Hickory River Smokehouse
| Address: | 1706 N Cunningham Ave, Urbana, IL 61802, USA |
| Phone: | +1 217-337-1656 |
| Site: | hickoryriver.com |
| Rating: | 4.3 |
| Working: | 10:30AM–9PM 10:30AM–9PM 10:30AM–9PM 10:30AM–9PM 10:30AM–9PM 10:30AM–9PM 11AM–8PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 15
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Nancy L
I discovered Longhorn Smokehouse when they first opened and my family has enjoyed it ever since. Very good bbq. Our favorites are the brisket, turkey, and pork. My brother loves with polish sausage. To claim that this is prepared or just fast food is ridiculous. I moved to NC for a few years and went to several bbq places there. They couldnt touch Hickory River. To have two great bbq restaurants, Black Dog and Hickory River, in Urbana is priceless. I havent had Lacys, but I have heard it is great too. They used to have great jalapeno poppers which we miss. The scalloped potatoes and corn bread, I think, was better under the original owners. I remember the original owners telling us that the name change was due to selling the name to the place in Bloomington, Illinois. I do recommend that you either request more sauce or pay the 40 cents for the extra sauce. The original owners had more sauce and the current management is now consistent on the amount of sauce. This week I bought a brisket platter and asked for more sauce AND to make sure I bought the extra sauce. It wasnt needed. My family bought three items. The two meat platter again was light on the sauce. Thank God I had extra sauce from the other night.
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Sam Wizell
This place is usually decent, at least for a sort of fast food BBQ joint but I just went through the drive through and had a terrible experience with an extremely rude employee. I wont be going back. I arrived at about 8:53PM (they close at 9). I waited for 3 minutes in the drive through. No one came on the intercom, so eventually I politely said "hello?". The woman on the other end literally shouted "Were closed!" in the rudest tone possible. It was still 8:56 so they shouldnt have been closed also I arrived almost 10 minutes before closing but because I was trying to be polite I had a 3 min. delay. I couldve overlooked all of these things if the employee hadnt been blatantly rude, but she was. Hickory River youve lost a long time customer.
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Dustie L
Mild, Mixed, or Hot? The most important choice to your upcoming meal. Hot is the correct answer. Here at Hickory river, they dont care if you have the right answer. Theyll still serve Mild or Mixed with the same loving care they give the Hotties. Care for an Okra, or Fry down? Fried to perfection and sent to your table. Dont forget to visit the pepper, onion, cheese, sauce bar for those fine little finishing touches to your soon to be devoured in ecstasy meal. Since this will be a messy meal. Plenty of paper towels will be provided at the seat of your choosing. Love this place!
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Megan Johnson
I dont have anything highly positive or strongly negative to say about this place. Someone told me it had the best BBQ in town, so I was eager to try it. Maybe it suffered a little from overhype by my colleague, but the place was just underwhelming. The BBQ wasnt inspiring and the sides werent particularly tasty. Everything was just okay. Youre also going to pay sit down prices for a place that doesnt deliver an equivalent experience. Im not a huge fan of Lil Porgies either, but at least its fairly cheap in comparison with the same quality of BBQ.
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Rachel Beasley
I have visited this place for years and the bbq is decent for fast food which is why I frequent this establishment, but for the last several months I feel that the quality of food and service has gone down. Most recent visit the wait was unusually long and the sides were shady on proportion size. My coleslaw contained more just than cabbage and the pulled pork was barely warm. The price isnt bad but its still not a value meal price so I expect good service and food ALL of the time. I plan on not going back....
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A Private User
Ever since moving to Indiana from Texas 12 years ago, one thing Ive sorely missed is a decent Texas-style barbecued beef brisket. My favorite place back then was Colters BBQ in FOrt Worth. Ive been trying places that I find up here and had met with disappointment until I stepped into Hickory River. Everything about the setup is so familiar, the cafeteria-style serving line, the decor, the layout, but most importantly, the food! I dont think you can get closer than this. Going there again tomorrow.
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A Private User
We lived in Texas for a while and have tasted real Texas BBQ. This comes quite close. The sauce is outstanding. BUT weve been disappointed the last 2 times weve eaten there. They are giving bigger portions of meat in their sandwiches, but the quality of meat has decreased. Lots of fat and grizzly chunks. I would prefer less meat that is high quality like they used to serve. Even the mac & cheese doesnt taste the same.
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Paul Pomykala
Ive been eating at Hickory River for nearly as long as theyve been open. Ive always gotten good food, and good service, that is until recently. Over the past couple of months the service has gotten worse and worse. The service is slow, mistakes in filling out the order, and just a "I dont care" attitude from some of the workers. Its sad that a restaurant with such good food is doing such a poor job now.
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tammy laster
I ordered a smoke sausage they gave me a plain sauage cold at that on a hoagie roll that was all tore up and apart and i took it back and asked if i could get another bun they got an atfitude and said nuthin was wrong with it i asked fore grilled onions and bell pepper they gave me acup full of dehigrated onions and banapepper lol never again
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Chance Hoover
i use to go to Smoke before it closed down so I have been looking for someplace to fill my need for BBQ. Needless to say I have found the place. I loved the fact that there is a micowave out for the customers to use. I used it to heat up the butter to put on my cornbread, which is really great. I will definitely be coming back for more.
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Sam Mang
Good BBQ for a chain restaurant. The pulled pork is very delicious. Ribs are pretty on point as well. Their lemonade and sweet tea are the real deal as well. The sauces make the dishes even better, but without, the meats are seasoned and smoked deliciously. They are good, but not great.
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A Private User
I had the 3 meat platter for $12, which was OK. They take big chunks of heated meat and slice it there on the spot for you, all covered in BBQ sauce. It wasnt the best quality meat, but not the worst. FAST service, tasty sides, OK price. I rate this place OK.
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Scott Walters
Not the best around but definitely not the worst. Corn bread is either very dry and terrible or its moist and amazing. Same with the ribs and there other cuts of meat. I think if they can be consistent with their quality then I would rate them higher!
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Jess S.
Good BBQ. Despite being Texas style barbeque, falls a little short of genuine Texas BBQ. Nice selection of sides and offers a fixings bar. Prices overall seem a bit high for amount of food, but still an occasional good option for dining out.
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Emily Anderson
I recently used Hickory River Smokehouse to cater my wedding reception and it was an enormous hit! Everything was delicious and the service was excellent. I got so many compliments all evening and would recommend them to anyone.
