The Hickory Hut

The Hickory Hut in Dallas, Georgia is a much-beloved and cherished local landmark for the denizens of Paulding County. Located across the street from Paulding Memorial Hospital, it has been serving BBQ and Brunswick Stew to hungry folks for many years. For a long time, it was known as The Hickory House, but something happened about the owner retiring, selling some of his recipes to another establishment in nearby Hiram, GA, and, when he decided to reopen, the name had to be changed to The Hickory Hut to avoid any conflict (if anyone knows that I'm off the target with this 'history', please let me know). Regardless, my family and friends in Paulding County have been telling me for years that I have to go The Hickory Hut if I'm looking for good 'hole-in-the-wall' barbecue. Now, you may notice from the original BBQ Quest post, The Hickory Hut is not on the list, but I haven't had the chance to visit any of those places since my last post. And, I've always known that I was going to include some of the better "hole-in-the-wall" places that dot the landscape of the Southeast, even those that don't serve barbecue.

Today, I finally found myself able to make a visit to The Hickory Hut for the first time (truth be told, my beautiful wife was feeling sick so I was free to look for some BBQ on my own for lunch). This ended up being a 'solo' trip, because my eating buddy Bill is on vacation with his family right now. So, armed with my camera phone and a gnawing hunger for some good 'cue, I head off toward Dallas. Knowing that I would be taking a chance of fighting the work-day lunch crowd, I drove by The Hickory Hut at 12:15 p.m. If a crowd is any indication of the quality of the food, I knew right away that this place must be the place to eat in Dallas. As a matter of fact, it was so packed in the parking lot, I decided to run a few more errands and return at a later time in the afternoon (for business hours, see photo at left). To be fair, The Hickory Hut doesn't have the biggest parking lot, but I've seen bigger places with less patrons during lunch time. And speaking of the parking lot, I'll warn you that you'll have to be careful pulling in and out, because it is a heavily trafficked area with little room to maneuver in the actual lot.

I pulled back into the parking lot at about 1:45 p.m., and the crowd had definitely subsided. When I wondered inside, I noticed a wood-carved sign hanging above the cash register that told you to place your order and pay before you took your seat. I stood in line behind a couple of ladies who were placing a 'to go' order, but it didn't take very long for me to work my way to the cashier. At the register, they have a menu for you to look over, but I quickly noticed that my needs would be best served by ordering the BBQ Plate. For $6.50, my order would come with chopped barbecue with sauce, Brunswick Stew, french fries, and a heated bun. Tagging on a sweet tea (what else?), I paid the cashier, received an ticket stub with an order number, and made my way to one of the booths.

In terms of the setting, The Hickory Hut isn't a large establishment, but it was very clean compared to many other BBQ joints that I have frequented. There are about seven booths and five or six stools that line a counter in front of the kitchen (see photo at left). As you enter, you'll notice a display stand that offers a variety of potato chips and packaged fruit pies for you to purchase (but you won't be thinking about those pies when you notice the homemade ones on the counter...more on that in a bit). Let's be honest to say that sometimes a barbecue joint can be a littler overwhelming in terms of the smokey smell, but that wasn't the case with The Hickory Hut.

It didn't take but a couple of minutes for the young lady behind the counter to call out "44", after which I was presented with a tray holding a styrofoam container and a cup of sweet tea. When I got back to my booth, I opened up the container and found my barbecue, french fries, and Brunswick Stew (see photo at left). The serving of chopped pork was generous with most of the meat covered in sauce, and the french fries were large-cut with plenty of them stacked into their section of the container. I was a little disappointed in the amount of Brunswick Stew that was provided, but I guess I shouldn't have expected much more when you basically are ordering a combo meal. At first, I thought the toasted bun was a piece of cornbread that was wrapped in paper, but, upon unwrapping it, I realized that the bun had just be squished a little flat by the press.

