Drop by for outstanding chicken and appealing roadside Americana.
I'll briefly note minor caveats that don't necessarily detract from the rating - the parking lot's tight (I opted for the lot at the adjacent ice cream affiliate) and a port-a-potty stands in for the traditional facilities.
Aspiring food bloggers won't just want to take pictures of the barbecued chicken itself; even the billowing smoke is Instagram-worthy. There's an incredible marinade that seems to be the "Cornell style", somewhat like Brooks in Oneonta. It features vinegar, probably black pepper and presumably a bunch of secret ingredients.
Ribs were good, not great, although the size was spectacular. Beating expectations were the sides: killer salt potatoes and surprisingly assertive macaroni salad.
Seriously folks? Â Only one review for the Big Dipper? Â I realize Apalachin isn't exactly a booming metropolis, but all you kids that grew up down here know what's up.
When this place opens for the first time in the Spring, it is symbolic of the end of a shitty Winter that has most likely sapped all of your soul/energy/joy since the previous October. Â
Forget the groundhog--if Big D is open, it's Summer.
Even if it is still freezing, people are lined up to suck down Perry's ice cream you can buy in the store---it just doesn't taste the same unless it is from the Big Dipper. Â
When they first opened, they were just selling ice cream, hot dogs, burgers, etc. Â The people that run it spend their winters in Florida and come back to rake in the dough from the locals every summer. Â
They expanded to the BBQ chicken business. Â This stuff is really popular in this part of New York and if there is a firefighter/school/church fundraiser, you can pretty much bet they are making the lions share of their profits from the BBQ chicken. Â
Picking up on this, the Big D got themselves a pit crew and spew that smokey aroma all over town. Â It is like catnip for obese townspeople. Â
It is unlike bbq chicken you have had elsewhere in the world. Â This is not traditional bbq sweet, molasses, tomato based sauce. Â It is very much vinegary and high on seasonings. Â
The pit bosses literally stand in a shroud of smoke the entire day as they mop buckets of that sauce all over the chicken. Â They will probably get black lung in a few years so get this stuff now while they are still around.
I've moved to New Orleans and miss my Big Dipper.
I've passed Big Dipper BBQ over two dozen times; admiring the BBQ smoke while speeding by on the interstate. Finally I had an opportunity to stop, and boy was it worth it. The menu is limited; ribs, chicken, and sides (of which there are about 8).
I got the rib dinner; half rack, 2 sides (potato salad and coleslaw). The ribs were decent; a little fattier than I like, but the flavor was great. Loved the potato salad. The coleslaw was super sweet! Sweeter than I've ever had before. I'm still processing the idea of supersweet coleslaw.
They chicken option looked great, and I was told that I missed an opportunity for amazing BBQ chicken; they had about 100 chickens grilling on their massive charcoal grill when I was there at noon and I've heard it's not uncommon that they sell out by 2:00pm.
So if you're cruising on Route 17 and see a big plume of BBQ smoke, get off at the Apalachin exit, and chow down!
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