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I Actually Ate At A Dickey’s BBQ Today…..😱

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    I Actually Ate At A Dickey’s BBQ Today…..😱

    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?

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    THE BACK SIDE OF THE RESTAURANT…NO SMOKERS HERE.
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    OLD HICKORY GAS SMOKER
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    #2
    Way to take one for the team!

    Comment


    • Ghawtho
      Ghawtho commented
      Editing a comment
      @Panhead John
      Their obviously given a choice on their smokers / ovens. I toured our location and he had a pellet smoker which is roof vented, I looked in the pellet smoker and it’s nice and had a VERY GOOD smell from a test smoke he had done before opening the business, a brisket he took home for dinner.
      I feel sorry for those that sink thousands even close to 1 million to start the business only to close it down a few years later.
      They’ll easily sink close to 1 million for a stand alone.

    #3
    As my DW states: keep your expectations low and you won't be disappointed. Thanks for the review Panhead John . That bread is disturbing...

    I don't frequent many BBQ joints, but when I do, they better have smoke coming from somewhere.

    Comment


    • shify
      shify commented
      Editing a comment
      At first glance I couldn't figure out what the hell that weird square thing at the bottom of the tray was. Def. took a few seconds to register "roll." It looks like a dolls bed with a yellow cover or a piece of lemon cake you get from a hotel vending machine....

    • Panhead John
      Panhead John commented
      Editing a comment
      The "roll" or whatever it was, was definitely bad! Worst thing on my plate…the cheese or whatever the hell it was, was just as bland and tasteless as the so called roll.
      Last edited by Panhead John; October 7, 2022, 03:30 PM.

    #4
    Was it something we said that made you want to commit BBQ suicide?

    Comment


    • Panhead John
      Panhead John commented
      Editing a comment
      😂……..Being that this location was in Texas, and we have high BBQ standards here, I thought they might not be too bad. Cause if your BBQ sucks in Texas, you ain’t gonna make it…period. While this was probably the least inspiring BBQ I’ve had in a restaurant, it wasn’t THAT bad really. Tell ya one thing though, there probably ain’t no Dickey’s in Austin..😳
      Last edited by Panhead John; October 7, 2022, 01:17 PM.

    • tstalafuse
      tstalafuse commented
      Editing a comment
      Actually, there are 7 in the Austin area according to their website. I pretty much just don't bother with restaurant BBQ.

    • ofelles
      ofelles commented
      Editing a comment
      The one we had here is Brentwood lasted about a year.

    #5
    Those Old Hickory smokers *can* turn out good BBQ. I've seen them at some places here that had some good smoke flavor on their food. But... it involves feeding logs probably more than one time into a wood tube/chamber in the smoker. If they put any at all, I bet they tossed one token split in at the beginning of the cook.

    Comment


    • Jfrosty27
      Jfrosty27 commented
      Editing a comment
      Malcom Reed has an Old Hickory he uses often in his videos. But I bet he’s right on top of the feeding of wood into it. 😊

    • Panhead John
      Panhead John commented
      Editing a comment
      Jim, you’re probably right…one token log in the beginning.

    #6
    A gas smoker is just an oven unless the ones running it know how to keep the wood in there! I have a feeling they are lax in that dept.

    Comment


      #7
      Hat's off to you PJ, that was an open-minded and fair go at a place you had reason to be biased against. Can't ask for more than that. Thanks for the very readable review!

      Comment


      • Panhead John
        Panhead John commented
        Editing a comment
        Thanks Dave! I was really expecting a lot worse.

      #8
      Now that you have a picture of the splits sitting there on the rack, it could be interesting to return in a couple of days (maybe just for some okra and Dr. Pepper) to see if the number of pieces of wood has changed.

      Comment


      • DaveD
        DaveD commented
        Editing a comment
        PJ, surely you know someone in the area who could stop by on your behalf to snap a photo? With your influence and pull, I reckon people would be clamoring to lend you a hand!

      • Panhead John
        Panhead John commented
        Editing a comment
        I’m here at Mom’s every 2 weeks, usually from Thursday thru Sunday. Next time I come in town, I could stop by there on Thursday and Saturday, to do a comparison on the wood pile. shify I don’t wanna drive over there tonight…..🥃🥃

      • jfmorris
        jfmorris commented
        Editing a comment
        Panhead John you could look at the woodpile without even going in, considering its in the front window.

      #9
      Cool beans (in the chili, I hope) ... Thanks, PJ!
      Last edited by MBMorgan; October 7, 2022, 05:51 PM.

      Comment


        #10
        $20.63 for all that food and a drink is a pretty good deal, even if it was just so-so. That's at least $40 bucks out here in The People's Republic.

        Comment


        • Oak Smoke
          Oak Smoke commented
          Editing a comment
          I sometimes forget how lucky we are out here in the sticks. Good food is cheaper here. My favorite local fish house is out in the middle of no where. You can get all the catfish, french fries, hush puppies, and cold ice tea you can eat and drink for $17.25 a person. If you’re not a fish eater chicken strips or steak fingers are the same deal.

        #11
        ​https://franchise.dickeys.com/smokin.../the-barbecue/

        They seem to imply they use pellets on their franchise page...Click image for larger version

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        Comment


        • jfmorris
          jfmorris commented
          Editing a comment
          The type of smoker and fuel source may have to vary by franchise location. Not everywhere has natural gas available I am sure.

        #12
        So...the gist is Dickie's is to BBQ what Fazoli's is to Italian or Ponderosa is to steaks? Decent, tasty, not bad, but not wowing?

        Comment


        • Panhead John
          Panhead John commented
          Editing a comment
          Pretty close there Huskee ! Dickey’s is the McDonalds of BBQ?

        • Clark
          Clark commented
          Editing a comment
          Huskee Fazoli's has delicious bread sticks!

        • Huskee
          Huskee commented
          Editing a comment
          Clark Yes they do! And Olive Garden I think.

        #13
        Enjoyed the honest review.
        Might be an option to start a sticky for "Honest John's Pit Previews" 😜
        Interested to know if there were any other souls there during your reconnaissance.
        ​​​​​​​

        Comment


        • Panhead John
          Panhead John commented
          Editing a comment
          I was the second customer thru the door at opening time and 2 more came in while I was eating. I saw an additional 2 people come in for take out orders while there.

        #14
        That's probably about right Huskee... I haven't eaten at one in a long time, but I have eaten at several far-flung stores, and they do (or did) achieve pretty good consistency from one place to the next. That's important for any chain of course. And here they are, still with hundreds of stores nationwide, in business since the 1940s. That has to count for something.

        Comment


          #15
          If a BBQ franchisee has numerous locations in an area the cooking is probably in a central location and trucked to the retail stores. So, the absence of an obvious smoker might be due to this. For the owners it is cheaper to pay a few people to watch the pits in one location than to repeat at numerous locations.

          Comment


          • bbqLuv
            bbqLuv commented
            Editing a comment
            I am surprised, or not. I wonder if their target market is people who really don't know real BBQ. Maybe the owners of that location are at fault.
            I saw no beer signs in the pictures you posted. Really BBQ without beer, come on, really?

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