Dining Out: The Hickory Tavern
I had a quick lunch at the new location of The Hickory Tavern in Ballantyne and was pleasantly surprised. I had only been to the Carmel Road location before and my memory of it was that it was very smokey. It looked fairly nice from the decor but the smoke was pretty bad the night we went. The Ballantyne location was not smokey at all. It was extremely clean and the service was exceptional. The atmosphere was very upscale for a bar/tavern. I was amazed at the level of service I received not just from my waitress but also the other waitresses within the restaurant in making sure my drink was full, etc.
There were more televisions lining the walls than I could count without physically walking around the restaurant and counting them. I don’t think there is a bad seat in the place to watch a game. Please correct me if I am wrong, as I have not actually gone there to watch a game.
I tried something that I had never had before - a Folly Beach Reuben. This was basically a Reuben with the corned beef/pastrami substituted with whitefish. It was really good; although, not as good as if I had gotten the corned beef/pastrami version. Of course, I am sure the whitefish was much more healthy than corned beef. Would I get it again? Probably - if I were in a more healthy mood. If not, I would elect for the corned beef.
Next time, I will probably get something entirely different though. Their menu is fairly large - containing your typical bar fare like chicken wings, burgers and other sandwiches to pizza, calzones, chicken and steaks. Years ago, the Carmel Road location had a oyster night with 35 cent oysters. I am not sure if this is still going on, but I am sure the price is probably higher now any way.
All in all, I enjoyed my visit to The Hickory Tavern. The service was exceptional and the food was good. Feel free to comment about your own experiences with The Hickory Tavern.
Tags: American, Ballantyne