March 23--Good news for Syracuse alums, NYC ex-pats and lovers of fine barbecue in general -- Dinosaur Bar-B-Que is heading to Chicago.
The restaurant and live-music venue, famous for its dry-rub, slow-smoked 'cue, has legions of fans and eight locations in the Northeast (six in New York, including Brooklyn and Harlem, along with satellites in Stamford, Conn., and Newark). Its ninth location, and the first outside the Northeast, will open in late April at 923 W. Weed St.
The restaurant won't be a carbon copy of the original, nor of its sequels: "We retool a bit every time we open another location," says founder/owner/chef John Stage. "Right now we're doing a Korean pulled-lamb shoulder; smoke it for six, seven hours, introduce the fluid back into it, pan-sear it and put it over a bed of fried rice with Korean glaze."
Look also for pulled chicken wraps, jerk ribs and barbecued pork belly. "We're pretty excited about the new stuff," says Stage.
The Chicago location will have about 180 seats, slightly more when the outdoor beer garden opens, but locals will have to wait a little while longer before the upstairs music venue makes its debut.
"We're going to focus on the downstairs first," Stage says. "Once we're feeling good about where we're at, we'll make a move upstairs."
In advance of the opening, Stage says he's been touring some of Chicago's existing barbecue spots. "Smoque and Green Street are the two I've hit the most," he says. "I'm looking forward to joining in that Chicago tradition."
pvettel@tribpub.com
