Had them put a pastrami cheeseburger with onion together for me it was delicious, not easy to find one in the east. Don't hesitate to ask the kitchen do something creative. Great portions and crispy fries.

I just can't believe how unbelievably delicious this place is! I've had the chicken, cole slaw, and baked beans twice now and the rib and chicken combo once with potato salad. The meat is just lip-smaking great! The chicken has a marinade that isn't overly vinegary and thd ribs aren't covered in a bunch of barbecue sauce- they are beautifuly seasoned, full of juicy meat, and nearly fall off the bone. The coleslaw is not to sweet, not runny, not soggy, and you can tell it's made fresh! The beans aren't overly sweet, but smoky and a little hint of mustard. I have been a baked bean lover all my life, but not when people load them up with a bunch of ketchup. Yuck! These are phenomenal! And I love that they leave the skin on the potato in their potato salad. It also isn't overloaded with condiments to thin it out - it's good and chunky! You have to stand in line for awhile to get your food, but it very much worth the wait!!!

Their chicken dinner is the bomb!! Very tasty and filling. The service was awesome as well. Thank you, will be going back hopefully before they close for the season on September 27th.

I love the bbq chicken here, they also have ribs, pulled chicken and chicken speidies (marinated chicken). The food is fresh and very tasty. The only thing I would change, I would add more side dishes (corn, mashed potatoes, green beans). There are not enough vegetables for side dishes. There's also an ice cream stand on site, which is very good too. Enjoy!

Best barbeque around here - and that says something, considering all the great BBQs around here.. seating is outdoor only, and sheltered seating is available. And dessert, there's ice cream right next to the BBQ - worth a visit in its own right.

Great local barbecue. The 1/2 chicken, ribs, pulled chicken & pork, salt potatoes are all excellent. Recommend bringing cash as there is a small upcharge for credit.

We had the pulled chicken sub and a 1/2 chicken. Both were delicious and I really like their house marinade. I wish we lived closer and could be regulars.

I just happen to be hungry and seen this place off the highway! So glad I stopped the smoked chicken is absolutely delicious tender and seasoned!! You don’t even need anything else!! Lol I have stopped 3 times since I’ve found this spot!!

Awesome BBQ take out/eat at their picnic tables. BBQ pit located right by the take out window. Staff is very efficient and quick. Full meals or just racks of ribs or chicken halves. Plus an ice cream stand on the opposite side of the parking lot, yummy.

Best BBQ I've ever had, hand's down. I had the pulled one sub with potato salad & baked beans. The food was also made very quickly. Definitely a repeat customer

Great bbq, line moves fast, 1/2 chicken dinner 2 sides $10, ribs, pulled chicken and pork sandwiches. Potatoe salad, salt potatoes, mac &cheese, Cole slaw, beans, fruit salad. Drinks Light bbq sauce, not a bunch of sticky sweet, but with tangy zesty flavour, hint of rosemary lemon, tender and juicy chicken, pulled pork excellent on a 8" roll, giant grill, safe food handling, friendly tesn behind the counter. 5 people $50 buck and you will be stuffed!

The Bar B Q from here is phenomenal I look forward to this every winter and mourn the loss at the end of season. Yummy food good prices and friendly staff. I dare anyone to drive by here with their windows down around 11 am with the wind blowing the chicken smoke around and NOT be driven mad with the NEED to stop and get some

Ice cream is delicious. You can have hard or soft ice cream. Big Dipper also does hot dogs, burgers, pulled pork and pizza. Their fries are perfect.

We travel 45 minutes to get their BBQ my wife likes their chicken spiedies and I love their Ribs. Well worth the drive.

Late summer and we needed a plan for our company picnic. Someone suggested Big Dipper so I checked them out. I was impressed by their responsiveness and gave them a $300 order over the phone based on me telling them the number of people and responding to their suggestions of offerings, sides and all the rest. They did not require a deposit. When I showed up at 11:00 am to pick up the order, it was ready. Here's the good part. Everyone loved the food. We of course had chicken but we had pulled pork as an option and sides to match. And when everyone rolled away from their tables, we were all very well fed and there wasn't much left to go to waste. Well done Big Dipper. Great recommendations for great food which ended up being an epic company picnic at EMS Technologies, Inc.

