Food Field Trip NYC: Hill Country Chicken

Hill Country Biscuits

For me, traveling to NYC is always an experience filled with excited anticipation as I scout my next food find. Endless choices sprout seemingly everywhere. So when you live in DC and are only able to experience the culinary menu a few times a year, there are always too many new options to choose from. The new Hill Country Chicken in the Flatiron District proved the best casual food destination of this food field trip.

Picture a 1950s inspired casual dining room complete with Formica table tops and a pastel palette of baby blue, whisper pink, and soft yellow--that is huge by Manhattan standards (and additional seating downstairs). The light-filled dining area is fronted by a long counter that contains a seemingly endless array of fried chicken, biscuits, and pies…so many pies!

The chicken, the star of the show, was not much to look at, but looks can be deceiving. This original recipe Texas-style chicken was impossibly juicy with a zesty coating, truly one of the best pieces of fried chicken we have tasted.

Hill Country Chicken Original Fried Chicken w/Biscuit and Cheesy Potatoes

The cheesy, skin-on "fried" mashed potatoes did not wow the NY Times, but our group of four all raved about this dish.  The potatoes tasted like textbook cheese fries with plenty of tangy cheddar cheese and salty, crunchy bacon, but had the consistency of mashed potatoes.

Hill Country Chicken Strawberry Lemonade

Strawberry lemonade was a welcome rush of summer, and did not not at all taste like the saccharine concoction that the bright pink color would suggest.  It was worth the calories (which can add up with the free refills).

Hill Country Chicken Cowboy Pie

And speaking of calories, a meal here would not be complete without one--or more--of the individual pies. The hands-down favorite of our group was the Cowboy – described as a candy bar in a pie crust. The outer crust gave way to a soft, rich chocolate center surrounded by the crunchy graham cracker crust, toasted pecan, coconut, and butterscotch chips. The silky banana cream and whiskey cream pies were a close second. The one disappointment was a dry apple cheddar pie that screamed out for an ice cream topper!

One can enjoy fried chicken, a side, and a pie for around $12--a bargain for New York!