San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Beefy bliss comes in a burrito at Bussin’ Q
A gray drizzle hung over San Antonio on a recent Saturday, but the atmosphere was anything but gloomy at the El Camino food truck park on Avenue B.
A rowdy throng of customers huddled around pink picnic tables under an awning as they enjoyed cheap drink specials and, of course, a meal from the halfdozen or so food trucks parked on site. More than a few of those patrons — myself included — braved the weather to sample San Antonio’s latest social media darling: the hulking Dinoritto from the Bussin’ Q food truck.
This beast of a meal is the kind of extreme-eating experience designed to make competitive gorgers like Joey Chestnut blush. The “dino” part of the equation is a whole, bone-in smoked beef rib, often referred to as a “dino rib” in barbecue circles. We’re talking a good 2 pounds of meat, at least. That behemoth gets tucked inside a jumbo flour tortilla along with a few scoops of mac and cheese, pico de gallo and a splash of barbecue sauce. The whole assembly goes onto a hot griddle where the tortilla gets crispy.
The Dinoritto has been around for several months but is currently riding a wave of attention triggered in large part by a late October post from TikTok user @lifeofcian, who featured the dish in a video that’s garnered nearly a million views. These days, Bussin’ Q will typically sell about 50 of these monsters in a
normal shift.
When you thunk this ballistic burrito down on your table, the first order of operation is to extract the bone. With a little wiggle and a twist, the rib slides right out of the tortilla wrapper, leaving nearly all the meat behind. The few ragged shreds of beef left on the bone make a quick appetizer before the main event.
Make no mistake about it: The
Dinoritto is an unwieldy (and possibly unholy) mess of a meal that will leave you covered in grease and sauce with black pepper bark stuck in between every tooth. And my condolences to any poor soul who tries to tackle the whole thing in one go. There are at least three solid meals here. But each bite is a well-balanced taste of a classic Texas barbecue plate, with tender smoky beef cooked to perfection,
silky mac and just enough tang from the sauce to remind you this is a party, not a Sisyphean struggle.
Caveat emptor: This is probably San Antonio’s only $42 burrito. But it’s a fair price. If you’ve ever ordered a dino rib at a barbecue joint, you know that’s in line with what you’d pay for that much protein coming off any pit around the city.
El Camino food truck park, 562269-6522, Facebook: Bussin’Q
Speaking of other pits, if your belly is craving low-and-slow smoked beef ribs, here are three other spots where you can find them on the menu:
2M Smokehouse: San Antonio’s best barbecue spot only serves beef ribs on Saturdays, but those definitely-not-babies are worth the wait. 2M co-founders Esaul Ramos Jr. and Joe Melig have earned praise from across the state for their beef ribs, and you’ll be singing along with the choir after a few bites.
2M Smokehouse, 2731 S. W.W. White Road, 210-885-9352, 2msmokehouse.com
The Barbecue Station: This timeless smokehouse has served San Antonio for more than 30 years, and the beef ribs are a big part of that success. The Barbecue Station sells beef short ribs, which don’t have the same comedic impact of a massive dino rib but deliver all the flavor at a more accessible price point.
The Barbecue Station, 1610 NE Loop 410, 210-824-9191, barbecue station.com
Pinkerton's Barbecue: This downtown restaurant has come a long way in a few years, from a lackluster opening in 2021 to earning a spot on Express-News dining critic Mike Sutter’s list of Top 10 barbecue joints in the city in August. Beef ribs are the priciest thing on the menu at $31 per pound, but it’ll be a meal you remember.