Best BBQ in Upstate. Don't forget the Potato Salad, best I've ever had.

All chickens dream of being bathed in Al's marinade and cooked over their charcoal. Absolutely the BEST chicken BBQ in the area. Many a hungry traveler has been lured in by the smoke wafting across the highway. The sides offered are delicious and fresh. I eat there at least once a week.

Delicious! Great stop by the highway for delicious bbq

First time ever here today. And for sure we will be back many more times this summer. I didn't try the pulled pork. My fiance and I both had the chicken dinner. Oh my goodness. Imagine the best firemans chicken barbecue you've ever had, and multiply the goodness by 3. It's that good. And the sauce is a vinegar based barbecue sauce, similar to a Carolina style sauce. Amazing. Mac salad and salt potatoes on point as well. Go. Just Go!

On the way home from Fredonia, this place caught my eye. So pumped I stopped!! Great BBQ ribs, chicken were on point! Fun environment with the outdoor seating. If your driving by STOP it’s 100% worth it :)

Grabbed the ribs, pulled pork, baked beans and some potato rolls for dinner tonight. It was my first time going to eat here, and I've gotta say that I'm disappointed in myself for waiting for so long to try this place out! The ribs fell off the bone, super juicy and the perfect amount of bbq sauce. Pulled pork was delicious, I'd rank it with Texas Road House, but a much more homestyle take (better, really). Highly recommended.

We LOVE this barbecue. The pulled chicken is hands down the best, but the pulled pork is good too. I like their chicken. Not dry and well seasoned. The only complaint I have is you can't always get the pulled chicken. Their salt potatoes are a good size and tasty. Not a huge fan of their macaroni salad, but I do enjoy the potato rolls. Nice staff and yummy food! A win!

Best place to get chicken around. Always need to get the extra sauce on the side. Just to tasty to not. It's insanely better then big dipper 2 they said they don't do anything different but it just doesn't taste anything like here so if you want the real experience go to big dipper 1 and enjoy yourself.

Ordered 6 meals to go, and the service was fast and on point. Everything was delicious and the staff is always friendly and hardworking. I assumed with the quantity of food we were getting, we would have a wait, but we were out of line in less than 5 minutes. Awesome service.

Very creamy soft serve. We have had the hard ice-cream and liked that equally well. This time we got the BBQ chicken dinners to go as well. The chicken looked overdone, but was actually juicy and tender. I recommend the salt potatoes and fruit salad sides, but the others looked good too.

LOVE this place, we often stop in the summer on our way back to Jersey or down to PA from upstate or the Finger Lakes - HUGE HUGE HUGE portions. Vegan and dairy free options - as well as Dole Whip and other great flavors. There's always a huge line. It's worth a drive detour off the highway - and you can see it from the road. Take the detour and enjoy! You're welcome!

Great outdoor BBQ. Chicken BBQ daily. Prices and portions are very generous. If you want outdoor fresh BBQ look no further. Sides are really good too. Covered outdoor picnic area or take home.

This place has some smackin bbq!!! Great people working there and always love an open pit where you see the food cook that you're consuming ❤💪 #chefcomegetsome

Food is great. Head in earlier in the day to enjoy some spedies. And then walk over and enjoy some ice cream.

The BBQ Chicken is so good. Nice friendly teenager staff is quick to put together your order. We love the BBQ and the ice cream. A GREAT place to stop an relax with a good treat.

Big Dipper catered our wedding and they were fantastic! Jennifer was great to work with and stayed in constant contact through the whole process! Our guests loved the food and we had plenty of it! Highly recommend working with them for your next event!

After a funeral for a loved one we were looking for a way to feed a lot of people quick. They were able to have food ready (totally last minute) for 10-15 people within an hour. The customer service was phenomenal, Jennifer was so accommodating and helpful. She made sure we had all that we needed and then some. The food was great, it was tailored to what we needed and wanted and the entire experience has made this difficult time just a little bit easier for our family, thank you so much. 💚💜💙

Local BBQ joint in Apalachin NY. BBQ Chicken cooked in a pit out front. Also pulled pork, Spiedies and ribs. All prepared on premises. Pick up only but there are covered picnic tables if you want to eat there. Very good homemade sides, salt potatoes, Mac salad, baked beans and more. If you are not too full there is a walk up ice cream place right next door. Good place and will be going back.

