Hickory Hut

Art Song’s. ART Song’s. ART SONG’s!!! That’s just about all you need to know about Hickory Hut. I’m sure if this review will be doing them a disservice or bring in more business, but I’m gonna write it anyways because the other 200 people talking about Art Song’s wings on here clearly aren’t enough. These wings, man are they good. If you remember Short & Wags from Minneapolis, than you know what I’m talking about when I say Art Song’s wings are the best you’re going to find ANYWHERE in Minnesota! They are addicting in all honesty. good fresh, or reheated. No matter how you do it, you’ll love these wings. This is where I feel I may be doing the place a disservice, because I honestly have not tried anything else from Hickory Hut, but why would I? The best wings in all of Minnesota are available here, why order anything else? Why I ask you?! I’m making it sound like I have a slight dependency on these wings. Well, I do. So what? Do something about it! All jokes aside, get these wings ASAP. Art Song’s has been around in Minnesota for 40+ years and the recipe really is a staple for the entire state. If you know anyone who’s been living in the cities for years, they can tell you all about Art Song’s wings. They really are THAT good. But again, what do I know? I’m just a Unilocal Elite.

Yum. I eat the rib tibs and chicken. Chicken is salty but good. The ribs is where it’s at!

Three words only: ART SONGS’ RECIPE
Yes, the original Art Song’s recipe that you miss so much is HERE. And it’s exactly the same recipe to a T. This is life changing for me.
But seriously, if you’re familiar with South Minneapolis, you may remember a place called Shorty N’ Wags on 38^th and Nicollet. They too had the Art Songs’ original recipe until it closed some years back. This was about 6 blocks from where I grew up. So you can imagine my excitement when I found my lost love again.
Hickory Hut is off University and Snelling Ave right across the street from the Green Line light rail station. They have their own parking lot, have take out, and online ordering. Service does not matter here because you do not eat here. Once inside you’ll see that it is not pleasing to the eye to sit and dine. That’s why you order for pick up. Also this way you get to drool over your wings in the privacy of your own home.
So all you need to know:
–ART SONGS’ original recipe
–A 12 piece chicken order is $ 18.99
–DO NOT DINE IN
–Call for pick up
–Don’t order just 4 wings… you’ll regret.

Hickory Hut serves the original Art Song’s wings. When I say «the original» I know what I’m talking about. I’ve been eating Art’s wings for 40+ years… started downtown Minneapolis, moved uptown, had a place on Broadway in N. Minneapolis. Lots of places try to copy them, but Hickory Hut does it right… yep. You don’t go there for the ribs. You go there for the wings and the rice (with sweet sauce). If you like chicken wings and if you know what time it is, you’ll like Hickory Hut. ‘Nuff said.

Just meh. No way their meat is smoked. No smoke ring, and it seems like they just boil theirs. Side items are very uninspiring and we threw over half a rack in the trash. It’s in a bad part of town, so go figure.

My boyfriend and I decided to embark on finding the best ribs in the Twin Cities. Today we decided to compare The Rack Shack in West St. Paul and The Hickory Hut in Frogtown. It was not even sort of a contest. Even just looking at the 2 boxes you could see that The Hickory Hut ribs looked boiled and The Rack Shack ribs had this great grilled crust and smoke ring, some of the meat was even just starting to come off the bones. We took a bite of the HH ribs first. Very chewy but meaty. However way too tough. No bbq crust, no smoky taste that I could discern but I loved the spicy sauce. As I finished my first chunk (cuz there really wasn’t much for actual ribs there!!!) I noted a very old taste… like the meat was just beginning to turn and wasn’t exactly fresh. My boyfriend is admittedly much less of a connoisseur and dug into them a little further but agreed as he chewed on a piece of meat that it tasted old. I couldn’t take any more and the RS ribs were calling to me. I picked up an actual rib and bit into a moist, smoky, delicious, clean tasting bbq’d rib. Soooooooooooooooo good! I could not eat another HH. We ate half the rack of the RS ribs and only 3 chunks of the HH. Never going to HH for ribs. I wouldn’t recommend it even to the least discerning among us.
Just so happens, we also wanted to compare cornbread. HH cornbread was pretty good. Tasted a lot like the Jiffy cornbread mix my mama used to buy for us. RS cornbread is made with courser ground corn meal and tasted homemade. Not as moist as the small cornmeal HH but much more corn taste. Very good. After reading the reviews here and doing our own little taste test I think HH needs to just concentrate on their chicken and forget the rest.
Might as well just do what you’re good at, right?!

