Hi, I'm Bri and two known facts about me is that I LOVE dinosaurs and I LOVE BBQ. So, when Alix brought up there was a place in Buffalo called Dino BBQ, I was sold.
But, my excitement was short-lasting. Don't get me wrong the food was good and our server was personable. But if you are going for atmosphere, specifically Jurassic atmosphere, you are most certainly going to be dissapointed.
The entire place was extinct of dinosaurs! Talk about a missed opportunity. I think I probably saw an entire two dino symbols inside the entire restaurant. The food wasn't even named with the dino theme in mind!
But maybe you don't care that much about theming. Perhaps you weren't expecting this place to be a T-REX cafe only to have your hopes and dreams blasted away like a meteor crashing into the earth. (Okay, maybe I'm being a little dramatic but like a single dino statue or silly named entrees would've been nice. Give me at least something a little gimmicky please)! Anyways, if you're just looking for some good BBQ minus a dino theme then continue on to the review below.
The Venue: 7/10 🌟's
Foregoing the tragedy of lacking a dinosaur theme, Dino BBQ at least had some theme to it. Filled with knick knacks this restaurant felt like a homey BBQ caddy shack. The location itself wasn't optimal. Being so close to Shea's Performing Arts Center affordable parking was difficult to find.
Click through the gallery below for an insiders view of the venue and menu!
The Drink: 8.5/10 🌟's
For my drink I ordered the "Donkey Punch". This drink was sweet and had such a pretty presentation! A classic twist on a pina-colada gone right!
The Eats:
Smokehouse Nachos 7.5/10 🌟's
These nachos were fire! Hard to avoid the tomatoes as a picky eater but all other toppings were a win, especially the crema and jalepeños. Could use more brisket and cheese.
Brisket slider 8.5/10 🌟's
Tender brisket that is slightly spicy. The slider had a very tiny amount of sauce on it. BUT, this was totally okay because the brisket was so good it didn't need sauce!
Big Pork Plate 8.5/10 🌟's
First impression was they LIED about the pile high amount of pickles (there was like 4 grrr lol)! The pork was pretty good not too greasy and good amount of BBQ to start (even though I totally added more). The best part however? The sides! I got the cajun corn which was the perfect amount of sweet and spicey and the BBQ fried rice. I am not the biggest fan of fried rice but the bbq fried rice was the BOMB and definitely the best fried rice I had in a while. The cornbread was dry and unflavorful, I gave mine away to Alix.
The sauce 6/10 🌟's
The sauces scored on the lower end not necessarily because they were bad but because there was only two choices. The boys mentioned the place had like 14 different options in the past, so when there was only a sweet sauce and a spicey sauce, I couldn't help but feel dissapointed. The sauces also didn't blow me away. I thought they tasted best when mixed together.
Bonus Fun from a day out in Buffalo:
Dino BBQ was pretty good despite the meteor missing its mark in theming. And I was reassured the original restaurant out in Rochester, NY lived up to its name regarding the dino theme. I was happy however to have visited the one in Buffalo because we had more fun yet to come. Including a stop to Barnes and Noble! Always gotta take pics of my TBR book wishlists!
The best part of the day however was a complete surprise! We had discovered Zain had 3 extra tickets to the Bandits lacrosse game. This was my first professional lax game and it was a total blast!