Big Dipper is the best icecream shop around. I love how friendly the service is, how generous the servings are and the endless options to choose from. We are loyal customers! I always am sad when they close for the season but that makes the opening in the spring all the more sweet. Give them a try if you've not been!

One of the best BBQ's in the area!! Hi, I just want to tell everyone that this is the place to go if you want great food. Yesterday I had a small party for my Daughter's birthday slash graduation. We were provided the best BBQ chicken, pulled pork and all the salads you could ask for. My family and friends were amazed on how much we got for what little it cost. Now I have been a customer for sometime and haven't had a bad meal from here and I'm sure sometimes things don't always come to your liking as I see in some reviews but by seeing all the customers in line tells me this is good food. If you haven't already tried the Big Dipper you should. Jennifer, Thanks again for the great food. And you were right, everyone did enjoy the party !

I'm giving the atmosphere 3 stars because the only restroom on the property is a port-a-jon. It was almost filled to the seat with no hand sanitizer. A well known establishment that does that much volume of sales should provide customers with a better, cleanlier option.

So I've been Snelling this place from the highway for a couple of months now! Had to try it. I was not disappointed at all! I am seriously think this place is better then Brooks! The chicken was perfectly cooked. And the sauces were so good! I look forward to returning when I'm in the area again!

Had to get the chicken BBQ and salt potatoes when I was in town!! And a great place to sit.

The best food around. My family and I traveled here and it did not disappoint. We can't wait to go back again soon!

The best bbq chicken ever! Worth a hour and half drive. The line goes fast don’t be discouraged so freaking good

Gina Tremmel

We got a to go order. The food was excellent. I only visit upstate NY every once in a while. But I am always looking for NY style BBQ. I will be back when I return. This is a must stop.

James Parker

Absolutely phenomenal food! Flavor profile is off the charts! Service is kind and friendly! Prices are perfect! You can’t go wrong going here!

J. Anthony Battaglini

Great food, great service! The chicken was perfect and lived both type of sauces. Great sides. Its just a great place to go for the summer time because you can eat outside under a pavilion, amd after you're done eating, you can walk across the parking lot to get ice cream! Wish it was open all year long!!!

Helen

Consistent and amazing BBQ! I’ve been going here for years and it is the best quick service food that you can get. Love the Mac salad!

marilyn stevens

Very popular in our area! Great icecream and the best part is the serving sizes are huge! They sell hot dogs and other food but I have not tried it. smells wonderful though.

Poison IV

Omg!!! This place is wonderful! The food was cooked and well seasoned to perfection. The service was quick and very hospitable. I ordered the half chicken and half ribs with some potato salad and bean salad. If you haven't yet visited this place make it a must do! Everything was delicious and I mean everything and what better day to go then on Memorial Day since I am out of town and away from family I was still able to have some delicious barbecue! Thanks Big D!!!

Adam Nichols

When we stopped, the parking lot was full, and there was a line for the bbq. The line moves quickly, and we receive our food right away. The portions are big. I had the baked beans and macaroni salad. Everything was very good, and we were all stuffed after eating our dinners. The chicken was flavorful and falling off the bone. Great roadside stop.

sheiszoee

Gets reallyyyyyyy busy but it’s cause they are one of the best bbq places out here!!! Totally recommend , food is always delicious. (Ignore the Mac & cheese) got that from a different place.

Chaplain Patty

It was a lovely 77° this evening... the perfect weather to bat my eyelashes at my hubby, and before I knew it,we were off to the Big Dipper. Despite having 30+ Flavors, I am a die hard , soft vanilla, plastered in rainbow sprinkles, on a GF cone, kind of girl. They have a couple of lovely Gazebos with ample seating and noticed a quaint play area for the children to enjoy. Overall I give the Big Dipper a 5 star rating.

Whitetailcrafts

No complaints at all. Tried the chicken dinner with the salted potatoes and the mac salad and the ribs everything was quite delicious service was super quick and friendly staff. Remember to bring cash for the cash discount, they do accept cards if needed.

kathryn S

YUMMY‼️‼️‼️‼️pit Bbq stand with shaded or sunny clean tables. I had moist yummy chicken dinner with fresh fruit salad and house made creamy mayo cole slaw. The sauce for the chicken was very different than any I have had and very perfect on the chicken. Delish 😋. Hubby had ribs, sauce had a bite. Ribs had really good flavor . LOTS of sides choices. Line goes quick. Easy detour off then on rte 17.

