3.20 Hickory Hollow

After the Astros game I stopped in at the Hickory Hollow BBQ restaurant, located north of Bradenton, about a mile off of I-75. It was highly recommended by internet sources as the best BBQ in the area.


You have to know where the Hickory Hollow is, because it's a fairly inconspicuous roadside eatery. This isn't cookie-cutter Q like Sonny's. It's a cash-only, local favorite. They had dozens of seats set up outside for people to wait, which in itself is a great sign for what's to come. I arrived there early, just beating the crowd on a Friday night.


The menu, even though presented on a single 8.5x11 white piece of paper offered 14 different meats and 8 different seafood choices, to go with about 30 side dishes. They offered two-meat or three-meat combos.

Unlike many great BBQ joints, this one seems dedicated to quality side dishes to accompany their meats. Some choices include rutabegas, hog shank, white acre peas, collards, and yam patties. They also carried potatoes several ways - mashed, fried and new.

My meal was fantastic. I ordered a meat combo so I could sample both the pork and beef. My sides were cole slaw and corn pudding. The slaw dressing was so good I sat there contemplating how much I would pay for the recipe. The meats were extremely juicy and relatively large pieces, and both were great. They offer a choice of sauces and I went with the "traditional" mild sweet one. You can get Carolina style BBQ here, though.

Those who recommend Hickory Hollow will get no argument from me. I'll go back before my vacation is over.