DIX BBQ & BREWERY

"A FLAVORFUL EXPERIENCE"

Location: 871 Beatty Street, Vancouver
Telephone: 604-682-BREW
Website: DIX

Everyone loves a good BBQ and I mean c’mon, how can you not! Slow cooked meat, spices, bean & taters on the side, mmm, just thinking about it gets my mouth watering! Now, Vancouver is not the south, the fine art of BBQ is not as predominant as it is say in Tennessee or Louisiana but we do have MEMPHIS BLUES if you need a BBQ-fix and every second restaurant in town seems to offer a Pulled Pork Sandwich of Slow Cooked Beef Short Ribs, so there are options. But DIX calls itself a BBQ & Brewery, not only do they make their own beer, but everything on the menu comes outta the BBQ, smoker or slow-cooker. With that in mind and a belly ready for a “meat-hangover”, my buddy Steve and I decided to give DIX BBQ & BREWERY a shot.

DIX has been around for a while, it’s located steps from BC Place and sits around 150 (Pub & Restaurant) peeps so you know it’s a party at game time! As I stated, they brew their own beer right on the premises, "Red Truck Lager" and "Red Truck Ale" and they pride themselves on offering “southern backyard BBQ favorites” in their menu. Speaking of the menu, the offer some BBQ facts on there as well, like:

• 42 percent of consumers say barbecues or cookout parties are their most popular form of home entertainment. They cite great-tasting food, easy cleanup and a change of pace as top reasons.
• 57 percent of grills are used year-round.
• Aluminum wrap is the most common utensil used in the preparation of side dishes, followed by skewers.

Alas, BBQ facts on a BBQ menu do not make a BBQ Restaurant great, the food does, so let’s dig in. Despite my wish to share the Fully Stacked Nachos For Two (tortilla chips loaded with pulled chicken, beef, BBQ beans, cheese and topped with salsa and sour cream), we opted for the Lager Marinated Beer Wings tossed in Carolina BBQ Sauce. These little beauties were sweet with a hint of spice on the end, the chicken was juicy and fresh but I though they could have been a little crispier for my liking. Despite my personal preference, they were still finger-liking good and at only $0.34 a wing on Wednesdays, a hell of a finger-licking bargain!

Next up, we went for the Mighty Butt Rub Burger, a monster of a beef burger spiced with Dix's own BBQ Rub and topped with cheddar, bacon, guacamole, BBQ'ed onions and jalapeno mayo. Yes, it sounds as good as it tastes, this was one fine and messy BBQ Burger. Despite the numerous toppings, they all worked together and add the side of "fresh" coleslaw (yes, it was fresh: crisp cabbage, tasty and not drowning in dressing) and this burger is a lunchtime winner. I definitely recommend this as it is a flavorful experience and will keep you full for the afternoon.

All in all, I enjoyed my experience at DIX, the wings and the burgers were tasty options but safe ones. Next time, I will dive deep into their BBQ-fare and report back on my findings. Until then, DIX BBQ & BREWERY will remain a lunchtime winner!

RATING: 6/10 FULL BELLIES