Christmas Meal - Hickory’s Smokehouse (Restaurant Review) by @Cinabar

Well, I have had my first Christmas meal out, and it was American style. We went to Hickory’s Smokehouse, which is a chain that brings the flavours of the American South to the UK. There aren’t that many branches of Hickory's in the UK, but the list does seem to be growing every time I look.

They have recently launched their Christmas items, and I thought I’d try them out. Spectre had Gumbo, a spicy winter casserole with chicken and sausage, but for me, I wanted the limited edition Christmas goodies. For my main course, I went for the turkey burger, but this has an American Christmas twist. Firstly, we have the turkey burger in buttermilk; on top of this is a sausage patty, cranberry relish, and, a little bit bizarrely, American cheese. This is served with chips, gravy, and coleslaw.

When the meal arrived, I soon noticed that the burger was huge! There was even a pig in blanket on top, all held together by a wooden skewer (plus a piece of holly to ensure I knew I’d ordered the Christmas special). I loved the flavours in the burger; there was a nice taste of stuffing, which I hadn’t been expecting but appeared as an extra layer. The cranberry added a touch of sweetness, and the whole thing was a delight to eat. I’m still not sure about the slice of American cheese, but I can’t say it was bad. I also wasn’t sure where to pour the gravy; if I added it to the burger, there would be no way of eating it without cutlery, so instead I used it as a tasty dip for the chips. It was a gorgeously sweet gravy with a hint of bourbon and a lovely sauce.

Despite being full, for some reason, when the friendly waitress asked us if we wanted to see the dessert menu, I answered yes. When you are out, you are out. There was a Christmas special, a mince pie ice cream fro-co (frozen-custard); this seemed the obvious choice to go with the turkey burger, and an ice cream is light, right? When it arrived, there was a huge jar packed full of ice cream and layered with Christmas mince, topped, of course, with a piece of holly to ensure we knew it was part of the Christmas specials. In case there wasn't enough ice cream, there was a small mince pie on the side.

I have a healthy appetite, but I was struggling to finish all this gorgeous food. The ice cream was lovely and creamy, and a nice contrast to the zingy, fruity Christmas mince. It was good, but there was just so much of it. The mince pie on the side was a mini one with fairly thick pastry; I managed to eat it but felt like I needed a good long nap afterwards, much like Christmas day. In conclusion, I am loving the Christmas items at Hickory's, but just need to remember these are American portions, so make sure you leave room!