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Dinosaur Bar-B-Que scouting Philly?

I hear that the Syracuse-rooted 'cue destination has a Center City spot in mind.

Those out-of-town restaurants just lovelovelove Rittenhouse.

I'm receiving smoke signals that Dinosaur Bar-B-Que - the biker bar/blues joint that's the toast of Upstate New York - is working on a deal to take a building on the 1500 block of Chestnut Street that, when fully developed, will back up to Sansom Street across from Ladder 15.

Dinosaur - now owned mainly by gazillionaire George Soros - was founded in the early 1980s in Syracuse and expanded to Rochester in 1998, to Harlem in 2004, to Troy, N.Y., in 2010; to Newark, N.J., in 2012; and to Stamford, Conn., in 2012. A Brooklyn location is due to open soon, and Buffalo is up for fall.

A company rep said no deal was in place in Philly and said the company was focused on the next projects.

Stay tuned.

If Dinosaur does eventually bite, it will join other recent out-of-towners nearby, including Joe Coffee (1845 Walnut), Crumbs Bake Shop (133 S. 18th), Max Brenner (1500 Walnut), Luke's Lobster (130 S. 17th), Shake Shack (20th and Sansom), and the forthcoming Ocean Prime (15th and Sansom), Good Stuff Eatery (108 S. 18th), Cheesecake Factory (15th and Walnut), Medium Rare (1600 block of Sansom), and Howl at the Moon (258 S. 15th).