Dickey’s Barbecue Pit

Good people!
Good food.
Good sauce.
Good dining area.
Good time.
I like the Coleman Logger/​Hunter décor. (log cabin look.)
Great jeep bbq

Super good barbecue kinda spendy but the service is really good and the food is super good too so well worth it to me.

It was nice to not have to cook on my birthday, but I felt like the food was something I could have cooked at home.
There needs to be some sweet potatoes on the menu, I DID like that there was free ice cream that was self serve, but store bought would have better (tasted like flavored ice).
I’ll give them another try before dismissing them, because service was GREAT!

Came on a Sunday afternoon so no crowd issues. Great brisket, good beans, fine sides. Clean dining room, classy plasticware, «souvenir» cups, and free ice cream made the whole experience a nice fine-​faster-​food one.

Sorry Dickie, I really wanted to be able to change my attitude about this place. Last time we went to Dickie’s, the meat main dishes were pretty good, but the order process was just south of stupid, and the logistics of the whole experience coupled with the «not ready for prime time» staff and crappy sides kept me away from there for over a year. But, my wife loved the brisket. So… That means, you guessed it. We went back. Or should I say, I went back.
Cue the Bruce Hornsby «That’s just the way it is, some things will never change.» Line out the door, confusion over how to order by the new customers, talking over a glass snot shield to an adolescent holding a knife, then watching your order being handed off to Howdy Doody in grease soaked prison garb wearing kitchen gloves dripping with gee to another who is using a squeegee to clean the grease from the cash register.
«I know where the sauce is, thank you.»
Happy anniversary sweetheart. Look, I bought brisket.

This was my first time at any Dickies, so didn’t know what to expect.
I had Dickies three meat plate special for $ 14, which is the same price as the regular item, so don’t know why its special.
I had pulled pork, beef brisket and chicken breast all the meats were tender and delicious. The price seems a little high to me, but not bad. The eating area is clean and tidy. One of the nice things is there is free ice cream cones. While I was eating two people came back with orders that were incorrect. I would come back again after checking out some other BBQ places first. It didn’t cry out saying I have to come back. It wasn’t the best BBQ I’ve ever had, but it was good and filling.

Decided to give Dickey’s a try with my mom, we were looking for a casual place that wasn’t one of our regular spots.
Upon entering, you see the menu and you then proceed to the ordering line where you have a fairly large solid wall to shout your order over. Imagine it like subway, you follow along the wall of Plexiglas then pay. I mention this because my mom is fairly petite and the wall was NOT Plexiglas so she couldn’t see what was happening on the production line. The problem with this is while placing my order I watched as the they were preparing orders ahead of mine. All meats were being pulled out of a warmer and removed from a rather obnoxious looking cocoon of saran wrap before being placed on trays to be served. I found this to be odd as I have never seen BBQ done this way. How long has the meat been in the warmer? Is it even prepared on site? The technique they were using to pull the meat out of the saran wrap and then ‘fluff’ the pulled pork for placement on the tray was interesting to say the least.
The menu is pretty standard for a BBQ joint, all your must haves are represented. I got the one meat plate with two sides, pulled pork with coleslaw and baked potato casserole. The original and sweet BBQ sauce was quite good. The food was decent, my sides were good but nothing extra special. I expected the potato casserole to be bubbling with deliciousness but instead it had un-​melted pre-​made cheese on top — which eventually melted but still weird. My pulled pork, while good, was barely luke warm. I went to get additional sauce from the condiment station which seemed to be on a warmer. Adding more sauce = warm meat… problem fixed… I guess?
I was quite full after the meal, so I skipped the free ice cream all together but it is offered complimentary after your meal.
Summary — it’s good BBQ in a pinch I really liked their sauces. It’s a casual no-​frills mostly self service place and if you’re not particular about traditional BBQ then by all means. However, IMO I’d probably save my cash and throw a pork butt into the crock pot at home. Maybe they sell their bottled sauce and you can get the same effect for half the price.

We had lunch there today and we thought it was good. Granted there’s always things people will agree need to be changed. Overall general quality was good. Flavor ribs were good. Macaroni and cheese and the beans tasted more like out of a can or box not really a individual homemade flavor but they were still good. Sunday’s do have a perk. Kids eat free with purchase of an adult meal. And if you put ice cram in your cup and add root beer you have yourself a float!

