The recent post from Ghawtho and his experience eating at a Dickey’s Barbecue Pit [as they’re named] got me to thinking. Could it really be that bad? It’s been decades since I’d eaten at one and I honestly don’t remember how it was, good or bad. If you’re not familiar with Dickey’s, they’re a chain of BBQ restaurants across the United States. It was founded in 1941 by Travis Dickey in Dallas, Tx. According to Wikipedia, they have 457 locations, with the vast majority being in the U.S. They apparently have a few locations in the United Arab Emirates, Japan and Egypt. It is the largest BBQ franchise in the United States.
Ok, enough with the history lesson. Since I was close to a Dickey’s while here visiting Mom, I thought I’d give em a try. I went in right at opening time of 11 am, I figured the food would be as close to fresh as you can get at that time. There were 3 guys behind the counter and they were as nice and friendly as can be. I started to feel bad, knowing deep inside, that I was probably gonna rip em pretty bad here on AR…..I ordered a 3 meat plate, which comes with 2 sides. I ordered the Big 3…brisket, ribs and sausage. I was tempted to order the burnt ends, but decided against it. The brisket I was served was from the flat, 5 small slices. I was given 3 smallish pork ribs with my order. I had jalapeño cheddar sausage as my 3rd meat. My sides were BBQ beans and fried okra. Total cost with a small tip and small Dr. Pepper was $20.63
When I first walked in, I could barely tell I was in a BBQ joint by the smells. It was there, but very faint. Here’s what I found out from asking a few questions of the guy who seemed to be in charge. They use an Old Hickory gas fired smoker for all their smoking. I asked if they used any wood to assist with smoke flavor. He said yes and pointed to a pile of wood splits stacked near the front door. Ok, I thought, at least there should be some smoke flavor going on here! I asked how long they smoke their briskets…he told me 14 hours.
While waiting for my meats to be cut, I asked the meat slicer dude if I could try a sample of their brisket burnt ends. He happily said…sure thing! and cut me off a few chunks from the outside of the point. Not too bad I thought! Not the best I’ve had, but better than what I was expecting. After paying at the register I was given my order on a paper lined plastic tray. I couldn’t wait to sit down and start ridiculing the food to myself….but, I just couldn’t do it though.
The brisket was tender but a little dry, but again, I was served from the flat. The pork ribs were also tender with a small amount of flavor to them. They were almost fall off the bone tender. The jalapeño and cheddar sausage I had was….ok, nothing special at all. It tasted like an Ekrich brand or something you’d get at the grocery store. The common denominator among all the meats was…No smoke flavor at all, that I could detect anyway. Maybe those wood splits I saw at the door were just for show. There was barely enough seasoning on the brisket and ribs as not to offend anyone.
My fried okra was served fresh and hot, but nothing special there either. The BBQ beans I had was obviously from a can, not terrible but very bland. The dinner roll/biscuit? was served with some kind of yellow stuff melted on top, cheese or butter, couldn’t tell. It was room temperature and bland as hell…one bite was enough for me.
My bottom line impressions of "this location" was.…definitely don’t go in with any expectations and you might be fairly happy. While not too bad, their BBQ could definitely stand a little more work. If there was nothing else available to me and I was Jonesing for some BBQ, I’d probably go back….I give their meats a solid C and the sides a D. Did I mention they were very friendly?
THE BACK SIDE OF THE RESTAURANT…NO SMOKERS HERE.
OLD HICKORY GAS SMOKER
Ok, enough with the history lesson. Since I was close to a Dickey’s while here visiting Mom, I thought I’d give em a try. I went in right at opening time of 11 am, I figured the food would be as close to fresh as you can get at that time. There were 3 guys behind the counter and they were as nice and friendly as can be. I started to feel bad, knowing deep inside, that I was probably gonna rip em pretty bad here on AR…..I ordered a 3 meat plate, which comes with 2 sides. I ordered the Big 3…brisket, ribs and sausage. I was tempted to order the burnt ends, but decided against it. The brisket I was served was from the flat, 5 small slices. I was given 3 smallish pork ribs with my order. I had jalapeño cheddar sausage as my 3rd meat. My sides were BBQ beans and fried okra. Total cost with a small tip and small Dr. Pepper was $20.63
When I first walked in, I could barely tell I was in a BBQ joint by the smells. It was there, but very faint. Here’s what I found out from asking a few questions of the guy who seemed to be in charge. They use an Old Hickory gas fired smoker for all their smoking. I asked if they used any wood to assist with smoke flavor. He said yes and pointed to a pile of wood splits stacked near the front door. Ok, I thought, at least there should be some smoke flavor going on here! I asked how long they smoke their briskets…he told me 14 hours.
While waiting for my meats to be cut, I asked the meat slicer dude if I could try a sample of their brisket burnt ends. He happily said…sure thing! and cut me off a few chunks from the outside of the point. Not too bad I thought! Not the best I’ve had, but better than what I was expecting. After paying at the register I was given my order on a paper lined plastic tray. I couldn’t wait to sit down and start ridiculing the food to myself….but, I just couldn’t do it though.
The brisket was tender but a little dry, but again, I was served from the flat. The pork ribs were also tender with a small amount of flavor to them. They were almost fall off the bone tender. The jalapeño and cheddar sausage I had was….ok, nothing special at all. It tasted like an Ekrich brand or something you’d get at the grocery store. The common denominator among all the meats was…No smoke flavor at all, that I could detect anyway. Maybe those wood splits I saw at the door were just for show. There was barely enough seasoning on the brisket and ribs as not to offend anyone.
My fried okra was served fresh and hot, but nothing special there either. The BBQ beans I had was obviously from a can, not terrible but very bland. The dinner roll/biscuit? was served with some kind of yellow stuff melted on top, cheese or butter, couldn’t tell. It was room temperature and bland as hell…one bite was enough for me.My bottom line impressions of "this location" was.…definitely don’t go in with any expectations and you might be fairly happy. While not too bad, their BBQ could definitely stand a little more work. If there was nothing else available to me and I was Jonesing for some BBQ, I’d probably go back….I give their meats a solid C and the sides a D. Did I mention they were very friendly?
THE BACK SIDE OF THE RESTAURANT…NO SMOKERS HERE.
OLD HICKORY GAS SMOKER
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