A full service bar and restaurant, the Dinosaur is open for lunch and dinner. Live blues music is performed 3 nights a week.

The menu has a full line-up of southern/BBQ favorites. For Palate Igniters (appetizers) start with fried green tomatoes, catfish strips or AK (ass-kickin) chili. Entrees from the pit feature ribs, steak, beef, and chicken with 2 homemade sides dishes. My personal favorite is the pulled pork sandwich platter w/ macaroni salad and tomato cucumber salad for sides. BBQ beef and chicken breast sandwiches are also availiable. For those with a hearty appetite, order one of the samplers from The Big Eaters Club.

Eating at the Dinosaur is an experience rubbing elbows w/ bikers, tatooed waitresses and downtown business people out for lunch.

The BBQ has become quite successful, now sells its sauces in supermarkets and online, has a cookbook for purchase, does local catering and opened a restaurant in downtown Rochester. The latest expansion is to NYC - scheduled opening is October 2004 on the Hudson River.

Most diners, leave with a container to finish at home, especially if they save room for dessert. Homemade pies include lemon meringue, coconut cream, and chocolate peanut butter. Carrot cake is a favorite, along with cannolis, almond honrs, and sfogliatelle.

Dominick's is worth the wait and definitely a great value. Good place to take the family or out-of-town guests.

On our recent visit to the Brick Alley, a special menu was featured for Syracuse University graduation weekend. Tables were decorated with dark blue and white cloths and bright orange napkins, the school colors.

Appetizers included fried calamari, pizza with BBQ chicken, coconut popcorn shrimp, and crabcakes. Their chowder won first place in the annual Winterfest chowder cook-off. Seafood, pasta, and grilled entrees are priced in the $15 - $25 range and include a salad. Surf and turf, prime rib, pork chops, and various chicken dishes come from the grill. Pasta entrees included chicken gorgonzola, shrimp/mushroom/broccoli alfredo, and the favorite, lobster ravioli. From the sea, they offer haddock, salmon, and several other seafoods. All are prepared with unique sauces and seasonings.

If you have room for dessert, the Fruits of the Forest pie is a good choice, or fudge cake for the chocolate lover, cheesecake, and tiramisu.

Brick Alley is open six days a week for breakfast, lunch, and dinner; on Sundays, they have brunch.

During winter, there are fewer merchants but the market remains open. Food vendors offer donuts, pies, pizza fritte, Laotian cuisine, hot dogs, bagels, honey, jams and jellies, and Ma & Pa' s Kettle Corn (my personal favorite). Local crafters sell unique gift items ranging from wooden decors to furniture, and jewelry to quilts.

Adjacent to the Market is a building of shops - a Mediterranean deli market, an exclusively New York State wine store, and several gift shops.

Rain or shine, the Regional Market is the place to be on Saturday mornings.

After you have picked enough apples, head into the farm store where the aroma of freshly baked bread and pies awaits. Donuts and cookies are also baked on premises and, recently, BBQ chickens were added on weekends. There's a large selection of jams, preserves, dipping oils, flavored vinegars, salsas, honey, pickles, baking mixes, and popcorn. Most are locally produced, but some products are shipped from Texas and Arkansas. Fresh cider is made in fall and there's aged cheddar to go with your apples. Bags of apples and other seasonal produce are for sale as well.

It's worth the drive to the country on a crisp fall day.