Tried it. .. and well — No
So dropped a fair amount on two full orders of baby back ribs + beverages + 2 sides. .. total $ just shy of $ 70
Ribs where OK — I wish I could give more than that but they where over cooked on the ends — for $ 70 I would expect them to fall off the bone — well flavored and tastie. .. these were not. Mediocre is a word I think describes the ribs. I feel I can get far better pay n go from any grocery store nearby in the who really knows how long they sat there. Price to quality was a simple resounding: No — not only no but no way — for the $ 50+ for the meat alone. .. forget it. I would expect far better.
Fried Okra: this was good but side are not included with the rack of ribs? .. . other far better rib joints offer a meal with side for the same price (+ $ 4)
Mac N Cheese: if you like those frozen mac and cheese dinners this is for you — nothing special here. .. buy it also at the grocery store and save yourself some $. .. medium serving for two $ 5
So. .. as far as food quality. .. IMO: go elsewhere. .. I will be bold and try a BBQ Brisket by the pound one night — the only saving grace to ever go here again. .. it just might take a little while before I dare try it and drop more $$$ on «Eeh «
Plus: Free ice cream machine — the cones where fresh, ice cream ok
Staff: one experienced person was working — cashier, taking orders not so. .. hard time to get an order turned in
Not much in terms of service etc. .. you order at a station — maybe they bring it out — maybe they don’t (people next to us sat for 40 minutes before someone asked if they even ordered anything — see inexperienced cashier)

After reading some negative reviews I was unsure about eating her but my wife was given a gift card so we decided to give it a try.
First, I’ll say the people were friendly and service was good. There were about two couples waiting ahead of us and another couple at a table eating so it wasn’t real busy.
What I didn’t like is that the meat menu is placed so that you’re looking at it before you stand where you’ll place your order. I couldn’t remember the choices or the prices. I’d have preferred the menu also on the wall behind the counter where the guy takes your order. I began to give our full order to the first guy behind the counter but he only takes the meat orders, which was fine. You have to move down the line to order your sides and drinks; the sides menu was right there so that made it easy to order without either having to go to the back of the line or memorizing the menu.
The menu seems a bit pricey so to stretch the gift card the three of us all order the ribs quarter plate and we each chose different sides. Our order was quickly prepared – didn’t have to wait long at all which means the ribs were already cooked, which is also fine. With the quarter plate you only get two ribs, and they can be of varying sizes depending on where the ribs are cut from.
The ribs were indeed very good and flavorful; they come with some sauce already cooked on and a container of Dickey’s original BBQ sauce comes with it but there’s also the choice of two other Dickey’s BBQ sauces in the condiments area. The rib meat does fall off the bone but not in an overcooked way. Everyone enjoyed their choice of sides, except my BBQ Beans had no BBQ sauce or smoky flavor and they were overdone to the point of being mushy. I’d rethink that recipe.
We most likely will go back, even without the gift card, because the ribs were tasty and I want to try their beef brisket. I have a home smoker and I’ve done quite a bit of ribs and beef briskets but I like to see what the BBQ restaurants are doing, even a franchise like this one.
If you’re thinking about giving Dickey’s a try, I think it’s worth it.
***UPDATE 4/​6/​2015***
I’ve driven by Dickey’s a few times since my review and have noticed every time that there weren’t many cars parked outside. And something I noticed the time we were there still bothers me: there was absolutely no wood smoke smell AND there was no smoke escaping from a rooftop vent as every other true BBQ restaurant has. This could only mean the BBQ’d food is shipped both precooked and frozen to each franchise where it’s thawed and reheated. So this is a «BBQ PIt» inb name only and as such it’s false advertising in my opinion.
Even though the ribs we had were tasty the fact that we weren’t eating true «Q» dropped my original rating of 4 down to a 3.

We really wanted to like this place. We have been twice to give them a fair try, but I don’t think we will go back anytime soon. I sincerely hope the owner reads these reviews because there are so few places to eat in PO and their business would be booming if they just improve a few things.
The first time I could tell the staff had no customer service experience, but the food was decent. My only complaint was that the meat was cold by the time we got it. I thought it has just gotten cold while they were putting the plate together. We went again on this last Sunday evening and the line was out the door. The layout is horrible. I hate that you can’t look at the menu until you’re right up where you order. The staff is slow and none of the sides are prepared. For a franchise they are remarkably inefficient. Hence the fact that it takes 45 minutes to get 8 people through the line.

