Hill Country (New York), 8.5/10

One of the things I miss desperately as an Australian in London is barbecue. At the moment we don't have a garden, and consequently, no barbecue, and I have been having cravings for eating grilled meat for a while now. I always thought barbecue was a quintessially Australian food activity, one we did better than anyone. However, very quickly upon being in America, I realised they have taken it to a whole new level. Cookbooks, cooking shows and food magazines all seemed to be about the perfect burger (fair enough) but also the perfect pulled pork, moist brisket or beef ribs - barbecue meats we haven't considered in Australia. They even have competitions! Australia is a competitive country, certainly when it comes to sport, but I don't actually recall any barbecue competitions!

Anyway, as a result, I was keen to try an American barbecue restaurant while in New York. I recalled a restaurant called Hill Country from some of my early reading, so on a warm Thursday evening, we headed towards West 26th Street to experience some authentic Texan 'cue in NY.


The rules are fairly complicated. You are given a meal ticket on entry and it is vitally important you don't lose this. You are shown to your table and your drinks waiter takes your order. In your own time, you join the queue for the meat.

There are a lot of choices, all sold by the weight - moist brisket, lean brisket, beef shoulder, prime rib, beef ribs, pork spare ribs, pork chops, sausages, chicken, beer can game hen, lamb chops and beef short ribs. Are you getting the idea? Not a place for vegetarians! It was all a little intimidating, especially as the guy at the counter keeps yelling (that's him in the photo - he looks kind of scary, doesn't he? And they had big knives)! We overheard what some other, more experienced customers were ordering, so when we got our yell - NEXT CUSTOMER! STEP UP!!!! - we were prepared. Or so we thought.

We asked for half a pound of moist brisket and half a pound of beef short ribs. Unfortunately, he heard beef shoulder and after some discussion (apparently the beef short ribs only come in a full rack), we opted for regular beef ribs and he threw in some of the shoulder that had already been cut in the confusion. All this was wrapped in a big sheet of butcher paper on top of some slices of white bread and we were shunted off to the sides and trimmings counter as the next customer was told to step up behind us.

The next choice was amongst the ten or so sides dishes. We chose Corn Pudding, Green Bean Casserole and Corn Bread. Feeling somewhat shell-shocked but with a tray full of good-looking food (they mark your meal ticket with the choices), we headed back to our table.


First up and with the memory from The Red Tomato in Toronto still fresh, was the moist brisket. This one was served without sauce, although the Hill Country Barbecue Sauce was on every table. To be honest, it didn't need it. The meats are all cooked in a dry-rub style and are slowly smoked over oak they bring in from Texas. Which all means, packed with flavour and deliciously soft and moist. The brisket was the best. The ribs were tasty, but a little difficult to eat - beef ribs are enormous bones! As you served yourself on little paper trays, it was quite hard to deal with the ribs. The freebie beef shoulder was very tender, but had less flavour than that amazing brisket. The corn pudding was an unusual taste - sweet, but with underlying chilli heat - and the green bean casserole was served in a creamy mushroom and onion sauce. The cornbread was also a little unusual, with an almost cake-like texture.

I absolutely loved Hill Country, but I'm not sure how much was the food and how much was the experience and the atmosphere! The brisket was exceptional, everything else was quite good, but the vibe of the place was so much fun and so different. It was like walking into a different country!

We topped off a really fun night with a visit to Top of the Rock at the Rockefeller Centre, for amazing nighttime views of New York. What an awesome city!


Food: 8/10
Drinks: 8/10
Service: 8/10
Ambience: 10/10
Overall: 8.5/10

Hill Country
30 West 26th Street
New York, NY 10010