Hickory Hog

1^st time here… Husband and I both got ribs and brisket combo, very good. The ribs were cooked perfect, the meat fall right off the bone. and the brisket was delish. My 4 year old who doesn’t eat loved the grilled cheese and MAc and Cheese :) the only down fall they do not have juice for kids. They do have LIQUOR store right next store so stop and get your Fav beer.

Love this place.
Memphis Dry Rub ribs are awesome, and the Carolina Apple Cider Vinegar BBQ sauce with them is even better.
Love the Mac n Cheese as well!!!

Excellent BBQ place on the Jersey shore!!! The brisket is amazing!!! The wings are some of the best I’ve had, and I eat a lot of wings! You can’t go wrong with the Mac n Cheese as a side!!! I recommend this place to anyone looking for good BBQ… You won’t be disappointed!

Very disappointed today with out visit. My husband ordered steak bites and ribs and both were luke warm. Sent them back and they were a tad warmer. My ribs were just ok. We travel quite a distance and were very disappointed this time. Not sure we’ll be back.

I really don’t know what happened to this place. As you can see from my previous review I absolutely loved this place. The past few times there have been problems with the food. This time the service was poor as well.
We ordered macaroni and cheese bites which are usually delicious. It seems as if the waitress Debbie didn’t feel like working this particular day. She instead brings broccoli bites instead. I asked them to remove them from the bill and you think I was asking them to make the blind see.
The popcorn firecracker aioli shrimp were delicious. Had a hard time ordering those with Debbie also as she didn’t know they came with a firecracker aioli sauce and insisted we had to choose Cajun or buffalo also. The chef then sent her out to ask which one we wanted and we got that fixed.
We had 2 orders of the steak tips which were over cooked and chewy. We didn’t want to seem like we were trying to break the staffs shoes so we just figured we would finish.
My wife then went up to get the bill worked out as they only took off $ 4 instead of the $ 6.99 for the broccoli bites. They explained because we «ate» them we have to partially pay for them. Also the Hickory Hog with the red hair behind the counter rolled her eyes at my wife when asking to use the $ 1 coupon we have because we come to this place CONSTANTLY.
Because of the consistent lack of cleanliness (there was BBQ sauce splattered on the wall next to where we were sitting at eye level), greasy tables, greasy disgusting silverware (I bring my own from home) and dirty floors I will not be returning to the hickory hog. I certainly will not give my money to a restaurant that has such a rude employee rolling their eyes at a longtime customer. Woodchucks right down the road is much better IMO.

Ordered some food for a family gathering this past summer and it was excellent. Will keep in mind for future gatherings!

I’m not of a fan of sauce on my food. I’m a dry-​rub type of guy.
Needless to say I’m in love with the Memphis dry rub at HIckory Hog. We start with 20 pieces of their wings. I don’t like the drumsticks and they are more than happy to accommodate us. Then comes the the «Rib Lover’s Feast». and boy, do I ever feast. Perfectly smoked, perfectly seasoned… the perfect meal. Love when their corn is in season because it’s always super fresh and tasty as well.
Unfortunately they no longer take the
gift cards so I’ll have to cut back on my appearances. But that’s OK because it’ll be well worth the wait.

Food is decent, Woodchuck bbq is much better. But I can’t get over how rude the staff is and the fact that they do not know what is on their own menu. I called and placed an order over the phone and ordered word for word what was printed on the menu and they had no idea what I was ordering, and gave me an attitude when I would ask a question.

Apps:
Chipotle BBQ wings– decent wings, sauce had a nice flavor, did not taste like they were were smoked. but could be wrong.
Hog backs (I think that’s what they were called, egg rolls with pulled pork n slaw) — egg rolls were soggy and as good as the combo sounds these were somehow not that good.
Main:
St Louis Ribs, sides Mac&Cheese and sweet potato fries.
Ribs were OK. A tad on the dry side and not much smoke. Flavor was generic, as in these ribs could have came from Applebees.
The bright yellow Mac&Cheese tasted like your standard fast food chain M&C. I expected better.
The sweet potato fries were a lil soggy and did not look very appetizing. Flavor was OK.
Service:
Our waiter was the counter guy, maybe because it was a slow night. He was very friendly and pretty attentive.
Décor:
Nothing to talk about. TV on the wall, standard tables. Pretty generic.
Pros: BYOB with a liquor store right next door.
Place was clean.
I’ve been doing my own BBQ for years. I also attend the Memphis World Championship BBQ Contest and personally know some of the pit crews there. So I think it’s fair to say that my expectation of BBQ is probably a bit higher then most.
I really wanted to like this place… but OVERALL and unfortunately, everything I had just seemed to miss the mark of being good or great. OK just does not cut it in today’s competitive market.

their food is good
i think their portions should be a little bit better and not nickle & dime you for sides
they offer no free side with your meal
the place is clean & pretty well sized for space
service is fast & good
i think they should add more items to the menu
good food
prices are fair

Being foodies my husband and I were on a mission to find some good food. After a long day on the beach we decided on BBQ for dinner. Thank God the concierge in our hotel recommended this place, and upon further research on Unilocal we decided this spot was the one. The Food was outrageous! I’d stay away from the collard greens, but everything else was awesome sauce! The décor was a little cold almost cafeteria like, and for that I would have given it 4 stars but I gave it the extra star because food and service were definitely on point.