Jackie Nowak

Love this place, back in my hometown for a visit to see my kids. Could not believe how they have changed, and expanded the menu. My husband had ribs and chicken, I and my son had chicken. They never had ribs when I was there before, and they now have pulled pork and speedies. I wanted to try everything, I had some of my hubby's ribs, and the guy cooking must have heard me say I wanted to try the speedies, because he brought over a sampling of them. Lip shaking delicious. I was going to post a pictures of our meals but we all enjoyed the chicken and ribs, there was nothing left. We went to the "Big Dipper" next door and they had so many flavors of ice cream. I had a simple strawberry milkshake, was very good. Wish I had these two places where I am, they would clean up with business.

+1

Didn't live up to the hype for me but was still good. Definitely worth the money for the amount of food you get. I'm not a huge fan of the chicken sauce. But overall a decent meal.

Small place next door to an ice cream stand. Pretty good BBQ chicken and above average pulled pork. Outdoor picnic table seating (some covered), no alcohol, and limited sides (baked beans, salt potatoes, cole slaw, macaroni & potato salads). Half chicken or dark meat (3 legs). It's not unusual for them to run out of chicken by 6 on a nice day.

Delicious! Had charcoal bbq chicken with 2 sides $8.75!! Quaint family restaurant with clean well looked after outside seating area. Close to the highway exit. Will be back in a heart beat :D

Get chicken often...is delicious. Today tried with the ribs. They were a bit dry but still tasty. I usually get salt potatoes and beans

Great food well priced and good serving size. Chicken was perfect baked beans and coleslaw was delicious. Atmosphere very quaint and cozy Picnic style lunch. Absolutely perfect for a warm summer day.

Iv always loved your food, but I went today and the guest i bought food for got 4 hairs in their food. I will upgrade to 5 stars if you will wear hair nets because someone was shedding and a whole meal has been wasted now. I cant drive all the way back now to have it replaced or refunded so I sincerly hope this gets seen and the issue can be handled appropriately.

Let me preface this by saying I've been spoiled by working for a competing barbecue business. While staff are over-the-top friendly, the food here is just okay. It's not bad, but it's not amazing either. Their potato salad was, well, just typical potato salad. I ordered chicken and it wasn't very tender or moist or very well seasoned -- again, just okay. I won't be back again, but if you don't care much for intense flavor, you may want to give this place a shot.

Only bad thing I can say is I drove 20 miles to get their chicken dinners. I call first to ask if they still have chicken at 6:00pm the girl told me they had plenty. 20 minutes later I showed up and they were out of chicken. I even tried to order ahead to make sure they would have it but she said they only do call ahead for orders of 10 or more.

I got the half chicken dinner with coleslaw and salt potatoes. The chicken was delicious! The coleslaw was surprisingly good— not too sweet. But my salt potatoes weren’t thoroughly cooked, hard and bitter with absolutely no butter. I love salt potatoes and usually order extra. I’m glad I didn’t.

Excellent pulled pork. The macaroni salad was superb as well. Large portions and a good value

Amelia T

Customer service is top notch- everyone is very kind and helpful. Food is decent. You can’t beat the price of the chicken dinner. We came near the end of the season and before lunch rush so service was incredibly fast. Chicken is the star- I’d skip the ribs if you are a BBQ connoisseur though. I’m from the south, so BBQ tends to be very hit or miss up in the northeast. Ribs weren’t quite there. Options for sides are decent- you can’t go wrong with their coleslaw. Baked beans and Mac salad were good too. I only wish I had the salt potatoes since that’s a regional thing here in NY- I think they are a nice complement to BBQ!

Robert Cutone

1/2 a rack was delicious. Baked beans were good. The potato salad was ok. Only took a few minutes to get my order and I was on my way.

Gerald Pearce

Outdoor dining picnic tables and port-a-john. Very good barbecue choice of ribs, chicken, pulled pork, and pulled chicken. There are plenty of side options as well as bottled beverages. Food is served in takeout containers. Right across the parking lot is an ice cream stand with so many delicious options it is hard to choose. Great shakes and Sundays.