The chopped pork, as shown in the photo above, was served with the sauce already poured on the meat, so I had to carefully pick at the side of my serving to sample the taste of the meat without the sauce. It did have a smoked flavor, but not as strong as I prefer. If there is anything that I'm learning by writing this blog, it's helping me to understand what I enjoy about barbecue. As it turns out, I'm a fan of meat that has a definite smoked taste. Now, that's not to say that I didn't enjoy the pork at the Hickory Hut; it was good! It had a hint of smoked flavor, and it was a moist serving of meat (you don't want the meat to be too dry). Now, I don't recall the exact words from the menu, but it does mention something about The Hickory Hut's famous sauce. I'll back them up on this, because it was definitely a great sauce. It had the consistency that one would expect from a tomato-based sauce, and it had a little zing to it that really made the serving great! Since it was so good, I didn't really mind that they had poured so much onto my plate. As I said, I'm learning as I go along...and I've learned to ask for my sauce to be served on the side. Even when it's a great sauce like the one at The Hickory Hut, I enjoy sampling the taste of the pork prior to covering it with sauce. I believe that good pork barbecue meat can stand by itself. If you have to cover it with a sauce to make it taste good, it must not be very good to start with. But, again, the chopped pork at The Hickory Hut was good, although I don't know if I would put it at the top of my list of favorites (I may have placed myself in jeopardy with my family and friends from Paulding with that comment).

Now, on to the sides! I'll go ahead and get the toasted bun out of the way. It was a white bread hamburger bun from a sack that had been toasted in a sandwich press. And I when I say it was put into a press, I mean it was pressed! I literally had to peel it apart, but I did use it to create a sandwich. Thanks to the large serving, however, I still had plenty of meat to eat after polishing off the bread. In regard to the fries, I'm normally not a fan of large-cut fries, but these were very good. They were the last thing that I finished off, dipping them in ketchup from a squeeze bottle that was located on my table. I was anxious to try the Brunswick Stew, because it is one of my favorite dishes. Right away, I noticed that The Hickory Hut's Brunswick Stew had a different look. Yes, it had the traditional meat, corn, tomatoes, and such, but it appeared to already have some cornbread mixed into the stew. If that's not the case, you sure could have fooled me...but, remember, I've admitted that I'm not a food expert. Like their BBQ sauce, the Brunswick Stew had a little kick to it. I could also pick up on the tomato-base more so than some others that I have tasted. As I have said before, Brunswick Stew can sometimes come out as a bland mixture of stuff, but not so with the stew at the Hickory Hut! It was definitely a great side; I just wish they had given me more of it. Just like with Harold's Barbecue in Atlanta, I'll definitely order more of this side on my next visit. Finally, the sweet tea was very good, and they gave me a free refill as I was leaving. Nothing's better on a hot July day in the South!

As I was leaving (already quite full, I must add), I decided to swing by the cashier and order a fried peach pie to go (see photo at left). My aunt Cathy was telling me on the Fourth of July that my cousin Nathan, who is proudly serving our country in Afghanistan, loves their fried apple pies. They went to the trouble to wrap the pie in paper and place it in a sack. Sack and sweet tea in hand, I wondered out to the truck. After snapping the exterior photos show above, I started on down the road eating my fried peach pie. Let me go ahead and say that I LOVE fried peach pies, and, the problem is, you just can't find enough places that serve them anymore. You can tell that The Hickory Hut makes their pies from scratch, thanks to the generous crispy dough and the slight hint of shortening as you gobble it down. The fruit filling was great, and I must say that the pie was a great end to a very good meal. I would suggest eating one of these pies at the restaurant and asking them to heat it up for you, however. If it had been hot and dabbed with a little butter, I think I would have fallen in love.

So, I would definitely recommend folks to stop by The Hickory Hut in Dallas, Georgia. It's got a great sense of place as it has been a landmark in Paulding County for many years. And the food is pretty good to boot! My uncle Merle mentioned something about how good their chili dogs are, so I may be going back to give those a try as well.

The Hickory Hut does not have a website, so I can't post a link! For directions, just find your way to Paulding Memorial Hospital in Dallas, GA then look diagonally across the street.

