We shall start with the
facts I knew and remembered. I was going there for two things only. Perhaps the
two greatest reasons one should ever leave their house: fried chicken and pie.
How could you go wrong? Turns out you can’t.
Before we get too far into it, I have to mention that as I try to work on this all I can think about is that ID Discovery show “Southern Fried Homicide”. I barely saw one episode but the title is catchy. You really have to see the commercial. When they say the title with an accent it is really funny. I know they are telling stories about murder but with an opening like that it’s hard to take it seriously. But of all titles that channel has: Wives with Knives, Blood Relations, Twisted, etc. this might be my favorite. Maybe I just like ANYTHING that has the word fried in it. Yeah that is probably it. Wow I even surprised myself that time.
Since I had never been
here before I didn’t know what to really expect and I hate that. I am a planner
and a very visual person and my nerves start to go awry from the start. This
place also didn’t take reservations which I hate. A word of caution there is
another restaurant, a chain that also has a N.Y.C. location with a similar
sounding name that takes reservations so if you are using Open Table or another
online system beware. The restaurant is Hill Country Barbecue. It might also be
delicious but was not what I wanted this day.
For this day my companion
and I were meeting a dear friend that I am close with, who I met in college,
who was in town for the day. I thought this place would be nice to try and give
us a chance to chat while we ate. The menu had a variety of fried chicken
dishes and interesting sides. There were many choices for desserts including
milkshakes and coffee. Pies were available whole or by the slice. Even though I
had glanced on and off at this menu for weeks before I went, I hadn’t a clue
what I was ordering. I was going to wing it when I got there. Did I mention I
was a planner?
I was anxious to get
there, save seats, and survey the place. I was to get my pictures in before my
friend arrived so I could focus on her and not just my review. I got there a
few minutes before noon so they were still serving breakfast and I was holding
out until lunch. While there weren’t exactly many choices it was still rather
hard to decide what to get.
For starters there were
two kinds of fried chicken- the Hill Country Classic Recipe and the Mama El’s
Recipe. I didn’t even notice that sign at first. The former is described as
classic fried chicken with a signature shake. The latter is skinless and
crispier. Then you have to decide if you want a piece of chicken like a breast,
thigh, or drumstick, or have your chicken on a sandwich, or even in the form of
chicken fingers.
Once those decisions are made it is onto the sides. That is no easy task either. There was cheesy fried mashed potatoes, pimento mac and cheese, buttermilk biscuits, fire and ice pickles, carrot-n- raisin slaw, and coleslaw, just to mention a few.
Now it was time to move onto the pie. I knew I was only getting a slice to try. These were the signs I read, anything else they had I didn’t notice because I was already overwhelmed. The first one that caught my attention was the Apple Cheddar because I couldn’t imagine what that tasted like. Also because I was thinking of my other favorite apple pie (http://thequeenoff-ckingeverything.blogspot.com/2013/07/for-love-of-blackbird-four-and-twenty.html) and wondering what it
would be like to compare the two. There was also Salted Margarita, Bourbon
Pecan, Banana Cream, Crème Brulee, Cowboy, Coconut Crème, and Double Cherry.
When my friend arrived
and we approached the counter I couldn’t figure out what to order. When you
walk in it is pretty big upstairs and they even have seating downstairs. You
seat yourself, go up order your food, and they give it to you right there kind
of like on a lunch line, you pay, and then you are off to eat. I liked that
style. I also liked that this place was clean, everyone was helpful, and that
in hour or two I spent there I was so impressed by how many people came and
went. The line would get crazy long but the service was so fast that no one
really seemed to wait a long time. So because of that no one had to wait for a
place to sit. This was a Saturday afternoon in Midtown Manhattan and that is
saying a lot. This also gave me a chance to relax while I ate and no pressure
to hold on to my table because I had no intention of getting up immediately
after I ate. I had two missions that day.
Finally we just shouted
the first words that came to into our mouths. We decided to try a little bit of
everything. This is what we ended up with: two chicken fingers, a breast, a drumstick,
biscuits, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, and a slice of pecan pie. It is the
least amount of food I have ever ordered when three people were eating. I was
so proud of myself.
Each of us took a bite of
a different kind of chicken at the same time first. Each was made from Mama
El’s recipe. I was tempted by the bigger crunch. I didn’t really get a crunch
as I was eating the tenders. They were sort of thicker than I like but had a
nice, simple flavor. When I tasted the breast that was much better, the inside
was so moist and the batter had a “clean” taste for lack of a better word. By
that I mean it wasn’t over complicated with spices, it tasted like buttermilk
but not too much. It certainly wasn’t greasy and tasted like proper southern
fried chicken should.
As for the sides, the
biscuits were good but a little too dry so they were crumbling all over the
place. The mac and cheese was good but a little too spicy for me. By far the
best thing was those cheesy fried mashed potatoes!!! I should have guessed.
They didn’t have an overwhelming amount of cheese or crunch from being fried.
They mostly looked like really mashed potatoes they just happen to be literally
the best ones I have ever tasted and I could easily walk around with a cup of
them in my hand like it was a yogurt for breakfast.
We took a break then to
chat and digest which was easy to do because we really didn’t eat a lot. Then
we all tried that Bourbon Pecan Pie. I would like all of my friends in New
Orleans, a city I love beyond words, to ignore this next part……….
This was the best pecan
pie I have ever tasted! It looked like any you have seen and the top was heavy
with those rich pecans but the bottom was light!! Instead of biting into that
sticky, filling that you can’t get off the fork with just one bite, this flew
right off, more like a moose. It was such a pleasant surprise. That was the
dangerous part and the second food in this place I could binge eat. Thank God I
didn’t order a whole pie. I am now terrified to try any of their others. I
suppose you could say the pie took the cake.
Considering what an easy
location this is I am now thinking I will be walking in for a slice of a pie on
the go every now and then. You know to see how business is doing and report
back.
I had heard of a similar
restaurant serving both fried chicken and pies that is in Brooklyn,
appropriately called Pies and Thighs. But when I looked it up again I don’t
think I am in big hurry to go there. I think I have gotten my full of this
combination for now. But I hear good things.
As for my final
thoughts on Hill Country Chicken I am satisfied with my experience. I would go
back. In terms of fried chicken it was good but nothing will EVER top the all
time greatest fried chicken I had at Gus’s in Memphis (http://thequeenoff-ckingeverything.blogspot.com/2011/06/for-rock-n-roll-ribs-and-reflection_7249.html). As for New York City I also
recommend Blue Smoke (http://thequeenoff-ckingeverything.blogspot.com/2012/08/for-bbq-blue-smoke-style.html) which now has a downtown
and uptown location. There is also nothing like have a piece of fried chicken
and a waffle and for that you got to go to Harlem and visit Sylvia’s (http://thequeenoff-ckingeverything.blogspot.com/2012/10/for-sylvias-queen-of-soul-food.html). Whatever you do just don’t get that
flavor in Lay’s potato chips. I finally found a salty snack I am not willing to
eat.
As
you can no doubt tell from the photos here this place put a lot of thought into
their decorations. I love a place that runs with a theme. I didn’t even notice
the wishbone door handle until I was leaving. I loved the giant star in the
back which of course made me think of Texas. I was not surprised that when I
went on to their website that the owners were inspired to start this restaurant
because of their Texas background and the delicious food they grew up eating.
I
am so thrilled they decided to share!
For Hill Country Chicken
(be careful not to confuse it with Hill Country Barbecue):
For Southern Fried
Homicide:
For More Fried Chicken:
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