The wait staff was very happy to dispatch me to the area of the hostess, who was even happier to take just my first name, promising to track me down when the table was ready. We waded through throngs of people and found a crack leading up to the bar. A young fellow eating dinner was courteous enough to make room to allow us order. By the time I reached the holy grail the barman was waiting for my order. Seeing me straining my eyes to see what they had on tap, he had the beer list ready to hand me and also pointed out the chalkboard hanging from the ceiling. He wandered off and waited on some other folks but was back at the exact moment I had decided on a Middle Ages Apricot Ale. Before I could finish the perfectly poured pint, our table was ready. We lucked out as we were afforded a picnic table for six outside, on what was a perfect summer eve. As I left him a generous tip I counted the taps – it looked like 17 but there may have been one or two more hidden down the other end of the very long bar.

This is a place where the waitress comes and sits at your table, chats, the then takes your order. How they do it when they are that busy is beyond me, but no one was for the want of anything. These people are good! I spotted Rheingold in a bottle (from a list of 30+) and had to try it, as it is a good beer if fresh. No, it’s not Fin du Mond, but it is a good beer (again, if fresh). It was indeed, and so good that a second was in order that went perfectly with the best bar-b-que outside of Redbones. And had I not been to Redbones, I’d say Dinosaur was the best outside of Alabama.

Three beers for moi, two for my other half, two appetizers and one large meal for two, and the bill was $28.00 (!). As I mentioned in another review, Syracuse is cheap! For this service, selection, and quality in Albany, it’s $50+ easy. Except you can’t get any of the above there. And that’s too bad.