Dickey's Barbeque in Lake Elsinore was the pits! Cold food & too much smoke.

Dickey's BBQ--:Courtesy of Dickeys Barbeque Facebook Page-:

The I.E Soul Food Tour stopped in for lunch at Dickey's Barbeque Pit located at 29273 Central Ave Suite B, Lake Elsinore, CA 92532.

The Restaurant

Dickey’s is one of the largest franchise barbeque restaurants in the U.S with over 500 locations in 44 states.

Dickey's BBQ--:Lashaun Turner--:

Dickey's serves up beef brisket, pulled pork, ham, polish sausage, turkey breast and chicken, with an extensive array of home-style sides! All of Dickey's signature meats are smoked overnight, every night in every Dickey's location. - Dickey’s Lake Elsinore Facebook Page

The Experience

I visited Dickey's Barbecue Pit at about 3:00 in the afternoon. I walked into an empty restaurant which I thought was peculiar, however, there were three friendly staff members behind the counter eager and helpful in explaining the menu as this was my first time in a Dickey’s.

Inside Dickey's--::Lashaun Turner--:

The eatery is set-up to whereas you walk up, order, pay, and then seat yourself. The food is brought to you when it’s ready.

The Food

3 things I’m going to preface this section with, number one (1) I get it that restaurants can have a bad day and there is variability with different chef’s and cooks.

Number two (2), I will say for my readers to understand, I expect a good meal 24/7/365 and there are no excuses –these are my expectations going in.

And lastly, these opinions are based off of one meal/encounter and may not reflect the overall service condition of the restaurant.

Having said all that- this was some of the worse food I’ve eaten in the last 6 months on the tour! Where do I start?

I ordered ribs, smoked chicken, macaroni and cheese, baked beans and chicken wings and a loaded baked potato.

Dickey's BBQ--:Lashaun Turner--:

Our RIBS are slow smoked over real hickory wood for fall-off-the-bone experience that will satisfy your BBQ cravings.-Dickey's Barbeque Pit

I bit into a rib and I don’t know what shocked me first, whether it was the pure taste of smoke, or the toughness of the meat.

To say that meat had too much smoke would be an understatement- it was not edible unless you just love a bitter smoke flavor. The smoke taste overshadowed any barbeque meat flavor – all smoke. Horrid!

Dickey's BBQ--:Lashaun Turner--:

One of the employees mentioned to me that the meats are in the smoker 14 hours every day. That rib tasted like it had been in there 14 days!

I was gracefully trying to chew that tough piece and actually bit the inside of my cheek wrestling with it.

I then moved on to the chicken strips. They would have been okay, at least in comparison to the rib, except the chicken was cold (not in the least bit warm) and dry.

Mac n Cheese-:Lashaun Turner--:

Next, the macaroni and cheese. You can somewhat tell from the picture; it was dry and sticking to the container it was in.

Very little flavor other than what seemed to be a mild cheese sauce perhaps poured over some sticky pasta and left out to dry. It was a congealed clump of substance.

The chicken wings you could order with varying degrees of hot sauces.

Dickey's Barbecue Pit's Chicken Wings are slow smoked and then deep fried for a level of deliciousness that will make your mouth water! - Dickeys Lake Elsinore FB Page

The problem here was they kind of forgot this part “deep fried to a level of deliciousness” because the texture seemed more like baked chicken when it arrived at the table drenched in sauce.

Dickey's BBQ--:Lashaun Turner--:

The wings certainly didn't look as appetizing as the photos:

Dickey's BBQ--:Courtesy of Dickeys Barbeque Facebook Page-:

The only edible item was the stuffed potato. If not for that, I would have left as hungry as I was when I arrived.

Stuffed Potato--::Lashaun Turner--:

None of the meats were served hot. The baked beans were okay I suppose but there wasn’t any extra to them, just basic.

The saving grace of this entire meal was the potato.

Impression and EATER score.

Scoring 4/10 for effort. Will never return. Cannot recommend.

Let me know in the comments if you have tried this location and what your experience was like.

The I.E Soul Food Tour with Lashaun Turner, spotlights Restaurants that specialize in Southern Soul Food. I also share local dining experiences encompassing all types of cuisine.

Check out more local restaurant experiences:

Dhat Creole Grill | Felix's BBQ with Soul |Sharon’s Creole Kitchen |Old Market Grill | Flaming Grill | Smokey Canyon BBQ | Pieology

Corky's Kitchen & Bakery| Texas Roadhouse | Hotlanta Wings and Things | Sunday Dinners Soul Food

| Slap Yo Momma BBQ |AJ's Fish Market |HoBo's BBQ | Gram's Mission BBQ | Urban Craft Eatery |

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