Hickory’s smokehouse in Chester is located right on the banks of the River Dee and serves Southern USA style barbecue. With locations all over the UK, I bet most people have heard of and probably visited at least once. We hadn’t been in a loooooong time and this time visited with the dogs.

Seated in an outdoor covered area, Steve was quickly given the gluten free menu, and the dogs were given brisket tasters which they devoured. The menu here is big, so it’s hard to choose but we ultimately chose a starter and a main each. The manager of the restaurant came out to check with Steve on his food allergies and to show him which meals contained what, which I thought was a great touch too.

I chose corn dogs to start as I’ve never had them before. Three sausages are dipped and fried in a cornmeal batter, served with South Carolina barbecue sauce, a sprinkling of crispy shallots and bacon bits. And wow they were good. Steve chose a free from roast sweet potato and okra gumbo, a hot and spicy stew from Louisiana.

For my main meal I went for ‘The Bird and Beast Burger’. Made up of Southern fried chicken, beef burger, hash brown, lettuce, fresh tomato, American style cheese and tangy creole mayonnaise, I didn’t think I’d be able to eat it all. But I did a great job 🤣 I think there was half a bun and a bit of burger left. The chip portion was enormous too.

Steve chose an eight hour smoked beef rib that just fell off the bone. Smoked for eight hours, then covered in sweet Tennessee bourbon gravy and served with chips and more gravy, he enjoyed every bite. He got a lot less chips than me so he ate half of mine too. I got his pickle though so we were all square.

Now after all of this food I was getting quite cold where we were sat, but who can say no to churros? Definitely not me. A lovely sweet way to end the meal. Steve got a gluten free waffle with vegan chocolate.

The staff were lovely and friendly, the food was delicious and the dogs were welcome. We will definitely be back. But maybe in summer next time 😜