering to share its BBQ excellence with folks outside the state. In DINOSAUR BAR-B-QUE: AN AMERICAN ROADHOUSE you'll find the secrets to their succulent pit-smoked specialties in recipes you can fire up in your own backyard. Join Spiceman John Stage on a journey into the world of low and slow barbecue and fast and furious grillin'. Along the way , you'll soak up the Dino vibe as John shows you how to rev-up traditional barbecue sauce to create such dishes as World Famous Dinosaur Ribs; Black & Blue Pan-Seared Beef Tenderloins; Drunken Spicy Shameless Shrimp with Brazen Cocktail Sauce; and Grill-Smoked Salmon with Chile-Lime Booster Sauce. So grab that way-too-clean apron off its hook and get ready to flip, slop, slather and slide your way to BBQ heaven. After all, it ain't barbecue 'til you get some on you!


About the Author
In 1983, JOHN STAGE and his partner sawed a 55-gallon drum in half and hit the road, slinging BBQ at biker swap meets, fairs, and festivals. He opened the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in 1988, and through the years the restaurant has earned acclaim as a world-class barbecue blues joint, known far and wide by bikers, musicians, and even President Clinton. John lives in Liverpool, New York. NANCY RADKE learned how to cook under the watchful eyes of several "grandmothers" in the apartment building where she lived in Rome, Italy. She now lives, writes and-thanks to John-smokes a mean pork butt in Syracuse, New York.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Where can you show up for world-class barbecue, stick around for the blues, and shut the place down philosophizing with some truly gritty characters? At Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, of course -- the renowned Syracuse-based honky-tonk rib joint just hankering to share its BBQ excellence with folks outside the state. In this book you'll find secrets to their succulent pit-smoked specialties in recipes you can fire up in your backyard. Join Spiceman John Stage on a journey into the world of low and slow barbecue and fast and furious grillin'. Along the way, you'll soak up the Dino vibe as John shows you how to rev up traditional barbecue sauce to create such dishes as World Famous Dinosaur Ribs, Black & Blue Pan-Seared Beef Tenderloins, or Drunken Spicy Shameless Shrimp with Brazen Cocktail Sauce.

Full-color photography struts the eclectic decor of this honky-tonk rib joint (world's best bathroom graffiti and tattoo art included), and brings you up close and personal with some of its most colorful denizens.

"I come from a place where barbecue is not food; it is a way of life. It is a philosophy of human nature. I have rarely had any as good as this." -Former President Clinton on Dinosaur Bar-B-Que (Sept. 1, 2000)