Jurassic Pork

Syracuse, New York.

The home of Carmelo Anthony.

Donovan McNabb.

And really really fat people.

Nothing against fat people.

Or Syracuse, New York.

But my son and I have spent the last 12 hours in this town.

And I feel like Calista Flockhart.

I haven’t seen this many fat people since Roseanne’s sitcom went off the air.

Now before the mayor of Syracuse shuts down my blog.

Let me say that there were plenty of fat people in Buffalo too.

It is certainly possible that the fat factor is a little off kilter because of where we’ve been hanging out.

Last night it was Buffalo Wings.

In Buffalo.

Tonight it was BBQ in Syracuse.

Courtesy of Adam Richman.

As I built our itinerary for this trip, I noticed we had a hole on Thursday night.

Nothing to do.

I searched for a game.

Or a concert.

Or a play.

And it was strike 1, 2 and 3.

So I had to go to my ace in the hole.

Food.

Specifically, Man vs Food.

Fortunately for me, the Travel Channel show made a stop in Syracuse last June.

At the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que.

Problem solved.

I called the restaurant to see if they take reservations.

Which they don’t.

And to see if they take 12-year olds.

Which they do.

We headed over there at around 5p.

And barely beat the dinner rush.

By the time we left two hours later, there were at least two dozen people waiting for a table.

But that was their problem.

Not mine.

My problem was how I was going to fit all this food into my belly.

We started off with the wings.

Syracuse Wings.

Smoked, not fried.

Six of them.

In something they call “Wango Tango” sauce.

It was supposed to be hot.

But it really wasn’t.

Tasty, yes.

Hot, no.

But on the table there were open bottles of all four of their sauces.

Add as you wish.

From the “mild” Sensuous Slathering Sauce.

To the hottest of the hot.

Devil’s Duel Pepper Sauce.

Which wasn’t really that hot either.

But they were all good.

Enough with the undercard.

The reason we were there was simple...

THE PORK-SKET SANDWICH.

It is defined as “Brisket layered with cheese & jalapenos.  Topped with pulled pork and coleslaw.”

They could’ve just called it Heaven.

That’s the sandwich Adam Richman inhaled when he shot the show there.

I can understand how a Jew could be attracted to the brisket.

But pork Adam?

Tssk, tssk.

Of course that didn’t stop me either.

I think I took my first bite before the waitress even lowered the plate to the table.

At one point the manager came over to see how everything was going.

She seemed genuinely impressed (or shocked) that I was eating the sandwich with two hands.

“Most people eat it with a knife and fork.”

She learned quickly that I’m not like most people.

I loved the combination of meat and slaw.

I didn’t taste the pulled pork.

But I sure did enjoy it.

I’m not sure what kind of cheese that was.

But it was perfect.

And the jalapenos.

Loved them.

I know I was hungry.

But I wiped that thing out faster than you can say triple bypass.

In between bites I asked questions about the Man vs. Food shoot at the restaurant.

I had to gather some facts for the blog.

I was told that Richman was 6-foot-2 in person.

“And very good looking.”

I was also told that before the show they used to sell about 10 Pork-Sket Sandwiches per week.

Now they sell 100 a day.

At $15 a piece.

That’s an increase of $10,350 per week.

Now you’re speaking the Jewish language.

While I was wiping out the Pork-Sket -- dumb name by the way --- my son was enjoying the ribs.

The pork ribs, of course.

The picture on their website might be the greatest ever picture of ribs.

But up close and in person, they are even better.

Fall off the bone.

Smoked like a fine pack of Marlboro.

Fantastic.

At the end of the meal, the waitress asked if I was interested in dessert.

I tried prying my mouth open to say no.

But I just shook my head instead.

I came.

I saw.

I got conquered.