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So you
say that Homo Sapiens was never meant to eat meat? Take a spin through
Syracuse, NY and land a table at Dinosaur Bar-B-Que. You'll abandon
all delusions that our teeth were designed for anything but ripping
into ribs.
Maybe
it's the saucy biker chicks who hang out in the Hostess Hut, delivering
hungry patrons to tables with as much sass as possible (see them smiling
at right).
Maybe
it's the incredible art collection of Stonehenge themes and portraits
of blues musicians, rock and roll and blues blasting over the stereo,
or the bad-ass servers clad in leather and black.
You know
this is not an ordinary barbecue joint.
John
Stage, a road hog and Harley owner, hatched the idea for putting together
a BBQ at a massive motorcycle gathering in Albany, NY. "They
had everything...beer, music, bikes.... except good food," recalls
Stage. "We decided to get into the business of feeding bikers."
So the
restaurant really started as a road show. With his buddies, Dino and
Mike, John began toting around a drum grill to concerts, fairs and
Harley gatherings.
After
Dino retired to Arizona, John and Mike developed a BBQ sauce that
launched a quest for a stable spot, a kitchen to call their own. "Life
on the road had pretty much burned us out by then," says Stage.
And once
the restaurant opened, it took a few slow years  before
the owners realized that beer is as necessary to barbecue as smoke
is to fire.
"Opening
the bar turned us from a grab and go joint into a real restaurant,"
says Stage.
Now,
with a cookbook under his belt, Stage is ready to hit the road again
-- but this time, for book signings.
The Dinosaur
Bar-B-Que: An American Roadhouse was published by Ten Speed Press
in June 2001. It's a must-have for those who love beer and food.
Recipe: Drunken
Spicy Shameless Shrimp
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