Smokin’ Dutchman BBQ
4212 Stadium DriveMy parents are in the process of leasing out some of the farmland they own back near where I grew up in Illinois. My brother and I also have an interest in the farmland because it was handed down by my grandparents to families of their kids.
In order to execute the lease, J and I had some paperwork to sign. They were just going to mail it to us and we’d send it back but my Mom got the idea to take a day trip to Shipshewana. She has the week off work and wanted to get out of the house.
The drove up to Kalamazoo in the morning, dropped the paperwork off at our house, went to Shipshewana for the afternoon, then came back to Kalamazoo to take us to dinner and stay the night.
J is off work this month too for summer break and I didn’t have a lot going on at work. She asked if she could find a notary would I be able to take my lunch break and get this taken care of. That way, when my parents got back to Kalamazoo later that night, we could just give the papers back to them.
She was going to come downtown to the Library but their notary wasn’t going to be there until 5:00. A quick Google search shows the UPS Store on West Main has a notary so she signed up for an early afternoon appointment and I met her there.
We got the papers signed and notarized then I headed back to work. I hate turning left out of that shopping plaza so I just went right and headed back to Stadium Drive. There was an ulterior motive for doing so though. I was hungry.
I pass what was formerly the Dickey’s Barbecue Pit restaurant on Stadium Drive everyday on my way to and from work. Last week, I noticed a banner covering up the Dickie’s sign for a new BBQ place. The name rang a bell but I couldn’t quite place it right away.
Smokin’ Dutchman BBQ is on Stadium Drive in the Shops at Stadium Village east of Senaca Drive. The restaurant takes over the space that has been occupied by Dickey’s Barbecue Pit since 2018. Not much has changed about this restaurant other than the name and there’s a good reason for that. The reason I recognized the name is because Smokin’ Dutchman Holdings operated this Dickey’s location as well as locations in Rockford, Jenison, and Holland. They filed for bankruptcy last fall due to “extreme and unreasonable demands” by Dickey’s. There have been several stories from franchisee’s losing millions of dollars due to the franchise agreements. Dickey’s has denied all of those claims. The owners of Smokin’ Dutchman Holdings reopened this location as a locally owned BBQ joint using what was learned from their years as a Dickey’s franchise.
The switch to Smokin’ Dutchman BBQ became official July 1 and there are still some remnants of the Dickey’s franchise. The place looks exactly the same. There’s a long order counter at the front of the kitchen where you order from. The menus are hanging above the order counter on TV screens. I don’t remember the exact menu from Dickey’s but it’s BBQ and all BBQ places are pretty much the same anyway. The big obvious difference is that the yellow cups are gone and replaced with generic Styrofoam ones.
The dining room is fairly large. It’s mostly made up of stiff wooden benches and uncomfortable metal chairs.
I put in an order for a Brisket Sandwich combo. It comes with choice of side and a drink. I always used to get the waffle fries from Dickey’s but that’s not an option here. I got Mac & Cheese and asked for a side of BBQ sauce to mix in with it. The cost was right around $15.
I unwrapped the sandwich when I got back to the office. As long as you have a good pitmaster, it doesn’t really matter what you call the restaurant. Smokin’ Dutchman kept the pitmaster they have had from the beginning so they have that covered. The brisket sandwich was tender, juicy chopped brisket on a bun. I was offered slaw and pickles on the sandwich but declined. I just really like smokiness of the meat and don’t like mixing in other flavors. The sandwich was delicious and exactly what I expect when ordering brisket.
The side of Mac & Cheese comes in a styrofoam cup. It’s a pretty standard Mac & Cheese. A good, thick creamy coating of cheese sauce on the macaroni noodles. I asked for a side of sweet BBQ sauce and poured it in to the cup. As I mentioned in my blog post of Bomba’s last week, the combination of BBQ sauce and cheese sauce is one of my favorites. This Mac was fine but nothing that will stand out on it’s own.
Things are slightly different from the Dickey’s days but overall, it’s still tasty BBQ. When I saw the bankruptcy filing last fall I was bummed that Dickey’s was going to go away. It’s the only quick service BBQ we have on the west side of town. Smokin’ Dutchman continues to be a reliable BBQ joint to quickly scratch that smoky itch whenever I get it.
SW Michigan Dining 