I’m not impressed. I keep hoping that Port Orchard/​Kitsap County will get a decent BBQ joint up and running, but I guess I will keep waiting. The food was OK, but it was very pricey for what you get.
It will fill the need for BBQ if you are jonesing for some, but it is far from being an epic BBQ joint.

Oh Port Orchard Dickey’s. I really want to like you, but you just keep screwing up and making it so hard. I went here a couple of days ago with 3 others, and when we got there we were the only ones in line. We all asked for the one meat plate with sliced brisket. The girl slicing the meat responded with «Does it HAVE to be sliced?» «…Uh, well… yeah?» was more or less our confused response, at which point she sighed heavily and said «OK, well, I have to trim up a new brisket. That’s going to take a minute. Like, probably FIVE minutes.» She continued to complain and make comments under her breath the whole time she sliced.
It did indeed take her around 5 minutes to trim the brisket. The rotten cherry on top was that when we finally got our plates, the brisket was chopped, not sliced. After the stink she made from the beginning, none of us wanted to go and point out her mistake, so we just ate our chopped brisket and left.
Now don’t get me wrong, the brisket here is great — this is NOT a review complaining about the food (though I’d steer clear of the green beans, which seem to come straight from the can). But after this many months of being open and still having major problems with the staff’s productivity, accuracy, and (most importantly) attitude, I am very disappointed. As I said, there was no one else in line when we got there — why wasn’t she trimming up the brisket already, if she knew she needed to do that? Sorry Dickey’s, but you guys STILL really need to get it together.

Went here on grand opening day, too many people, but that was expected. Waited a few weeks and went back today. Quite a few friends said it wasn’t worth the visit but I’m happy to report they were wrong.
Staff — a bit of a mess. I think they could use a good shift manager to get the ball rolling a little more smoothly. They are young and need some guidance. But they were all very pleasant in their Customer service.
Food — got a rib plate and a 3 meat plate so we could try a lot of things. Ribs, brisket, and chicken were great. The ham was a little dry but still had a good flavor. For sides we got mac and cheese, coleslaw, waffles fries, and baked potato casserole. All were delicious but the casserole is just loaded mashed taters and it tastes like it… nothing special.
Total bill for 2 very fulfilling meals, drinks, and a free ice cream cone, $ 32.
We will definitely be going back.

I am absolutely livid with the fact that I placed and order online and an hour later my husband goes to pick the order up and they don’t have half the food I ordered!!! I EVEN PROVIDED A PHONE NUMBER SO WHY WASN’T I CALLED AND NOTIFIED THAT THE $ 125 WORTH OF FOOD I BOUGHT I WASN’T GETTING!!!
I don’t care how good the food may be, I will NEVER buy from them again!!!

Arrived Thursday ⁷⁄₃₁ at 7:23 pm. We drove from Kingston to see this place. The line was out the door. The lady in front of us told us that she lived up the hill and this was her third time waiting in line since the place opened for business but she never progressed more than 3 feet each time.
A girl came outside to offer us some fried okra samples.
That lady I mentioned above left.
Another group of people in front of us left.
Now we are inside the building. The line is not moving. The people behind the counter are barely moving. There are several empty tables.
We notice a sign mentioning they are now out of pulled pork, chicken, ham, and something else. This doesn’t sound good. I doubt there will be anything worth ordering by the time we get there.
The owner comes by offering us yet again fried okra samples. He seems pissed off because I didn’t take one. He offers no explanation or apology for the line not moving. I’m afraid to ask what is going on because he seems like he might be passive aggressive.
7:35 pm. It was apparent this business has serious problems and we decide to throw in the towel and go to A&W.

