Big D’s BBQ

For lack of a better term… worst customer service and downtown atlanta prices and small portions… I live here and truly disappointed that a local restaurant is such a rip off… unfriendly staff, management if there is even one there… I“d like to write a personal letter to the owner and find out if the owner knows how the people run the place or if the owner is the person who doesn’t know how to treat customers, set the price and size of meals…
This is no the first time I have been disappointed… I don’t know if it depends on the day you go in or on the staff… but, ⁴⁄₅ times… i’ve been disappointed… the barbeque is pretty good as far as taste but. here are my other problems:
1. Portions are tiny for the high price… they give like 10 fries if even that… a small portion of bbq and a whopping 2 hush puppies. how expensive are hush puppies to make??? and a tiny plastic container of beans or slaw. I don’t like or eat the crappy texas non-​toast they serve and have asked for a couple of extra hush puppies instead of the bread… the girls at the counter have to ask permission if that can be substituted… really??? a piece of bread to a restaurant is what at the most 10 cents and how much more could a couple of hush puppies cost the restaurant??? I find it very sad when a restaurant’s staff either cannot or won’t make small adjustments to make the customer happy and returning.
Also…if you order the brisket…50% of the time… they give you more fat than meat.

I wanted a biscuit for breakfast.
There were four customers standing at the counter with troubled looks on their faces. I decided to leave when one of them asked another «Have you ordered yet?» No one looked happy.
I walked out… I’ll give them another shot some time.
Update — Apr 30, 2016
I don’t remember when I was there last hunt did give them a second chance.
$ 3.79 for a smoked sausage biscuit. It took about 8 minutes from the time I ordered until I got it, and the customers behind me got theirs before I had mine. They grilled the sausage, which was nice, but the biscuit was stone cold.
The sausage had a great flavor, but I had to stop chewing to remove the skin several times — it was inedible.
I want to like this place, but the service, price, and quality haven’t impressed me. Maybe they aren’t early risers, so I’ll stop in for a BBQ sandwich some time.

I can only speak about the ribs, these are moist, smoky, fall off the bone great. Worth a detour just for these. The staff is friendly and helpful. Prices are reasonable for the quality.

For openers, if you think the best barbecue is usually found in the worse part of town — in a place with bars on the windows and just enough grease on the table to write your initials — then this isn’t it.
If you think you can find good ‘cue in an add-​on to a service station in Dawsonville, Georgia, you’re right. The place is Big D’s Bar B Q and where it is, is in the end of a mini strip center which includes a food mart, a pet grooming place, service station, and, of course, a pawn shop.
I mean, aren’t all good barbecue joints a stone’s throw or less from a pawn shop?
You order at the counter, admire the front end of a race car hanging from the ceiling, notice everything is painted red and black, collect your plasticware from a vending machine (free) and a super friendly combination waitress/​cashier ultimately makes the delivery.
Daddy D’s has somewhat of a history. They started years ago just north of Atlanta, just off I-​75, closed there and then opened one and then another further north. It was the one in Dawsonville itself the Brown Shoe Gourmet visited and found fairly good.
Fairly good, because the reason folks go out for barbecue is the barbecue, not the sides, and the ‘cue here is uneven at best. On one hand (take your choice) the ribs are exceptional. They have a great rub that provides exceptional flavor and are slow cooked over a low wood fire that leaves the pink ring of authenticity and tenderizes the meat almost to the point you think it’d been par-​boiled or worse.
Very good ribs and not so very good pulled pork. Why? Because it was stringy and dry. Very dry. Why? Because someone decided Big D’s customers would rather eat dry pulled pork without any real flavor rather than leave some of the fat on providing moisture and capturing the real smoke flavor. Or maybe they keep the heat in the warming oven too high, cooking everything all over again.
The brisket was chopped and somewhere between the ribs and pork. Same deal with all the fat being sliced away before the meat (also with a nice ring) was chopped.
Sauces? Three of them: South Carolina mustard (fine if you’ve been led astray and like that sort of thing), the Memphis «Sweet with Heat» (the ‘heat’ is hardly noticeable, if at all) and the best of the bunch, a really good North Carolina vinegar that made a temporary convert of this tomato and molasses based fan.
As someone who has spent a lifetime in pursuit of the perfect barbecue (read seven dozen other reviews from all across the country on Unilocal), Big D’s was the first place we’ve been to where we were told our order might take a couple extra minutes because the okra was fried to order.
Didn’t mind the wait because the sides we tried were uniformly excellent. The fried okra was crisp, yet moist and with a taste all its own. The baked beans were a great mix of beans in a thick sauce and a good mix of meats. Really tasty. Their hush puppies, like the okra, were fine, mighty fine. Two to an order and we were tempted to order more.
They do have t-​shirts for those who don’t mind providing free advertising (I’m one), and serenade the folks who pay to eat there with rock music played at the «you may be hard of hearing level.»
All in all, three stars for Big D’s Barbecue; wish it could have been more but there’s work to be done to bring their pulled pork and brisket u[p to the level of their ribs and sides.

Their BBQ is fantastic, and their biscuits are to die for! The only complaint I have about Big D’s is to watch out for your carryout orders… make SURE to check the bags before you leave. I’ve ordered carryout from them three times and they ALWAYS forget something. Other than that, the food is phenomenal!

Great Brunswick stew!!! Pulled pork also good. Will do again for sure!

