Dickey's Barbecue (BBQ) Pit - Irvine Grand Opening

15435 Jeffrey Road
Irvine, CA 92618
949-679-0050
Fax: 949-679-0054

www.dickeys.com
RESTAURANT LOCATION OUT OF BUSINESS-OTHER LOCATIONS MAY STILL BE OPEN


I attended the grand opening of Dickey's BBQ today. Dickey's is a large, nationwide BBQ chain that started in Dallas Texas in 1941. They are just now starting to open up stores in California. I believe this Irvine location is the first to open in California. There are 26 in line to open in California, 6 of them in Orange County. I saw an ad that said they were having $2.99 sandwiches all day and giving away a 42" Plasma Screen at 2:30 PM. I had an earlier lunch meeting so I didn't make it down to Dickey's until almost 2:00. It's a good thing because it turns out they were doing the drawing at 2:00 PM. I entered my name in the drawing and went to the counter to order some food. I decided to try one of their sandwiches since they were on special. I ordered a BBQ brisket sandwich ($5.19 regular price). I was told that the restaurant was too full so I had to take my order to go. I gave them my name and stepped aside to wait for my order.

I looked over by the beverage bar and noticed that there was a big jar of large dill pickles and a soft serve ice cream machine. It turns out that both of these are free when you eat at Dickey's Barbecue. They were out of cones, so I got myself a little cup of vanilla soft serve while I waited for my food. It was pretty good. Yay for free ice cream! A few minutes later I was handed a bag with my sandwich and an announcement was made that they were starting the drawing. They actually ended up giving away four $50 gift certificates in addition to the plasma TV. I didn't win anything. Boooooooo!

After the drawing I headed home and opened up my sandwich. The brisket was piled on to the sandwich dry without any sauce. Onions and pickles came on the side. It also came with a little side of barbecue sauce. I put some sauce on the sandwich and took a bite. It wasn't bad, but it lacked flavor. The meat was tender, but almost tasteless. This sandwich could benefit from a lot of salt and some smoke flavor. The sauce helped a little, but not nearly enough.

I was disappointed in the sandwich, but I think I will still return sometime to try out their ribs. The ribs are available as a plate with two sides for $14.99 or by the pound at $16.99. It sounds a little pricey to me, especially since most of the weight in ribs is in the bones. I'll make sure to update this article when I get back to try them. I also really like that this restaurant offers the free soft serve vanilla ice cream and large dill pickles. It's a nice touch that more places should pick up on.