~Dave

Harold's Barbecue

On Friday evening, June 20, 2008, Bill and I had the opportunity to eat at Harold's Barbecue in Atlanta. Harold's has been an Atlanta BBQ institution since 1947, and there's several old Lewis Grizzard articles that mention this beloved icon. Additionally, I've heard my old college roommate, Curtis, speak about it glowingly for years. Curtis has always said that Harold's had some of the best barbecue even though he also was quick to warn that it wasn't in the nicest part of town, what with being right next to the Federal Penitentiary and all.

Due to its history and all of the hoopla that goes along with Harold's, Bill and I decided to move it up to the top of the list of great barbecue places to visit. Luckily, it turned out that we could squeeze it into a shopping trip that we took with our wives, Tammy and April. It just goes to show that a good marriage is based upon compromise - the wives get to shop, we get to eat barbecue. Ain't life grand? But let me tell you, this was no easy bargain to strike on my end. My beautiful wife is NOT a fan of barbecue, but, bless her heart, she keeps on going to let me get my fix of this wonderful Southern treat.

With that being said, Harold's location and appearance did not win over either of our wives when we first approached the building. I have to admit, the bars on all of the windows does take you back a little when you first pull up. And the smoke that slaps you right in the face when you first walk in the door doesn't help matters either. Now, I realize that most BBQ joints will be somewhat smoky, but this was a little over the top. Luckily, we were able to sit in the back room where the cloud didn't seem to settle as heavily. All and all, the atmosphere of the place was just what one would expect from an old BBQ restaurant, so I thought we should be in for some good 'cue!

Our waitress was very friendly, and she said that she has been working at Harold's for about 14 years. She did explain that they were out of beef at that time, which also included hamburgers. Obviously, this wasn't a problem for those of us who came looking for barbecue, but it did put a damper on my wife's options (she had already noticed that Harold's does not have BBQ chicken on its menu). Without much delay, we all placed our orders, which included two chopped pork plates for Bill and myself while the wives ordered two sliced pork plates. Additionally, Bill ordered a side of french fries. When she returned with our drinks, she brought us back two bowls filled with regular potato chips, which was a great appetizer to hold us over until the food arrived. The sweet tea that she brought was a perfect example of Southern sweet tea - you know, the kind that only Southerners can really make - that was served in a glass containing crushed ice. Again, perfect!

Rather quickly, she returned with our plates. Each one looked exactly the same with the difference of either having chopped or sliced pork. The sides were cole slaw, Brunswick Stew, and cornbread. The meat was served without sauce, which was in two squeeze bottles on the table - one being the regular sauce and the other being their hot sauce. Surprisingly, the meat did not have a smoky flavor despite the heavy smell of smoke in the restaurant. As a matter of fact, I would go so far as to say that the meat was somewhat bland, although it was definitely good barbecue. Again, the meat was served without sauce, so it's up to the diner to add as much or as little as he or she desires. One of the first things that I noticed about Harold's sauce was its consistency. It is a thin sauce even though it is tomato-based. This is probably the point where I should point out that I am a fan of tomato-based sauces and not the greatest fan of vinegar-based barbecue sauces (hey, it's what I was raised on). Even though it is tomato-based, the thin consistency of Harold's sauce reminds one of a vinegar-based sauce and made the flavor seem a bit watered-down. Bill's wife, April, was the first to try the hot barbecue sauce and suggested that it tasted better than the regular. It did provide more of the traditional kick that one expects from a tomato-based BBQ sauce, so I would recommend patrons to go for the red squeeze bottle when applying the sauce. Ultimately, the meat and sauce were enjoyable, but I wouldn't necessarily put it at the top of my list.