I went there last night after seeing an article on MSN a few weeks ago. When you walk in, it looks like a no frills place with a counter and wood tables. I like places like this because they tend to let the food do the talking.
The food was excellent. Our table had baby back ribs, pulled pork, pulled chicken, corn bread, french fries, sweet potato fries, mac and cheese, and coleslaw.
The ribs may have been the best I have had. They were fall of the bone tender, and has a perfect coat of sauce and crust on them. The 12 hours of low and slow cooking shows. They also have ribs with a dry rub that I will have to try.
The waitress was great and overall service was outstanding.
Also, it is connected to a liquor store which takes the bring your own to a new level.

We did take out on Saturday after checking in to vacation rental. There were 5 hungry adults and a 16 y/​o boy. A large bucket of roast chicken, small bucket of baby back ribs, pulled pork, corn on the cob and fries and there was enough leftover for another meal.
Chicken was best we have had in a long time, seasoned just right and cooked to perfection, juicy and fell off the bone. Good ribs with just the right amount of sauce. Corn on the cob was sweet Jersey summer corn. Bucket of fries was more than enough for 6 people.

The best BBQ, I been in. Everything is excellent. Ribs, steak tips, beens, sweat potato fries, etc

People around town will say that Hickory Hog is a lot better than Woodchuck Grill. I have to respectfully disagree.
The food certainly wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t anything special.
Pros: great wait staff, clean establishment, large menu without being too excessive.
Cons: Food could have better flavor. The sides don’t have that «homemade» feel.
Fair prices. Portions are big enough but not huge. There’s also a great
coupon available.
I think we’ll pass in the future.

I grew up in Point Pleasant and was not formally introduced to ribs until 2013. Hickory Hog is by far and away the best BBQ place I have ever been to. Does the atmosphere suck? Absolutely. But the food easily makes up for it. I even went so far as to do a taste test in the same day between Hickory Hog and Woodchuck, not even in the same area code.
I live in Monmouth County now and still make the 20 minute drive to HH for the baby backs. If they opened up a location in Red Bank, they would make a KILLING.

Barf– there was an onion ring on the floor next my chair. Other than that place seemed pretty clean. The food was less than desirable. I had the Carolina pulled pork sandwich (which is apparently the top selling sandwich) with a side of Mac and Cheese and slaw. (Mac and cheese) We were told it was house made. But tasted like KFCs. The pulled pork was served on a soggy roll and the pork was smothered in the sauce, so you couldn’t taste the pork.
Boyfriend had the ribs/​brisket combo with side of Mac n Cheese & Red roasted garlic potatoes (hard pressed to taste any garlic), Ribs did fall off the bone like promised but the taste again just didn’t do it for us. Brisket had way too much BBQ sauce. So again you couldn’t taste the meat.
If you aren’t starving and aren’t in the mood for REALLY good BBQ then give this place a try. We left feeling dissatisfied. BF wants to get something else to eat now. God help me.

I’ve been meaning to try Hickory Hog for a while now and I’m so glad I did! I’ve seen the lines out the door and wondered… Can the food really be that good??? YES it is! I’m not sure that I’d wait in line a long time to eat here but must say the ribs were some of the best I’ve had in a while. Don’t be deceived by the restaurant being attached to a liquor store, the bbq is top notch.

FYI the address on the top of the Unilocal page is wrong. The correct address in listed below in another posting .
Ribs were outstanding tasted both the St, Louis and Baby back ribs and both were fall of the bone tender.
The side were hit and miss the mac and cheese was good so was the corn bread. The collard greens were a lit bland. The cole slaw was good but not as creamy as discribed. Also had a bowl of chili this was good but not outstanding.
That said, I came for the ribs and was happy I did the ribs exceeded my expectations and the portions, quality, and quantity were all excellent.
I will return when I am in the area again.

I stopped by here last week after passing by a few times going to Pat’s Pizza next door. I got in the mood for barbecue and thought I would give Hickory Hog a try. I was somewhat concerned by the total lack of reviews on here but can safely say I was pleasantly surprised. The restaurant is a bit small, but nice and clean. My waitress was very friendly and attentive.
I ordered a Carolina pulled pork sandwich with fries and cole slaw. The cole slaw was pretty standard fare but a good side. I would say the same thing about the fries. Really though, I went for the sandwich and this is where Hickory Hog excelled. The pulled pork was nice and tender and came on a bun that was just lightly toasted. It was great by itself and even better with a bit of the barbecue sauce that was on the table. I was somewhat concerned that one sandwich wouldn’t be enough for lunch but that definitely wasn’t a problem. For $ 8 or so it was a pretty great lunch. The reason I give them 4 stars instead of 5 was because, like I said, the sides were pretty standard. The fries were good but standard frozen fries. Some fresh cut fries would have made this a 5 star meal.