Dropped into Hughie’s with the usual suspects yesterday. It’s located near where TC Jester(s), Ella and 18th and 19th and 20th get all tangled up.
I recently had it brought to my attention, (but I don’t remember where), and when the mater suggested Barbecue Inn for a chicken fried steak, I suggested Hughie’s and she went along with it. If you haven’t been, it’s a cozy little mom and pop in a former Dairy Queen building. Except for the shape of the street sign, little of that former incarnation remains.
Something about Dairy Queen, Queen Dairy and finally a Vietnamese restaurant with a Texas twang. What’s not to love? You can see the eclectic menu at the link above.
Mom had the aforementioned chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and a “Vietnamese Kale Salad”. The salad was finely shredded kale with pecans, a bit of feta and thinly sliced red onions. She asked for no onions of course and the waitress explained that the salad was premixed but she’d ask the chef. Sure enough she found only one thin round that had escaped the chef’s scrutiny. She said she liked BBQ Inn’s version of the CFS better, but she ate a pretty good sized portion with little to no conversation about it at all. I tried it and thought it was pretty darned good.
OBD was also attending and he ordered the salt and pepper spare ribs for the table and the special, seasonal, limited time only, owner prepared, labor intensive, 22 hours in the making, pho. The ribs were pre-cut into sections and battered and deep fried. They were tasty, but I had one or two that could have been a bit crisper. He liked the pho and I tried a spoon of the broth and found it almost “too” richly complex for my taste. I’m sure it’s an acquired taste, but I don’t really care for lobster or foie gras either so assume you should give it a try if that’s your thing. I’ll bet you’ll like it.
Yours truly ordered the Shaking Chicken, as recommended by our server, Summer. It’s basically a crisp chicken stir fry with fried rice and the kale salad discussed above. You know what? It was really good. Both the tender chunks of chicken and the rice had that elusive wok hay essence that is just so unique. Simple but expertly executed.
The bottom line is that I liked it. They have dozens of craft beers and I had a couple but couldn’t tell you what. That whole scene just confuses and confounds me.
But for the food? Go there. It’s a cool little spot.
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