The good: pretty decent BBQ, especially for a fast-​casual format, and especially for Port Orchard. All the food items I have tried have been pretty tasty. And I’m kind of a BBQ snob– and while this is not the best BBQ I have ever had, it is certainly not the worst. Like I said– pretty good overall.
The bad: Painfully slow (yet friendly) service, poor inventory management, and inefficient operations. I observed several things that could be easily fixed for little or no money, and a few things that will require some capital to fix. I hope the owner reads this because selfishly, I really want this place to succeed and I would love to be able to come back and give it more stars.
1. Your people have to hustle. They simply do not have the sense of urgency needed for a line that long and a place that busy. Light a fire under their butts. When I arrived on a Friday night at 7:04PM the line was out the door. It took 41 minutes until I was walking out with my food. I am not exaggerating.
2. You need a dedicated runner. Part of the problem is everyone is trying to do everything and that’s inefficient. They keep running into each other and not finishing what they started. Assign people to stations and have them stay there. The runner should be doing nothing but keeping the serving line stocked and ANTICIPATING when an item is going to run out in enough time to heat up the next batch.
3. The fry station. It’s good that the fried items are made to order but this is a bad bottleneck for a couple of reasons. 1) have a dedicated fry person who does nothing but that. 2) Have the uncooked fryer items RIGHT THERE next to the fryer. People are running all over trying to get that stuff from the back. Horribly inefficient. 3) Buy more fry baskets and/​or another fryer.
4. The bottlenecks caused by the inefficient sides and fryer are causing plated meats to get cold while they are waiting for the rest of the order to be filled.
5. The afternoon sun shines right through the window and blinds your serving line staff and the customers. You have blinds on some windows but not all and not up high.
6. You can’t see the menu boards from where the line queues up. Customers get to the front without having a firm decision. Move the line, or move the menu boards. Or hang another set of menu boards where people in line can see them.
7. You have cards and a drop box to sign up for the club, but no pen on the table.
8. The online and phone ordering where not working– presumably because you were too slammed to take on the additional order volume. Have a separate serving line in the back to fill those orders.
9. I know you just opened but you’ve got to know Friday night will be busy– I was surprised how many items you were out of at 7pm. Anticipate.

Been here twice now. Opening weekend and now a couple of weeks later. I thought that the confusion and slowness would have been fixed by now. Boy was I wrong.
Thursday evening at 6pm and I’ve been standing in line for 20 minutes.
I don’t understand their ordering process. They should take orders and than issue out numbers and bring the food to the table when ready instead of having a line out the door everyday. Hot cramped and slow is all I can say. Some airflow and training might do this place some good. Till than…

Since this location has opened, I’ve been here 3 times. As other people have said, there are some issues but with any new business things will get better.
The food is really good. I have has the ribs (fall of the bone), pulled pork (very good) and the brisket (also very good). The sides are pretty generous and fresh. Everything from the fries okra to the BBQ beans has been good. Being a southern staple, they serve Coke products and let you end the meal with free vanilla ice cream cones.
Because everything is smoked that day, they will run out of things. Take a chance and order something else. The lines do move slow as it is served cafeteria style and the kids behind the counter are new and learning. In time they will get better on all fronts.
The owner is always here and listens to feedback. They must be doing something right as there is always a line outside (which is where I am writing this review). Oh yeah Sundays will always be busy as kids eat free.
What the owner needs to work on is cooling it off inside the place as it is too hot for people to be comfortable and speeding up the line. There is a sign at the meat station stating 2 minutes from order to pay. If they fail, I predict it will be for this reason. The average wait on this line has been 30 minutes. Too hot inside to wait that long.

Came back today to grab lunch and eat it there in the restaurant. While the line was very long and it took an even longer time to order and get to the cashier, it was worth the wait. I did notice, regarding my previous post, that the woman in front of me with her to go order was being given silverware and napkins, and during my check out process, the cashier told me where all the sauces, free ice cream, etc. was. Which is behind you on the right.
This time around, I got a pork and tangler baker. I had every intention of only eating half, but it was so good I just couldn’t stop myself. The barbecue sauces they offer are original, sweet, and spicy, and I kept alternating between the spicy and original. So good. My companion for lunch ordered sliced brisket, the side salad, and the beans, and loved every last bit of it.
The owner, Doc, was making sure to make his rounds and see that everyone was greeted with a «How d’you do?», a handshake, and a big smile. Super friendly guy. Definitely deserves all the best luck, especially now that the other barbecue place in town is gone…