Dickey's Barbecue Pit — Restaurant in Mandan

Manager/Owner a bit rude average food. The initial counter person was pleasant. It was our first time coming in so we were unsure of everything on the menu. We mentioned this to the counter person, and he was very polite. However the owner or manager came over and asked us what we were ordering. We told him it was our first time there. He blurted out the daily special, and seemed a bit irritated with us. There had been one person behind me, and I already let him go in front of me. About 45-60 seconds later this manager asked us again. This time a bit angrier. My best friend just said, I guess I will take the sandwich that was on the Wednesday special, and he gave his order. He then looked at me and said, "What about you?". I said that I needed more time. He then seemed aggravated with me, and he said, "I'm not a judge. I can't give you more time". This is normally where I would have said something unpleasant and left, but my friend had already ordered, and was paying for my food. I just laughed and said that I was glad he wasn't a judge. We then ate and the food was okay at best. I don't know if this guy overheard us talking about the treatment, but he came over and asked us how everything was. We had enough at that point and so we politely said it was okay. We then vowed that it would be both of our first and last times...

Unfortunately I was told this was a great place to eat, being a bbq fan I was excited to use them for our Christmas Eve family dinner. However there is nothing special about this place, I ordered chicken, brisket, ribs, there Mac and cheese, and dinner rolls. 1st of all the staff was very polite and the atmosphere of the building was nice, the issues are in the quality of food.

Starting with the Mac and cheese, which is just a side so who really cares how it is, had really soft and mushy noodles. The chicken which they only do breasts not whole chickens was ok not dry and had a good flavor but no smoke flavor. The brisket was ok dryer than I like had a minor smoke ring again lacking in real smoky bbq flavor. The ribs my biggest disappointment being when you think bbq you think ribs, so I would hope any bbq joint would hold it’s ribs to the highest standard, not Dicky’s. The ribs were grossly undercooked, no smoke flavor nor any kind of smoke ring. The ribs were overly fatty very though and chewy. Mostly to due with the fact they weren’t cooked long enough to render more fat out, there wasn’t even any draw back of the meat from the bone. All that said, nice people, nice place, at best avg food. Certainly wasn’t worth the almost 400.00 I spent on the meal. They are the same as other bbq chains like Dave’s they are...

Now I'm going to start this with, if I could float from a 3star to a 5star alternating, and I hate to start this way, I would... But I'll follow up with, the food will never disappoint always 5star, so definitely worth the go. But.... service seems to sputter and stall on certain nights and if you want to make sure to avoid these nights and see what levels of unprecedented greatness this establishment can deliver, make sure your visit lands on a day when you can be lucky enough to be welcomed by a Gentleman by the name of, Juan and another Gentleman by the name of, Ryan. Now these two will guarantee you will be having your best experience at this restaurant, from a warm welcome upon entering, to hand crafted recommendations, to a promise to receive hot delicious BBQ. These two are not only masters of their craft as Bbq artists, but will shatter the glass ceiling of subpar service we have accustomed ourselves to in North Dakota, and have you returning to appreciate a level of service only these two can deliver. I honestly called to get their names to write this and you'll know why after you give...