RETURN TO PREVIOUS PAGE Hickory Smokehouse Brings Down Home Food to Area by Carie Gonzales, The Daily Freeman - November 29, 2002 Hickory Smokehouse 743 Route 28, Kingston (845) 338-2424 Price Range: Appetizers and salads range from $2.25 to $8.95; and entrees are $6.95 to $21.50. Reservations: Accepted Hours: 11:30 a.m. - 9 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. 11:30 a.m. - 10 p.m. Friday. 12:00 noon - 10 p.m. Saturday. 12:00 noon - 9 p.m. Sunday. Credit Cards: All major credit cards accepted. Handicap Accessible: Yes Food: Atmosphere: Service: Value: What the stars mean: Fair Good Very Good Excellent Silverware comes wrapped in a large terrycloth kitchen towel at Hickory Smokehouse. Chances are you will need this towel by the time your meal is over, as they serve some serious barbecue. The casual smokehouse features a full bar with beer and wine options and a wood paneled dining room with galvanized buckets as chandeliers. This is definitely a place where it is all right to bring the kids. Most people had the night we visited. Although only open a couple of weeks, the dining room was packed with families and friends meeting over plates of smoked meats. What could be better? The appetizer list includes roadhouse fare such as thick cut sourdough battered onion rings, beef chile, and hushpuppies. The Assortment of House Pickled Vegetables ($3.95) was a good choice for a light first course with such heavy food on the way. The chopped and lightly picked vegetables were served in a large bowl, and included carrots, peppers, and tasty okra. What Hickory is really about is the meat. Sure they offer a Vegetable Plate ($12) with a serving of five side dishes but, I did not notice too many vegetarians that night. A good way to get acquainted with Hickory's barbecue is the sandwich sampler ($10.95). Pulled pork, smoked roast beef, and smoked turkey thighs are served on three mini-sandwiches along with a side of roasted potato salad. The pulled pork was tender, but just a bit dry. Smoked roast beef was a new preparation to me. The lean beef was seasoned with cumin and cinnamon and had a wonderful spicy aromatic flavor. However, the real winner was the smoked turkey thighs, a cut of poultry that takes particularly well to smoking. The shredded turkey was incredibly tender and flavorful. Sauce is served on the table not on the meats, so everyone is free to choose between spicy and sweet. While each had a strong smoky taste, the spicy was a bit chunky and had just a smidgen of heat. St. Louis style spare ribs ($12 for half rack) are dry rubbed and smoked until they are rosy pink and tender but still toothy. Chef Hickory's Legendary 48 Hour Free Ranger Chicken ($13.50) lives up to its legendary name. Half of a large chicken had a nice crispy skin rubbed with herbs and was superbly cooked. Side dishes, two of which come with each entree, were generally very good. The thin crisp fresh cut french fries and the braised kale were excellent. As were the macaroni and cheese and the roasted potato salad. The barbecue beans, while they had good flavor, were undercooked. Desserts are a rotating list of homemade pies and other goodies. Banana Cream Pie ($3.50) was a gooey, not quite set, vanilla pudding studded with bananas and topped with whipped cream. An unusual sounding peanut butter and concord grape jelly pie was almost as successful as the banana cream. A thick layer of intensely sweet grape jelly topped a layer of peanut butter in a graham cracker crust. The Kingston area lacks casual family restaurants like Hickory. Specifically, places that serve good, simple, affordable food. Hickory does an excellent job of filling this gap by bringing home barbecue to our neck of the woods. Carie Gonzales is a baker living in the Hudson Valley.