We're finally done with all the Fancy Food Show coverage, so back to our normal Chompling!
I am so glad Dickey's BBQ Pit is here. Seriously, I started screaming when I first saw the bright yellow Dickey's sign go up. Ever since I moved here from Dallas, I have been unable to find unable barbecue anywhere. Before Dickey's, my only source for barbecue was Actual's Dad. Although he enjoys making us barbecue, I'm sure he's already tired of my constant pleading for tri-tip and ribs.
If I remember correctly I actually used to eat at Dickey's once a week back in Dallas. They had a location across the street from my place and I would stop there all the time to indulge in more meat than any individual should probably eat unless they are Michael Phelps. I eat more reasonable portions now. Promise.
And now, a Californian Public Service Announcement from Girlfriend Actual:
Dear fellow Californians, what is served here is Texan barbecue and not Californian barbecue. Californian barbecue has a highly seasoned dry rub and requires no sauce for consumption. Santa Maria tri-tip and the baby back ribs served at most Californian non-chain barbecue places are good examples of the Californian barbecue ethos. Texan barbecue has very little seasoning on the meat itself (except for the sausage varieties) and relies on the sauce for the flavor. Both are great in their own respects, but you need to realize which you're eating lest you be disappointed.
One thing to gleefully note up front is that Dickey's charges the correct price for barbecue. Their two meat platter is $9.50. I'm not going to name names, but I have tried more than a few barbecue places in the area. Most of them suck. Those that do not suck, instead decide to make me sad by charging INSANE prices for their products. If your food sucks or you're way overpriced, I'm not going to bother mentioning you on Chomple. I barely have enough time to tell our readers where all the good places are, much less spend time whining about crappy restaurants.
Thanks to hitting the yumminess per dollar target dead on, Dickey's is the first and only recommended barbecue restaurant on Chomple.
This review spans two meals, both lunches. First was takeout and second was dine-in.
We've determined that the Roseville Police Department has to have an entrance test for their officers to see whether or not they can identify delicious places to eat. We frequently run into the Roseville PD eating at the same places we do. This may sound silly, but I definitely feel safer knowing that the local police officers had a delicious and wholesome lunch rather than chowing down on junk food. We've actually discovered a couple good restaurants in town after we drove past and saw a bunch of police cruisers parked up front and decided we should stop and see where they were all eating.
So, seeing this out front of Dickey's was a great sign...
Here's their menu. Check out the completely reasonable prices. Not pictured is their special deal for January and February where every Monday you can get $1 pulled pork sandwiches. Also, kids eat free on Sundays with the purchase of an adult meal.
Freebie #1: soft serve. It's real soft serve too, not the crud that most people have to call "frozen treat". If you have kids, this machine is a godsend.
You sauce your own barbecue at Dickey's. Sauce choices are original, sweet, and spicy. This is a welcome change compared to other barbecue places as most of them tend to severely oversauce their products. The sauce is in a warmer so it's always at the correct temperature to go right on your food before you eat it.
Right next to the sauce is Freebie #2: dill pickles. GOOD dill pickles too.
In the background to the right (not really visible) is the drink area, where they serve proper brewed unsweetened and sweet tea made from Luzianne tea leaves. I'm an unsweetened iced tea addict and Saucy loves sweet tea. We'd come here for the tea alone.
Note Girlfriend Actual feeling the "ooh warm" surface of the sauce area.
Do yourself a favor and get your drink in the $2 32oz Big Yellow Cup. These things are high quality and very reusable. I am willing to wager 1/3 of the households in Texas keep a stack of these things for general use. Plus they're nice and bold, and great to carry around when you want to tell the world "I had kick ass barbecue for my last meal, what bland, boring crap did you eat?"
This was our sauce and freebie collection from day 1 when we got takeout.
My day 1 takeout. Clockwise from upper left:
Jalapeno beans- just ok. I don't really like jalapenos though.
Green beans and bacon- PHENOMENAL. This portion was probably 50% bacon. Go Dickey's! If you want something healthier, you can order this side "heavy on the green beans" like Actual does. More bacon for me!
Chopped brisket- AWESOME (Almost-Father-In-Law: it's not as good as yours. Don't disown me. Please. I love your daughter. Sometimes we have to get brisket from other people, okay? It happens. Carnivores have NEEDS.). This stuff is great in a sandwich, but I don't really like bread so I just eat it freeform. Dickey's chops their brisket to order. That is very important, as chopped brisket if left to sit just turns into a disgusting mess, no matter how good your starting product was.
Hot link sausage: just ok. Flavor was tremendous (Dickey's is well known for their stupendous hot link sausage) but I think this batch got overcooked. I think this was just a fluke though... will try it on the next trip.
The above meal, after I covered it in Dickey's spicy barbecue sauce. OM NOM NOM!
Day 2. This is my pulled pork and virginia ham combo with fried okra and barbecue beans. Everything was amazing, but the okra really made me happy. Fried okra is hard to find here in norcal, and fried okra this good is hard to find anywhere. This stuff tasted like it came right out of the fryer.
Actual's platter. Check out the mac and cheese and the "heavy on green beans" green beans and bacon. She got the their old recipe polish sausage which was spectacular.
And here is her portion of sliced brisket that has been sauced with their original sauce. I didn't even get to try a bite of this. Thankfully I had the monster camera in burst mode so I got enough pictures taken before the brisket was happily consumed.
And a word of warning: the residents of Roseville have all heard that Dickey's is now open. The lunch crowd can get huge. Don't let this dissuade you: it's the true sign that the food here is GOOD.
I am so glad a Dickey's opened in my neck of the woods. If you love barbecue, quit eating it at all the overpriced places in town and PLEASE stop eating it at the megachain restaurants where the only good thing about their barbecue is the catchy jingle.
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