Hot Take: Little Dooey's is Trash

[GTAdawg]

Here’s the pro’s talk on LD’s....

If you’re going to LD for bbq you’re going for the wrong stuff. Oddly enough the only consistently good cut of bbq they have is brisket. Pulled pork is subpar at best.

In no particular order here is what they do well:
Tamales
Gumbo
Redfish w/ jambalaya (when they have it)
Catfish
Bacon cheeseburger
Onion rings
Shrimp and oyster poboys
Cheese logs
buffalo wings
Chicken strips (basket or wrap)

Now on the crawfish....I actually don’t have a problem with theirs. But I’ll tell you straight up that I’m not picky on my mudbugs. If it results in a runny nose beer guzzling good feeding then I’m all in. They seem to season theirs heavy after boiling, so that kicks the spice up. Can seem too salty though, but I digress.

 

[GTAdawg]

Also, you haven’t lived until you’ve experienced the musty smell that permeates in the drink room and bathroom. That’s been a staple of the place for years. You’d think they’d deal with that....

 

[GTAdawg]

Starkpatch? Cmon now....

 

[campshelbydog842003]

Where exactly do you recommend eating crawfish in Starkville? They are one of the only restaurants that will serve it with beer. It is not very good but I have yet to find a place that sells it that is any good. I bought some from brewski’s once and asked for extra spicy and those 17ing idiots just dumped more seasoning on top of them instead of actually adding it to the pot and cooking it into them. Same at Rosey Baby’s. I would love to find just a decent crawfish spot in Starkville.

 

[GTAdawg]

I saw that 1883 Smokehouse had started doing it but I never made my way over there.

 

[Trojanbulldog19]

I used to get the brisket plate back when I was in school and take it back to the lab to work and eat. Was always pretty good to me

 

[ronpolk]

It's become trendy to hate on Lil Dooey's. I enjoy it, but it's not the best place in Starkville. The corn salad is the best thing they have to me.

It’s amazing how everyone hates on it so much but every home game there is a line out to the road waiting to get it.

It’s good BBQ. I used to say it was the best in Starkville until I tried 2 brothers. That is not a knock on dooey’s but rather just how good 2 brothers is. But I will say my favorite meal in Starkville is the catfish from dooey.

 

[IBleedMaroonDawg]

Starkpatch? Cmon now....

I lived there for a long time. I'm allowed.

I've seen that MSU has caught up with the times but I hear the city... not so much.

Damned shame too.

 

[BELdog]

They don't use a rub. No seasoning at all.

This is just simply not the truth. The problem is not the rub, but the fact that you rarely eat meat at Little Dooey that was cooked tha day you ordered it. Most of it is frozen and then thawed and heated with steam. It just doesn’t not retain it’s flavor or texture after that process. Little Dooey barbecue is actually not bad at all, if you get it straight off the smoker. The problem is that rarely happens because they pre-cook so much due to the volume of meat they sell.

 

[Philly Dawg]

Brisket is good; pulled pork is decent. Ribs are poor. Some of the other non-BBQ stuff is good.

 

[dorndawg]

Sure, sometimes. Pulled pork or western-style ribs in the oven go hard, obviously you aren't getting woodsmoke flavor. And oven bbq chicken can be divine

 

[Spidey.sixpack]

i only ate there once when i was in school. i'll have to try the catfish next time i'm in starkville. petty's was always my place. and in my top 5 starkville restaurants from when i was in school.

 

[vhdawg]

This isn't the first time you've been banned, Blake. See ya!

 

[Dawg1976]

Bbq is something that's hard to get a consensus opinion on. Some places that have good yelp opinions I didn't care for and vice versa. The few times I've been to Little Dooey's I thought it was ok. I would give it a 6.5/10. I'll try the catfish next time I go.

 

[HumpDawgy]

Like most small towns in Mississippi, its a place that has been there a long time and brings back memories for us. I don't want to see those places go away just because someone doesn't think the quality of the bbq is on par with other places. The food is fine especially the catfish.

 

[aTotal360]

Rondayvoo is teh suk !!1!!11!1!!!!!

 

[HD6]

Here you can watch as they literally take their pork butts out of the box and put them on the smoker.

 

[615dawg]

Agreed, it is the most overrated restaurant I have been too. Two Brother’s, Pettys and Spotlight Cafe are all better BBQ options, way better BBQ options.

Don’t even get me started on comparing Little Doey’s to places in Memphis.

Little Dooey wouldn't stay open a week in Memphis.

Like others have said, their fried catfish/chicken strips are the best thing on the menu. Pulled pork is meh.

 

[ezsoil]

Petty’s BBQ was always my go to when I was in school there. That half bbq chicken plate is probably the best I’ve ever had.

I'm sorry but Petty's has been horrible each time I've been......gristle and her sauce was just plain nasty....I'll take TLD 100 times over Petty's

 

[kired]

No doubt. I've been to a lot of decent BBQ places, but there are only 2 or 3 in my life that I'd make a special trip just to visit.

Then some are so terrible that I'd never return even if it was free.

 

[KingCharlesSpaniel]

Rondayvoo is teh suk !!1!!11!1!!!!!

I have never had a meaty rib at the Rendezvous. I have never had a particularly tasty rib at the Rendezvous. I was completely unsurprised to learn that they are grilled, not smoked and therefore are not bbq at all.