Good food. Friendly, patient service. Good variety of menu options.
I thought that the prices were a bit high, but the portion sizes made it worthwhile.
Red Beans and Rice, and Rib Tips were the stars of our order.
We’ll be back.

Yes the ribs and barbecue aren’t the best but that’s only because they’re not known for that. Their chicken wings are the best! I love the spice that they have and I can eat them plain, a whole bucket of ‘em!

Best whole chicken wings on the planet (for the price). The ribs have fallen off over the years but the wings never will. There is no bathroom so to wash your hands of the flavor afterwards you must refill your water cup and do the dunk and rub hand wash method.

Wings are really good. .not sure what the seasonings are but it’s good. The sides I had were greens and red beans and rice. .I could have passed on the sides… I’d go back for the wings

You get a ton of food for a good price. Some of it is a bit salty for my liking, but that’s why you get sauce on the side to offset the flavoring.

Tried this place for the first time and enjoyed the wings dinner. Very seasoned — a little on the salty side– but very very good!

It taste Great but @ Almost 3 $ per Wing (Normal price) you can the SAME exact Wing in Fridley @ The Wing Joint for HALF THE COST w/​fries! Only In The Hood… Highway Robery!

They lie about their food. It’s not smoked — it’s baked. It’s not barbecue. Never waste the time or money. Only fools think it’s worth the money you’re paying them. There are many restaurants who make MUCH better food for similar prices. Please never go. I actually can’t think of a restaurant I like less.
I run a bbq catering company, if that adds any weight. Seriously — please don’t waste your time and money.

Since Shorty and Wags closed, I’ve been looking for a place to replace those amazing wings. I’ve tried em all, Country Bar, A and Js fish and chicken, Seafood to Go, and plenty others.
The wings at Hickory Hut are the best yet. They even advertise they are the «World famous Art Song’s wings» These chicken wings are big and meaty and full of flavor. They serve the full 3 part wing with that tasty seasoning. It’s more of a subtle seasoning compared to Shorty and Wags but still the same flavor I remember. I’m guessing Chinese 5-​spice plays a large part in that. They even have sweet and sour sauce to dip em in. Pair them with a strawberry soda an your good to go.
I would definitely get your order to go as the hut is a little ghetto. But who cares these wings are the best in the twin cities.

Not bad at all… The roast beef with BBQ sauce was very tasty. The spice has a tiny little kick to it.
Not much more to say, other then I’ll be back to try the rib tips, wings, jo– jos.
Loved it!

I had to check this place out, I actually should have written a review the very first time, but now I can, the only reason I wont give this establishment 5 stars is because the greens are not the best, and some of the workers are not very friendly at all. Also the parking lot which isn’t there’s always needs to be resurfaced, and can often get packed very quickly because it is shared with another business adjacent to it. Now for the food, the food is really good outside of the greens, I love the wings, they are full wings, none of that half wing stuff here, also I think they are priced reasonably. The location is pretty good seeing as how they are right off of Hwy 94 you can jump off grab you some wings and jump right back on. I also like how they for the most part do not have you waiting there most of the time, and it appears to be very clean.

OK its time to set the record straight, my name is Danny Song myself and my Father Art Song invented a chicken wing spice back in the 60’s, I met Shorty and Wags in the 70’s and started a wing joint with them and my father in uptown, some years later they moved to 38^th and Nicollet, My email address is
I will add more real information at a later date, If you are interested you may email me… Music, Wings and Spice… Danny Song

Wings here are awesome, tasty dry rub and bar-​b-​que sauce is pretty decent as well.
That being said 1 star was removed due to the poor quality of the other sides and entrees.

