Hudson's Hickory House

Hudson's Hickory House located at 6874 Broad Street in Douglasville, Georgia is in a real building versus a shack.  The prices are very reasonable and the portions are large. Ordering a plate allows for a side dish of either fries or a baked potato; we choose the fries and were pleasantly surprised that they were of the hand cut variety, and they were very good.

You can reach them by phone at 770-942-4828.

As for our rating we give Hudson's Hickory House an overall rating of:

2 – Okay (You only have an hour for lunch and this is the only place close enough)

The breakdown was:

Meat:  4 Excellent (So good that you typically will not eat BBQ anywhere else.)

We had a BBQ plate with sliced pork and we also tried the pulled pork. The meat was very moist and in fact did not need any sauce at all. The meat comes chopped, sliced, or pulled. Also for only ten cent more, you may order all inside meat.

BBQ Sandwich: 3 Very Good (It is good but you will eat BBQ at other places too.)

We got sliced meat on the sandwich which made it easier to handle as a sandwich. The bun was soft, warm, and moist. The sauce can come on the side, which is how we feel it should be sauce should enhance the flavor of the meat, not cover it up.

BBQ Sauce: 1 Needs Work: If they get serious and study the process they may be able to make good sauce maybe...someday...

The sauce is homemade and it is vinegar based and thus is very very tangy. It also has a bitter mystery ingredient that detracts from the taste of the sauce and anything you put it on. It should be used very sparingly if at all. They will give you extra sauce if you ask for it.

Brunswick Stew: 2 Okay (You only have an hour for lunch and this is the only place close enough)

The Brunswick Stew was okay. It was tomato based but a bit on the thick side and could have benefited from more broth. It had a chili-esque texture.  The spice was warm but not hot; there is mustard based hot sauce on the tables to add if you prefer a hotter stew.

Fried Pie: 2 Okay (You only have an hour for lunch and this is the only place close enough) They have apple, blueberry, cherry and peach fried pies. Being Georgia boys, natives of the Peach State, you might think that we would choose a fried peach pie. Well, Southern boys are a mysterious bunch…and thus, we chose apple. It was served warm with butter and it was okay. It was deep fried, but even though it was not dripping in grease, the crust was somewhat doughy. The filling was hot and could have benefited from more apples. The size was adequate: big enough for us to share one.

Wallace's Barbeque

Wallace’s Barbeque located at 3035 Veterans Memorial HWY (GA HWY 78) in Austell, Georgia is a wonderful restaurant in a real building versus a shack. According to the picture on the back of the menu, this location was opened on June 7, 1988, just down the street from the original location that was established in 1966 by Gerald Wallace. The prices are very reasonable and the portions are large. Ordering a plate allows for a side dish of either fries or a baked potato; we choose the fries and were pleasantly surprised that they were of the hand cut variety, and they were very good.

You can learn more about them at their website http//:wallacebarbeque.com

As for our rating we give Wallace’s BBQ an overall rating of:

3 – Very Good (It is good but you will eat BBQ at other places too.)

The breakdown was:

Meat:  4 Excellent (So good that you typically will not eat BBQ anywhere else.)

We had a BBQ plate with sliced pork and we also tried the chopped pork. The meat was very moist and in fact did not need any sauce at all. 

BBQ Sandwich: 3 Very Good (It is good but you will eat BBQ at other places too.)

We got sliced meat on the sandwich which made it easier to handle as a sandwich. The bun was soft, warm, and moist. The sauce can come on the side, which is how we feel it should be sauce should enhance the flavor of the meat, not cover it up.

BBQ Sauce: 3 Very Good (It is good but you will eat BBQ at other places too.)

The sauce is homemade and it is vinegar based and thus is very very tangy. It should be used sparingly and in this amount perfectly complements the meat. They will give you extra sauce if you ask for it.

 Brunswick Stew: 3 Very Good (It is good but you will eat BBQ at other places too.)

The Brunswick Stew was very good. It was tomato based but a bit on the runny side and could have benefited from more meat or perhaps shredded meat instead of the ground meat in contained. It had a subtle smoky flavor. The spice was warm but not hot; there is mustard based hot sauce on the tables to add if you prefer a hotter stew.

Fried Pie: 2 Okay (You only have an hour for lunch and this is the only place close enough) They have peach and apple fried pies. Being Georgia boys, natives of the Peach State, you might think that we would choose a fried peach pie. Well, Southern boys are a mysterious bunch…and thus, we chose apple. It was okay. It was deep fried, but even though it was not dripping in grease, the crust was somewhat doughy. The filling was hot and could have benefited from more apples. The size was adequate: big enough for us to share one.

Smoke House BBQ, Gainesville, GA

Smoke House BBQ located at  3205 Atlanta Highway in Gainesville, Georiga, has been serving BBQ to the Oakwood and Gainesville communities for over thirty years. They also have the unique honor of being the ONLY two-time first place winner in the annual Stone Mountain Park BBQ Cook-Off. Smoke House BBQ combines very well the BBQ Shack and sit down dining experience. Customers walk up on the front porch and place their order at one window and it is served from the next window. All orders are served in to-go packages, and those who choose to eat there may do so in a screened in dining area called the "Wood Shed" containing several large picnic tables under lighted ceiling fans next to the BBQ Shack.

They also sell reasonably priced customized tee-shirts.