 

[KingCharlesSpaniel]

How does LD Starkville compare to LD Columbus? I have never been to the original in Starkville. In Columbus the ribs are bad and the pulled pork is inconsistent, but never great. The Columbus LDs are serviceable restaurants where you can get ok food if you are careful about what you order.

 

[FreeDawg]

What sort of idiot goes to a BBQ joint for crawfish? You might as well have ordered a vegan gluten free plate.

Post of the 17ing thread. Get pulled pork, slaw, fries, Texas post and be happy. If you can’t be happy with that plate, you aren’t some food savant, you’re a miserable person.

 

[GhostOfJackie]

I've been going to Starkville since I was a child, spent 5 years up there for school, and still make the trip at least 15 times a year. I've eaten at Little Dooey's once.

 

[GhostOfJackie]

BBQ in the oven aint bad. It's the quick and easy way to do BBQ Chicken/Ribs/Pork Chops. BBQ chicken in the oven is one of my favorites.

 

[TheStateUofMS]

Only an OM and/or a major D-bag would respond with a post like this. Throw in a 15yr old too I guess.

 

[Nunya.sixpack]

View attachment 14550

 

[aTotal360]

I hear they actually boil their ribs and then inject them with liquid smoke.

 

[GhostOfJackie]

I lived there for a long time. I'm allowed.

I've seen that MSU has caught up with the times but I hear the city... not so much.

Damned shame too.

You must not have been to Starkville in the past 10 years.

 

[The Usual Suspect]

Starkville needs a Rudy's Country Store.

 

[Nunya.sixpack]

I hear they actually boil their ribs and then inject them with liquid smoke.

hey man, use the right term.... it's sous vide.

 

[stateu1]

I have never had a meaty rib at the Rendezvous. I have never had a particularly tasty rib at the Rendezvous. I was completely unsurprised to learn that they are grilled, not smoked and therefore are not bbq at all.

You're right. Dry and no meat.

 

[Dawgzilla]

I don't think I've eaten at Little Dooey's in about 15 years, but that's mainly because I don't get back to Starkville much.

I was in school when LD first opened in that former gas station around the corner from its current location (which I think has been torn down). It was walking distance from my apartment and I ate there fairly often. The Little Dooey on a stick was my favorite, and their pulled pork sandwich was.....I don't know, like the Goldilocks of pulled pork sandwiches. It was just right. Very middle of the road. Had better, had worse. I've sent plenty of friends there over the years, and I've ordered their food for a lot of tailgates, but I don't ever claim that its about to be the best BBQ they have ever eaten or anything...it's just perfectly acceptable food.

Now, if their quality has dropped over the last 15 years or so, then that's disappointing.

 

[kired]

Same here. And that was only because a girl with us had to have their fried pickles or something.

Oby's and Stromboli's have been the go to places for my wife & I since we were there almost 20 years ago.

 

[johnson86-1]

Bbq is something that's hard to get a consensus opinion on. Some places that have good yelp opinions I didn't care for and vice versa. The few times I've been to Little Dooey's I thought it was ok. I would give it a 6.5/10. I'll try the catfish next time I go.

Part of this is that lots of people just want a sweet sauce and they want a lot of it, so you can have boiled meet and a sweet barbecue sauce and have 50% of the population will think it's great. And a lot of those people won't like a good smoked piece of meet with only dry rub as the seasoning.

Another issue (or maybe another result of the same issue) is that once you get popular, it seems easier to coast on reputation with barbecue than other food types.

 

[Uncle Ruckus]

Sure, sometimes. Pulled pork or western-style ribs in the oven go hard, obviously you aren't getting woodsmoke flavor. And oven bbq chicken can be divine

But a smoker is an outdoor oven that makes it taste so much better.

 

[NTDawg]

I love BBQ but there aren't many good places to get good BBQ. Best BBQ almost never comes from a restaurant. I agree with others that the catfish at LDs is good. I like the whole fried catfish and the blacked catfish.

 

[MeridianDog]

Sorry to Hijack the thread, but memories of Len Lew's have filled my mind. In 1968, it was a favorite gathering place for many of us who loved cold beer and BBQ. I have old guy memory, but as far as I know Len Lew's cooked their pork over a pit and sliced it (no pulled pork at Len Lew's), then served it with BBQ sauce on a burger bun, for most of us with a pitcher of Schlitz, Budweiser or PBR.

What good BBQ and what good memories. I still do everything I can do today to honor the Len Lew's tradition.

View attachment 14571

Back in 68, we also had a Coleman's BBQ (on H-82?) that was very smoky and pretty good. If my memory is correct, you could buy 4 Pork BBQ sandwiches at Clark's Minute Mart for $5.00. I have no idea how they made money on them.

Thanks guys, Back to Little Dooey's.

 

[DeltaChicagoDog]

Yeah, man. It was all about Sonny's for me and my crew while at State. There was also a gas station on 82 just past campus that had supreme plate lunches. Holy shite. By the time I'd finished off the cobbler and made it halfway through Days, I'd be hurtling into 2-hour comanap.

 

[Hankp22]

Disagree

The blackened catfish is great. Get a side of fried pickles.

One of my favorite meals in Starkville. The catfish (blackened or fried) is one of the best meals in Starkville.