Taking a day off for hitting a Roadfood place worked out so well that we did it again the next Friday. Having never been to Dinosaur Barbeque in Rochester, and knowing that the official RF trip is coming up in a matter of months, we decided to head to Rochester. We really should go more often because Rochester is only an hour or so away from our home in the eastern Buffalo suburbs.
Here is the restaurant in all its glory. It is a bit of challenge to reach because of the road construction (always a sign of summer in Western New York), but a good GPS will always lead you there:
We had differing meals. One was the Carolina BBQ sandwich platter with mashed potatoes and gravy, along with red beans with rice and sausage:
The sandwich was good but messy to eat. They call it "Carolina style" because it has the cole slaw on the pulled pork. The pulled pork is not the eastern NC style with vinegar but is the normal pulled pork. It was still good, of course, but a challenge to eat - give thanks for the napkin dispenser on the table. The rice, beans, and sausage combination was outstanding: the sausage was not too hot but added flavor to the dish with its spiciness. The mashed potatoes and gravy were very flavorful without being overly salty, which some places add to give flavor. All together it was very filling.
The next dish was the pulled pork sandwich platter with mashed potatoes and gravy, along with macaroni and cheese:
Same comments as above, adding the note that the macaroni and cheese had some spiciness to it.
The last platter was the combination chicken and ribs with cole slaw and macaroni and cheese:
Of the two meats, the chicken was the better one in terms of tenderness. The ribs were good but were a bit tough to get off the bone; i.e., not falling off the bone. They were certainly edible and worth getting, just taking a bit work to eat.
Overall, the meals were very good, and I look forward to returning during the September RF trip (if not sooner). It will be a great place to start that weekend if the schedule stays as listed (and still a great place to go if the schedule changes).
Outside the restaurant, you can take a look at the "mighty" Genessee River next to the restaurant. Not quite Niagara Falls, but still interesting:
We took this parting shot of the windmill outside Dinosaur with the Rochester skyline in the background:
We had planned to visit the Five Guys in Rochester later that day (still none in Buffalo) but ended up west of town at Hamlin Beach State Park, which is a great place to sit by the water, read, and relax. Instead of going back to Rochester, we drove home along the lake and stopped at Bye's Popcorn in Olcott for a couple of bags of popcorn. We finished the day at Reid's with hamburgers and fries. They were good, but the ice cream was a bit uneven: one good cone and another one with ice crystals. We'd have been better stopping at Anderson's for ice cream, considering we passed it on the way home.
All and all, a good day which made me realize what a great time is ahead during the September Roadfood bus tour. Hope to see a lot of you all there.