Very popular BBQ in D’ville — recommend the establishment on ⁴⁰⁰⁄₅₃ over the one ‘In Town’! Fresher Cole Slaw — which is marvelous!

Breakfast and lunch are both great. Haven’t been for dinner but I am sure it’s equal. The 400 location is crowded in the entranceway but it won’t stop me from going back again and again and it shouldn’t stop you either. I’d easily say it’s the best BBQ in the area.

JUST WORK ON THAT BARBEQUE AND LEAVE BREAKFAST ALONE.
Although this is a barbeque restaurant, they also serve breakfast and it tends to get higher reviews than their barbeque. There aren’t too many breakfast options in the area so we thought that we would give this one a try. When you walk in, you walk to a counter to place your order and they give you a receipt with a number on it. You then wait for your number to be called and pick up your meal. As we review the menu, we have a difficult time deciding what to order because it is very limited and there are no omelets or veggies of any kind. They basically offer eggs, meat, gravy and potatoes. As we wait for our order, we take in the décor which is very simple with license plates and various sayings on the wall.
I eventually decide to have two scrambled eggs and hash browns. The food was delivered on styrofoam plates with plastic forks, (luckily, I had my metal utensils on hand) and this is just not okay with me. The eggs were boring and the hash browns were really hash whites because they weren’t crispy brown as they should be. They apparently do not have a water filter so even the water was bad.
My husband thought that it would be a good idea to get a cup that was comprised of eggs, cheese, a biscuit and bacon that was then smothered in gravy. When his cup arrived, it was all I could do to avoid screaming out loud. The gravy was shiny and gelatinous, not smooth and creamy as it should be. Ewwww! He actually liked it and finished it.
After I finish my food, I realize that I have just eaten an appetizer and now need to go and get a real meal. As we pulled into this restaurant we noticed a Waffle House next door. We exit the parking lot and head straight for the Waffle House for «the real deal».
This restaurant really needs to stick with the barbeque because it is better to do one thing really well than to do two things very badly and according to their ratings, the barbeque is a hit or miss. Breakfast today was definitely a miss and I would not return for an encore!

My husband and I come here every Sunday. Love the food, it has never let me down and it is always good.

I always like to try the local BBQ when I visit a new place, and so on our first trip to Dawsonville we ate supper at Big D’s BBQ. There are two in town, both attached to gas stations. We ate at the one at the intersection of Ga400 and 53.
It’s a typical order at the counter, pick up at a window ambiance. Dawsonville is proud of its NASCAR heritage and the small inside eating area was decorated in racing memorabilia. There were also a few tables outside. When we got there all the inside tables were either full or dirty, but I cleaned one off.
The BBQ was okay. I had a pulled pork sandwich, and I thought the meat was a bit dry, but tasty. My husband had the Brownie sandwich, all outside meat. He liked the concept and for the most part liked the taste but found it a bit overly salty. On our table we had bottles of a vinegar-​based sauce and a mustard-​based sauce. In general we like tomato-​based spicy-​sweet sauces. Reviews say that is an option at Big D’s, but not on our table. Each sandwich came with tasty corn fritters — not that much corn, more like a hush puppy with a few corn kernels, but worth the calories. The star was the Brunswick stew. Full of pork, corn, tomatoes and other goodies, the seasoning was spot on. I could have eaten a huge bowlful, and next visit I will.

Good breakfast, good bisquits, good sweet tea, giant pancakes. Not the best BBQ I’ve had but pretty darn good. Check out the fried green beans!

Big D’s BBQ = Big Disappointment! Husband had the pork and I had the chicken. Both were dry and tasteless. The beans were straight out of a can and into the microwave. The dining area appeared clean and service was good but BBQ? Really?

It’s a good place given the surrounding area. Breakfast is above average, but they claim to stop serving at noon. In reality, they stop when they want to.
The BBQ is some of the best I ever had. I do recommend the pulled pork and they have several different sauces to choose from.

The food here is very good for BBQ and they make a great country breakfast. They have won several awards and gave three tpes of sauce, sweet spicy, NC vinegar nd honey mustard.
For breakfast I love the biscuit bowl. It’s a nice bowl with a biscuit, eggs, cheese, your choice of meat and either grits or gravy. They also makes a great platter and pancakes as well that are the biggest I’ve even seen.
For lunch or dinner they have great ribs, burned ends, pulled pork and chicken. For sides the fried okra is great, potato salad is good and French fries. The green beans are ok and same goes for the Mac n Cheese.
I’ve heard the burgers are good, but haven’t had one yet.

The Breakfast is some of the best around. Their BBQ is Okay, by no means bad. The BROWNIE Sandwich is very good if you like burnt ends (and I do).The sides are excellent though. They are very friendly and treat you like a friend.

Not much selection in dawsonville for food and I love some good bbq. The meat here is 0retty decent and the sauces are good. The sides however are mediocre. A good bbq restaurant should have good sides.

I’m a Texan, so for me BBQ is brisket. And a religion! The brisket was the best I’ve found in Georgia — lean but still tender, spicy bark & perfect pink smoke ring. If they weren’t closed for the day, I’d drive the hour there right now! Three fun sauces from which to choose — spicy South Carolina turned out to be my fave. Delicious, fall off the bone ribs were meaty with the same beautiful bark & smoky flavor of the brisket. Good slaw, fried okra & sweet tea, too, though the BBQ beans were unremarkable. Great customer service, too! This place is worth the trip!