Can BBQ that smells really good be really bad?
 

About 6 months ago Dickey's BBQ Pit opened at the mall here. I don't go to the mall much, but the few times that I have been there since it opened it has smelled incredible. I have a hard time believing that good BBQ can come out of the food court at a mall, but based on the great smell I think that I'm going to give it a try.

Man-up and try some! Otherwise you'll never know.

Maybe you could do a Chris Tucker and ask for "one rib". "Got change for a hundred?"

Man I'm Gonna Git You Sucka was such a great movie, but I digress.

I hear they vary, but the two that I've been to were both dreadful. No smoke flavor at all. Meat seemed like it had been in a warming oven for a very long time. Sides weren't good either and the soda was flat at both locations. One of the locations was right next to Dell campus in Round Rock, and it folded within 6 months or so. You'd think being next to a huge amount of potential eaters like that (over 15,000 employees at the time) they'd be able to stick around.

Give it a go, I seen some tasty stuff come off a trash can. This is the worst pit I've cooked on : http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/...4D44FF5D34.jpg
Haha

My feeling is that if it isn't cooked on sight, then it isn't worth my money. And I'm pretty sure they get their stuff brought in ready to reheat.

That was Chris Rock brotherman!

Like Huey Lewis said, "Sometimes bad is bad".

This reminds me of a place I've eaten at. They had a smokin' device out front of the joint that smelled really good. Too bad the Q didn't taste as good. Don't know how they cooked their Q but they should take lessons from the attracter out front. If they were really cookin' Q properly they wouldn't need bait:tsk:

Dickey's opened a place in Crofton, Maryland and to be honest it sucked! It was so bad I wrote a review on Yelp and blasted them!

I keep saying that I'm going to give them a second try one day but I haven't worked up the guts yet.

Local place in town started about 3 years ago, was real good to start out(or maybe I didn't know what good BBQ was yet) but has gone downhill fast but I drive by I every day and it still smells amazing.

When a Dickey's opened near us a couple of years ago and we stopped for some take out B4 a snow storm. Ordered some ribs, brisket, potato salad, and beans. When we got home we discovered they neglected to give us the brisket. Called to see what could be done and were told to drive back and pick it up. That was a 10 mile round trip and the blowing snow was up to 6" at this point with a -20 wind chill. The manager would not talk to us.

Yea it smelled pretty good inside the store, but the ribs tasted like they were done in a crock pot. Can't remember the beans, but the potato salad was what really sticks in my brain. Imagine a dish with the flavor of sweet mayo based grocery store potato salad with the consistency of mashed potatoes. Yuck!

Again, can't tell you about the brisket.

Haven't been back, but would like to hear other experiences.

BBQ in the mall?

I don't think so Tim. I was there at 8:30 in the morning, and it smelled as if there was hickory in the air. I've made plans with some of my consumers to go for lunch the week after next.

What would it hurt to give it a try? Just prepare to be disappointed.

IMHO, Most chain/mall food places suck no matter what type of food they are selling, but occasionally you find a decent one. I had a really good brisket sandwich while waiting for a plane in the terminal at DFW. 99.9% of airport food sucks, but I've been pleasantly surprised a few times.

Give it a try!

Chris

It's easy to make Q smells. Get some hickory in a burn barrel and light it up. Doesn't mean a thing about the food.