Non-Review but Some Discussion of the Food at Dickey’s Barbeque Pit
I’m risking the wrath of the myriad of food obsessed Tweeters, blogger, reviewers etc. but I’m going to share my recent experience at the just opened Dickey’s Barbeque Pit in Statford Hills. Those that aren’t on Twitter missed out on a lively discussion on how soon you can review a restaurant. The overwhelming consensus is that it is professional courtesy to wait at the very least 30 days before doing any kind of review. Dickey’s is a chain so I’m not 100% sure the same criteria applies but if you see a bunch of angry Foodies running towards my house with flaming skewers and boning knives you’ll know why. The other major rules of reviewing I’m breaking is I’ve only been once and I didn’t take notes.
I don’t have the skills or writing ability to be a restaurant reviewer but I like barbeque and thought some folks would like to not wait 30 days before hearing about the latest place to open in our area. So this is strictly one man’s opinion and in no way should be considered a legit or fair review. I would say this is true of any review.
As most of you know Dickey’s took over the spot that was Moe’s. The decor inside has switched to the more appropriate fake local BBQ joint but the counter for ordering and even the process remains the same. Work your way down the line, adding sides then pay.
The menu is online and pretty much exactly what you would expect with a few surprises such as jalapeno beans and fried okra. I didn’t try the jalapeno beans because I didn’t seem that first pass and I didn’t try the fried okra because I’m not a fan of okra.
I went with the two meat plate of brisket, ribs and sides of mac & cheese and baked beans. After getting your food you can grab some BBQ sauce. They have Spicy, Sweet, and Dickey’s Classic all of which are tomato based. I tried both the Spicy and the Classic. The Spicy had a good amount of heat but those with faint hearts shouldn’t be frightened, it’s relatively tame. Classic is fine with a nice balance of sweet and heat.
The brisket which can come either sliced or chopped was the highlight of the meal. It had a nice clearly defined smoke ring and you could taste the smoke. I prefer my brisket to have some sort of rub which I don’t believe Dickey’s does but the meat was moist and tender. The outside of the brisket had a nice little crunch without being too much. The ribs were a bit of let down. I like my ribs to stick to the bone and these fell off easily and were not as meaty as I like. The meat that I did get was good and the sweet BBQ sauce had nice carmelization. The mac and cheese was very cheesy and rich. The beans, while being your average beans from a can had a nice zip to them. The roll was a bit of yeasty kick ass goodness.
Although I will continue to be faithful to my local BBQ joints Dickey’s will be a good place to go when I don’t want to cross the river. Give it a shot and let me know what you think. (In local BBQ news, the new location of Benny’s looks great and I hear the food is spot on Benny’s and the beer is cold.)
Hopefully the foodies won’t come after you! ;-) My husband and I went to Dickey’s last week and I think we’ll give them the 30 days and try them again. They were out of quite a bit of stuff, including the only unfried green on the sides menu. The fried okra was run-of-the-mill which was disappointing. The husbands chopped beef sandwich, according to him, was better than average which is what will bring us back.
The chopped beef bbq was great as was the turkey. Loved the bake potato casserole and green beans. Coleslaw was good and bbq beans were standard. Would have loved to try the okra but the fryer was down.
Sounds good – don’t be worried about such an early “non-review”. Everyone has opinions, and your was kind. I agree that after they get a month or so to shake out the crinkles, they might start getting raves. Or not. However, I do have one comment. You said you were disappointed by the ribs – the meat falling off the bone? Well, I’m not sure what else you could have expected, when right on the menu it says, “Fall Off the Bone Pork Ribs”!! Let’s hear it for truth in advertising!
I surprised the guys and took them to Dickey’s Friday night. They were out of chicken and pulled pork (we were there lateish) but they gave us coupons for free sandwiches next time to make up for it. They loved their barbecue platters. I don’t eat meat, but I had a decent salad and onion tangles (kind of like a bloomin’ onion, shredded), and I pegged a lot of the sides to try another time. Employees were super-nice and efficient.
It made me feel like I was at the State Fair. That is a big thumbs up in my book.
Thanks for posting your “discussion” of Dickey’s and thanks to those who commented. I’ve been curious about the place and now I think I’ll give it a try. Brisket is my favorite and I’ve been disappointed that Benny’s has been out of it both times we went to the new location. Next time we go there and they don’t have it, I’ll have to downgrade them further. Nice that they’re having so much business but glad they have competition too.
texas beef brisket was delicious