N. Austin prepares for mediocre BBQ war

The Bill Miller BBQ on Burnet Rd. is about to get some (re) heated competition from a Dickey’s Barbecue Pit going in at Northcross Center.

San Antonio-based Bill Miller and Dallas-based Dickey’s both specialize in middling, cafeteria-style barbecue along with faux-comfort side items and gigantic tankards of sweet tea. It is most definitely not the real thing, but if you’re a sullen worker drone in need of rapid sustenance, it beats a poke in the gut with a desiccated french fry.

I fondly recall going to the original Dickey’s at the corner of Central Expressway and Henderson when I was a lad. I also remember returning to that Dickey’s many years later and being sorely disappointed that it didn’t live up to my childhood memories. This summer, Dickey’s announced plans to open an astounding 85 new restaurants in 2009, which would make them the largest barbecue chain in the U.S.

For its part, Bill Miller claims to have sold seven pounds of chicken for every man, woman and child in San Antonio in 2001. Might be time to update the ‘ol website, yes?