Beer Week At Dinosaur Bar-B-Que

On February 25, Dinosaur Bar-B-Que's Brooklyn outpost hosted an epic prix fixe dinner as part of the 6th Annual New York City Beer Week. Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, located in Gowanus right off the R train, specializes in fresh, homemade and high-quality barbecue. Their five-course dinner featured special beer pairings from Brooklyn-based brewing company Other Half.

The meal began with a "welcome beer," Dinosaur's signature Dinosaur Ape Hanger created especially for the restaurant, which has locations in Harlem, Rochester, Syracuse and Stamford. Dinosaur's signature brew is light but flavorful and, most importantly, a pleasant drink for beer-drinking novices.

After the welcome beer, the first course was presented—a crisp tortilla round topped with a barbecue bean puree (Dinosaur BBQ's absolutely genius version of refried beans), smoked pulled chicken and chow chow ranch dressing. It was paired perfectly with Other Half's IPA, which has notes of citrus and mint.

The next course was a crunchy romaine salad with pear and local feta, but, being a barbecue joint, Dinosaur topped the greens with fried bacon lardon (delicious thick, fatty pieces of bacon) and a vinaigrette made with Other Half's aromatic Motueka Pale Ale, which was served with the dish.

Next came a sweet tea brined catfish served atop a bed of creamy green chili grits and topped with a black-eyed pea sweet potato relish. The citrusy Hop Showers, which was served with the catfish, balanced out the spiciness of the chili grits.

At this point, most diners felt too satiated to continue, but the beer kept flowing and the Dinosaur BBQ staff presented the main event: a whole hog, smoked onsite for several hours complete with a sweet red pepper between its teeth. After allowing diners to photograph the hog, the staff returned it to the kitchen, prepared it and returned with spicy Asian glazed ribs, pork in Mississippi sauce between a golden bun. A skewer of chicharrones completed the meal, which was served with an Other Half's incredibly dark Doug Cascadian brew.

Even dessert, a Meyer lemon icebox pie, was served with a beer. If you didn't think beer and dessert were a match made in heaven, Other Half can surely convince you otherwise. Diners were directed to take a sip of the Imperial Stout before tasting the pie, as the sugars from the dessert could have aversely affected the taste of the beer. The stout paired surprisingly well with the creamy, citrusy pie.

For beer and barbecue aficionados, Dinosaur Bar-B-Que's Beer Week event was a delicious success. Thankfully, Dinosaur serves up incredible food seven days a week, offering chicken wings, smoked pork, brisket, burgers and other barbecue favorites. Although Other Half is not regularly served at the restaurant, Dinosaur does boast an extensive beer menu as well as specialty cocktails.

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