The sides were a mix of great to okay. We'll start off with the great one - their Brunswick Stew. Harold's definitely has figured out how to make some great Brunswick Stew. With or without crumbled cornbread, it was a great mix of meat, vegetables, and spices. Sometimes Brunswick Stew can be a hit or miss, with the "misses" tasting rather bland. Not so with the stew at Harold's. As a matter of fact, I'll probably stick to just the Brunswick Stew the next time I eat at Harold's. I think they know that they have a winner with their stew because they've used it to create a rather unique menu item, the Stew Dog - a hot dog covered with Brunswick Stew. Now, we didn't try the Stew Dog, but I will definitely be giving it a go when I return. Do you get the idea that this is some good Brunswick Stew?

The next two sides were the cole slaw and the cornbread. The coleslaw appeared to be a blend of cabbage, carrots, mayo, and vinegar, with a good portion of the cabbage being the stalk. This creates a real crunch when eating the coleslaw, which makes this an enjoyable side. The mix of mayo and vinegar is appropriate, allowing for a nice blend of sweet and salty tastes. I was raised on mayo-only slaw, so too much vinegar is a no-no for me. But, again, Harold's has hit upon the right combination with its slaw ingredients, so you won't go wrong with this side. The cornbread, however, was a slight disappointment. Prior to our visit, I had also heard that Harold's has great cornbread, but I wasn't that impressed. They obviously fry up their cornbread in a large square pan and cut it into flat, square pieces that are a little bigger than a deck of cards. It was okay, but the pieces I ate weren't really great cornbread. Because it fries up into thin slices, it seems to soak in a little too much grease which makes for a heavy flavor. Now, a lot of folks might think it's great stuff, but maybe I've been spoiled by too much good cornbread at "dinner on the grounds" during revival.

All and all, I enjoyed our trip to Harold's, but probably more because it was the start of our great BBQ Quest and its such an Atlanta icon. The barbecue was good, but I don't think that I'll be placing it at the very top of my list. The Brunswick Stew was definitely worth the trip, and it will probably be the standard by which I compare all of the others that I sure we'll be sampling. I realize that long-time fans may think I'm off my rocker, and I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a food expert. But I am a fat country boy who has grown up eating some of the best food that any region of the U.S. can offer, and that's got to be worth something!

Bill will be adding his comments in a bit! Check back soon!!!

For a complete menu, directions, and phone number, visit Harold's Barbecue on the web at http://www.haroldsbarbecue.com/

~ Dave

The Quest for Great BBQ Begins

On May 7, 2008, Atlanta's public television station, PBA 30, repeated a program that originally aired on August 4, 2005 entitled, "Kissed by Fire: Atlanta's Best BBQ Quest." Not having previously seen this program and a lover of good BBQ, I was entranced by the goal of the show, and I stayed glued to the television set to see what the producers considered the "best of the best" BBQ places in Atlanta. What followed was scene by scene of some of the best looking barbecue that a fat country boy could only dream about. After I watched the show, I called my friend Bill, a fellow lover of the 'Cue, and told him of the wonderful program that I had seen. Bill explained that he had previously seen the broadcast, and he recalled all of the restaurants that had been featured. During that conversation, an idea was born - we would travel the highways and byways of our fair capital and sample the delectable dishes sold at the twelve establishments featured on "Kissed by Fire." We decided that we would start during the summer by visiting each restaurant mentioned in the program. Now, the program never declared one of the places as the best BBQ joint, but it is our hope that we will discover the place that we will be able to say is the best BBQ restaurant in Atlanta. So, where are the twelve places that we'll be going to? They are:

* Sprayberry's Bar-B-Que in Newnan, GA
* Dean's Barbecue in Jonesboro, GA
* Harold' Barbecue in Atlanta, GA
* Anderson's Old Fashion Bar-B-Que in Atlanta, GA
* Dusty's Barbecue
* One Star Ranch Texas Style BBQ in Buckhead (Atlanta, GA)
* Williamson Brothers Bar-B-Q in Marietta, GA
* Daddy D'z Bar-B-Q in Atlanta, GA
* The Swallow at the Hollow in Roswell, GA
* Pig-n-Chik BBQ
* KC Pit BBQ
* Rolling Bones Premium Pit BBQ in Atlanta, GA

Man, this is going to be great!

~ Dave