Overall good, but coleslaw and the pulled chicken are too sweet

Have always loved the big dipper bbq but this visit was not exceptional. Very little meat on the chicken. The salt potatoes were hard and service sub par. It may be a while before we go back.

The ice cream was good, and the choices seemed almost endless, which was great but the only real issue is how confusing and hectic the lines are. Its a lot of of chaos because windows were not labeled as open or closed, 3 lines formed and only 1 window ended up being open but the 25ish people out front were very upfront about how confused they all were. Im just glad that the accusations of cutting in line wasnt being yelled out at others.

It smelled really good, but they were out of every single meat when we go there. They only had sides left. It was close to closing, so I’m sure this isn’t a normal occurrence!

So here's the thing. The people here are wonderful, the prices are pretty good. The sides are very good. But the proteins are overcooked. I pass by this place every week during the summer, and I get take out once a year. And sadly, it is always over cooked. I went on a limb this time and got the ribs, we had to throw the entire $20 meal away. The ribs were so overcooked it was like trying to eat tree bark. And I was there at 11am, so it wasn't like it was late in the day when they were busy. The same as the white meat part of the chicken on the chicken dinner. I hope that one year they'll stop over cooking and I can get them more often!

J F

Their potato salad seems to be under cooked every time I been there this year. Not a fan of biting into a still raw potato.

James Hennessy

I want to like it here, but all the food tastes like it was cooked three hours earlier. Dry and not very hot.

The last at least 5 times I've been here the chicken isn't flavored enought and you get maybe two bites of chicken smallest chicken half I've ever seen..always disappointed with this place

Normally, I do not write negative reviews so this is a first. I was in town visiting family and going to the Big Dipper is somewhat of a tradition. LOVE the ice cream. However, we stopped to pick up some chicken dinners and they were all very dry. It was a little after 5pm so I assumed they'd be made fresh for dinner. These tasted like they were sitting around all day. The side dishes were good and the service was good. I hope I just caught them on a bad day because the cicken was NOT good.

I went there May 30, 2021 The two girls were very friendly and helpful. I ordered half a rack of ribs and was very disappointed. I think the ribs were several days old., very tough and barely warm. Potato salad was not very good. The beans that came out of the can was the better part of the dinner. A true disappointment.

The young blonde haired girl was very rude and dismissive. She walked away half way threw placing our order. We asked for 1 small and 1 medium ice cream. They both ended up being the same size. She said they only have 1 size. Not sure why she justed didn't say that when we asked for 2 separate sizes. We asked the owner. The gentleman in the red jeep wrangler what her name was he was rude and asked why. I told him she was rude and short and dismissive. He said her name was Martha then closed the glass door in my face. Never again will I support this small business.

We stopped here on the way to Syracuse and honestly, the chicle was rubbery and the beef ribs were overcooked. I had a lot better BBQ at restaurants. Wouldn't come back. Sorry.

Dr. T

Big Dipper bbq is an average bbq place. They cook the food outside on a massive grill. However the smoke blows into your face when you’re ordering. It didn’t take long to receive my order, however the pulled chicken didn’t taste that great. The potatoes, on the other hand, had mighty flavor and great texture. The roll was just a basic hotdog roll, nothing special. I was greatly disappointed by the chicken after hearing good reviews about the place. If I were to ever return, I would only have the potatoes, even though they were just a role player in the meal of a team. They came off the bench and played their role better than the supposed superstar, the chicken.

+2

Do not know where all the 5 stars are coming from but I was very disappointed this afternoon. First, it was before 6 pm and the bbq pit was already broken down and no chicken on there, which means the chicken could not be fresh bbq chicken. Next, I know they use that pit daily but the next time you are there take a look up at the metal roof covering. Wow! Pretty disgusting. I wonder how often the clean that. The order line borders that enclosure and I would be pretty ticked if black tar dripped on me because that is what it looks like up there, black tar! Then, remind you, it is before 6 pm. They close at 8 pm. They were "Sold Out" of spedies!!! Memorial Day Weekend!! The kick off of summer here and what do people eat on Memorial Day??? Freaking spedies!!!!!!!! How do you run out?? Or they just called it quits at 6pm. Ha ha ha!! Seriously, I cannot believe they don't have that pit going longer, especially on Memorial Day Weekend. And there was a long line so people must love it. I have only had it twice in my life and nothing great. The chicken was dry so that is a sign it was not fresh. I ordered sides of baked bean, potato salad, and large sides of salt potatoes and mac salad. Lastly, The kid that packaged my food was closing the styrofoam container did not even ask me if I wanted some bbq sauce that was sitting on the counter in front of him. I had to ask and he said "Oh yeah that is the best part." I then opened the container and put some on. I had no idea how it works there! It was only my second time and the first time was over a year ago. 5 star people go spend your money there, but I will spend my money on food somewhere else. And the employees to me were not overly friendly, just kind of there, doing what they need to do until 8 pm.