As for our rating we give Smoke House BBQ an overall rating of:

4 – Excellent - (So good that you typically will not eat BBQ anywhere else.)

The breakdown was:

Meat:    5 To Die For  (So good that you would kill for it and be happy to eat it as your last meal while sitting in the electric chair). It is clear why Smoke House BBQ has taken first place twice in Stone Mountain's BBQ Cook-Off. The meat is shoulder meat and comes chopped but if you as they wil serve it to you pulled. It is so tender that it literally cannot be sliced. We had a BBQ plate with pulled pork. We recommend you ask for pulled pork unless you must eat chopped. The meat was amazing and was, in fact, so good that it did not need sauce at all. It was very tender and moist and had a wonderful subtle smoky flavor unlike some that tases like you are biting into a piece of charcoal. The portion, though not huge, was ample for the price and was very filling.

BBQ Sandwich: 5 To Die For (So good that you would kill for it and be happy to eat it as your last meal while sitting in the electric chair.) We got pulled meat on the sandwich as well. The bun was soft, warm, and moist. The sauce comes on the side, which is how we feel it should be since sauce should enhance the flavor of the meat, not cover it up.

BBQ Sauce: 2 Okay (You only have an hour for lunch and this is the only BBQ place close enough.) The sauce at Smoke House BBQ  is homemade, and it is vinegar based, thus very tangy. It also had quite a bit of pepper in it, giving it quite a kick. We felt that the meat was so good that the sauce actually detracted from the meat.  It should be used sparingly and in this amount complements the meat more than detracts from it.

Brunswick Stew: 4 Excellent (So good that you typically will not eat BBQ anywhere else.)

The Brunswick Stew was perfect; without complaint. It was hearty, tomato based, slightly thick but still runny with bits of meat and a subtle smoky flavor. The spice was just right warm with no harsh bites lurking later. You could make a meal of this alone.

Banana Pudding: 5 To Die For (So good that you would kill for it and be happy to eat it as your last meal while sitting in the electric chair). In a word, it was amazing. The size was good: big enough for us to share one and both feel satisfied. When we first opened the container (remember everything is packaged to go even if you choose to eat in the "Wood Shed"), it was pale almost white in color which is a contrast of the pale to bright yellows we have seen before. This is due to its being a custard, rather than the pudding based we ate as kids. Additionally, the vanilla wafers were mixed thoroughly throughout the pudding. This technique allowed the wafers to soak up the pudding so that it resembled more bread pudding than banana pudding and the pudding base had a wonderfully playful banana flavor...just a hint so you got a good tatse but it was not over powering and did not overshadow the slices of banan inside.

For more information you can visit their webpage :

http://smokehousebbqandcatering.com/default.html

Sprayberry's Bar-B-Que, Newnan, GA

Sprayberry’s Barbeque was established in 1926 in Newnan, Georgia and has been a family owned and run operation ever since. In addition to the original location located in Newnan at 229 Jackson Street, they have a second location on Hwy 34 just east of I-85 (at Exit #47). We ate at their original location, but the menu at boht places is the same. They are closed on Sundays.

Sprayberry’s was a favorite of the late Southern humorist and author Lewis Grizzard. Sprayberry’s even named a BBQ platter after him the “Lewis Grizzard Special” which is a BBQ sandwich, Brunswick stew and onion rings. For us, the allure of Sprayberry’s is more personal in that it is one of the places our paternal grandparents would meet for dates when they were in high school…or so the story goes…

As for our rating we give Sprayberry’s an overall rating of:

3 – Very Good (It is good but you will eat BBQ at other places too.)

The breakdown was:

Meat:    3 Very Good (It is good but you will eat BBQ at other places too.)

We had a BBQ plate with sliced pork. The meat was a little dry. This is because they use all cuts of the pig and not just the hams and shoulders which tend to be darker and more moist. We did sample the chopped and because it is chopped it was able to soak up more of the sauce and was less dry but dry still the same. Our recommendation is go with the chopped meat on BBQ plates.

BBQ Sandwich: 4 Excellent (So good that you typically will not eat BBQ anywhere else.)

We got sliced meat on the sandwich as well. It was better than the plate. The bun was soft, warm, and moist. The sauce comes on the side which is how we feel it should be sauce should enhance the flavor of the meat, not cover it up.

BBQ Sauce: 3 Very Good (It is good but you will eat BBQ at other places too.)

The sauce at Sprayberry’s is homemade and it is vinegar based and thus is very very tangy. It should be used sparingly and in this amount perfectly complements the meat.

Brunswick Stew: 5 To Die For (So good that you would kill for it and be happy to eat it as your last meal while sitting in the electric chair.)

The Brunswick Stew was perfect; without complaint. It was hearty, tomato based, very thick with bits of meat and a subtle smoky flavor. The spice was just right warm at first then finishing with just the slightest tangy bite. A bowl of this could be a meal unto itself.

Fried Pie: 5 To Die For (So good that you would kill for it and be happy to eat it as your last meal while sitting in the electric chair). They have peach and apple fried pies. Being Georgia boys, natives of the Peach State, you might think that we would choose a fried peach pie. Well Southern boys are a mysterious bunch…and thus, we chose apple. It was amazing. The size was good big enough for us to share one and feel satisfied. It was deep fried yet was not dripping in grease. The crust was light and flaky and the filing was piping hot and was mostly apples not the gooey syrup often found inside a fried pie.

For more information you can visit their webpage: www.sprayberrys.com