Ooooh… can we say sketchy? Lol. Was a bit nervous in this dirty little chicken shack, but i have to admit, the smells alone got me drooling.
My man’s been talking about this place since before we moved here, so it was nice to finally give it a try. We ordered 18 wings to share (wayyyy too many, these are the BIG wings) the hojo potatoes and a cornbread.
The wings are amazing! they are breaded and fried and super meaty. They use some sort of dry rub seasoning on them and the meat is moist enough you don’t have to use any dipping sauces. Of course, I like it hot, so i got the buffalo sauce to dip on the side (very good). The fries were a bit of a disappointment (texture of wet cardboard, but good flavorings…) but the cornbread was very tasty, a little salty-​sweet thing going on and i liked it!
can’t wait to go back for my next wing craving…

Let’s get one thing straight: Hickory Hut is not Big Daddy’s. Not now, not ever. If you want the best ribs in town, you need to head for Big Daddy’s, a block east down University (and you’d better hope it is Friday or Saturday since BD’s is closed every other day of the week).
With that disclaimer out of the way, know that you can get a decent mess of ribs at the Hickory Hut. The Full Slab dinner will provide you with enough St. Louis style pork ribs to feed two people, plus french fries (also for two), texas toast (1 slice) and a tiny container of baked beans, slaw or potato salad. The ribs could use a bit more time on the smoke and were a bit fatty. The «hot» sauce was more in the medium frame of reference. The fries were cooked right and sprinkled with Art Song’s seasoning which was a good thing for those familiar with this particular form of powdered mirth. The toast was buttery but should have been accompanied by another slice of toast. The beans we ordered were fine, though the service size was tiny compared to everything else.
If Big Daddy’s weren’t just down the street the Hut would rate four stars… just. As it is, 3 stars and OK all day long.
Bonus: You can always expect something unusual to happen in/​around The Hut. The last time I was there, the customer in front of me in line was wearing a kilt.
Warning: closed Sundays.

I’m reading a mystery called The Cornbread Killer by Lou Jane Temple. Naturally its on my mind. It was helpful to run into Ashley’s BBQ list. I’m used to TGI Fridays wings, when I saw these they looked like something out of the prehistoric era. I followed the recommended rib tips, very tender. Jojo potatoes, thinly sliced some crispier than the others are delicious with the bbq sauce on them. I had a hard time deciding on a side and they let me sample. Beans were good, mac and cheese ok, but not homemade. That put me off, it should always be homemade at a place like this. But for an extra small charge I could get greens, made with a hamhock. On the spicy side wasn’t sure if it was from pepper or hot sauce, but they were nice and firm and not runny like they were at Brasa. Kind of like the difference between Diana Ross and Aretha Franklin. The soul is here.

I already have a much, much more extensive review for this place, under «Art Song’s Wings» (which is what the wings at Hickory Hut are!) My parents have followed these wings around the cities, and I have been eating them since I was a wee one.
Oh em gee, they are so good. Only go on a Tuesday or Thursday. Get the Wing Special, with BBQ and Sweet and Sour (my fav!) and get some JoJo potatoes. Fill a giant cup with some Strawberry Soda and wait. Now here is the fun part. Get in your car, with your boxed up wings, and see if you can make it all the way home without breaking into the box. It’s almost intoxicating.

Wow, two hands down awesome BBQ joints within a block of each other. The ribs at Big Daddy’s are better, but they serve chicken wings here and are open daily, two huge pluses.
I’m not sure what spices they put on their wings, but the recipe is way better than finger lickin’ good, I’d probably cut some body’s fingers off to gain access to it. On second thought, I’ll just head over to the Hickory Hut and buy the chicken wing dinner. It comes with fries, Texas toast and your choice of slaw, baked beans or mac and cheese. I usually get the beans, much to the chagrin of anybody within a 30 foot radius of my ass for the next 8 hours.
Also, there are about 6 – 8 tables, so you can eat your food at the restaurant. There is no way I would trust myself with this food in the car. First, I couldn’t wait to get home, I’d have hot sauce all over the steering wheel and I’d probably spill the beans in my lap. You can refill your own sodas here too.