Reader Review: Dickey's Barbecue Pit (Terminal C, DFW)

An email from my good buddy Whitt, of Peachtree City, Georgia, who had a layover Sunday at DFW:

The old adage goes, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” In applying this saying to my brief layover in Texas, I knew I had to find some BBQ. Fortunately, my plane pulled in only two gates away from the Dickey’s Barbcue Pit at C6.

The menu offers several options but I chose a 2 meat-2 side plate. Available meats were brisket, spicy or regular sausage, and ribs. Sides included corn on the cob, green beans, mashed-potato casserole, coleslaw, and something I could not determine. For my meal, I chose the two meats most associated (at least from what I have read) with traditional Texas BBQ…brisket and spicy sausage. I also added some potato casserole (a delicacy with cheese, bacon bits, onions, and potatoes) and the coleslaw (which had a tinge of spice as well) to finish off my plate.

I must say that I was satisfied by my meal. I did not know exactly what to expect from the sausage as the BBQ joints I have frequented in the past never offered it. Was it going to be the same as the sausage patties on my McDonald’s biscuits or those my grandmother used to make me for breakfast? I must say I was pleasantly surprised. Not only was the spicy sausage very tasty, the nice Jamaican lady at the counter gave me an extra half a sausage to boot. I am not sure if that was due to my striking good looks (probably not) or the fact that I mentioned one couldn’t come to Texas and not try to BBQ.

The brisket left a little to be desired. I was expecting a mouth-watering treat that would knock my socks off (especially since I had some really good home-made “Texas style” brisket just two days ago in Colorado). However, the meat was rather dry and not that tasty, until I bathed it in the sauce that was provided (at my request) on the side. I knew from reading this blog that many Texas BBQ joints don’t even offer sauce since they believe the real challenge in making great BBQ is to allow the meat to speak for itself, not the sauce. I guess if you add enough sauce, you could make anything taste good (kind of like I do with Splenda packets and gas station cappuccinos). I will admit though that the sauce was pretty good!

The best thing on my plate (not good when its not one of the meats) was my potato casserole. It was really good!!! It was like taking a loaded baked potato and smashing it in a pile that just begged me to take another bite. Unfortunately for me, the nice lady only gave me a small portion of this. Next time I will ask her to fill the “meat portion” of the tray with the casserole and the “side portion” with the sausage. I’ll probably leave the brisket off altogether.

The coleslaw was good, but let’s be honest, who cares about coleslaw? No one reads this blog to find out which places know best how to mix cabbage and mayonnaise and whatever else is in the stuff.

All in all, I am glad I had time to stop by Dickey’s to temporarily appease my appetite for Texas BBQ. I know I have to make my way to the Austin area to really get the real deal stuff, but for now this will have to do.

Brisket: C+
Spicy Sausage: B+
Potato Casserole: A
Coleslaw: B-
Bread (it was just white bread or untoasted Texas Toast but was stale, & I only took one bite): F
Sauce: A-
Service: A

Just a thought for all you who make baked beans: Try putting some pickled relish in there. I had some the other night in Colorado (made by the same lady who brought the homemade brisket) and it really was pretty good. It was unlike any baked beans dish I have ever tasted.