Used to love it here. 3 nights in a row I have gone over an hour before close and they are out of chicken. I can see 10-15 mins before, but over an hour before close on multiple nights? The staple of the entire place is chicken. Lol. It was great while it lasted. Update: Nothing has changed. 4 times in a row in the past 2 weeks I have came well over an hour before close just for them to be out of half chickens. This makes absolutely no sense. Put a sign up! Good thing JackPot Richie’s never fails and has more tender chicken anyways!

I had the chicken speidie sub and my husband had a half rack of ribs and we couldn't eat any of it but 2 bites. It was so hot..hot in meaning spicy hot (chili or hot peppers or something)! Both of us couldn't eat 2 bites of what we got. Was very disappointed.

We got takeout here just a few hours ago and I would not recommend this place to anyone. We got 2 chicken dinners and a half rack of ribs. The ribs we had to throw away. They had an acrid almost chemical taste to them that was extremely unpleasant. The chicken was mediocre for cornell style chicken in the area. The best part about the meal were the canned baked beans.

Brisket too dry, they don’t know how to smoke the meat.

My chicken wasn't cooked all the way through, the beans were like warm and tasted like the just came from the can, and the Mac salad tasted store bought. They charge you for a roll if you have already picked 2 sides. I've never been to a chicken BBQ where you had to pay extra for the roll. The rolls are always part of the meal!! Including the 2 other sides plus the chicken. I will never ever go again!! I still can't figure out what all the hype was about this place..... Oh well, live & learn, and pass along my experience to anyone I know.

Never again... I ordered a 1/2 chicken with macaroni salad and baked beans. I instead received salt potatoes that do not taste of salt at all and baked beans that are just generic canned beans, no seasoning and taste awful. The chicken, bland and dry. Waste of time and money.

Start off with the positives. The people were SUPER friendly and service was fast. Now the negative unfortunately. This was the worst bbq I've ever had. Extremely bland food. Not sure what sauce they are trying for the chicken, but it's not working for BBQ places that I've had before. The ribs were extremely tough. Didn't fall off bone at all. Not much flavor on the ribs either. Would not recommend this place if you enjoy really good BBQ.

Why are they constantly out of chicken? Focus on feeding your current customers instead of branching out. Clearly there are problems. Wasted enough of my time driving there and them not having food. It was good while it lasted, but not coming back here again.

Went to the Big Dipper BBQ was totally disappointed!!! The food was terrible! I ordered 3 chicken dinners all with salt potatoes. The salt potatoes were the only thing on the menu that were good. The macaroni and potato salads had poor combination of spices, bad tasting and the chicken was overcooked. The coleslaw was very bland tasting. I won't be a repeat customer. Someone should learn how to use spices correctly! Definitely not worth the visit and the portions were not as generous as others have reviewed!

Kathryn Stouffer

The attitude of the workers did not seem like they wanted to take our orders. The energy at the whole establishment felt very hostile. Lights are out at 8:48 PM even though they claim they close at 9 PM. Can confidently say I will not be back. Hoping things can take a turn for the better in the future of this business because they could use it.

Angel Fierce

If you’re looking for FOOD POISONING come here!! Spoiled chicken sent me to the ER, I was asked by my nurse what I had eaten that day, and it turns out there were FOUR OTHER PATIENTS in the ER that had also eaten at the Big Dipper earlier. On top of that was rotten smelling coleslaw, which I didn’t touch, asked my money back or a different side but was denied by Ryan (apparently the owners son)!!! I am COMPLETELY disgusted and enraged. This place should not be in business!!