Hickory Tree Grill is a trendy looking new place that has recently opened in Old Town Burleson. The outside has a warm welcoming feel with stacked firewood and patio seating for those nights that you are looking for something to do outside.
Caution: Hickory Tree Grill is not suited for large parties; it is an intimate dinning experience. A quick glance through the restaurant from where we were seated in the front room revealed mainly 2 and 4 person tables and some small 4 person booths. There was a large party (8 people) who were waiting when we arrived and had just been seated when we were paying out close to an hour later.
Outside seating, from what I could see is also limited. I counted 7 outside tables, but each table (round - so you can't pull them together) is small and would only accommodate 4 people comfortably. There is some couch/lounge seating outside if you were just having drinks and/or appetizers.
The bar menu is decent; a good selection of all the major brands of draft beer with a few favorites from local breweries. The menu also had a selection of specialty drinks that seem to carry the theme of the restaurant. The food menu was large enough to accommodate someone with an appetite, but not overly complicated. The offerings included tacos, fajitas, quesadillas, burgers/sandwiches along with a few other samplings.
We decided to start the meal off with Chips and Queso. We were pleasantly surprised when we got the Queso. It was a yellow cheese queso; thick with a good flavor, not just a cup of melted Velveeta. The chips were on par for what you'd find at any other restaurant in the area.
Next we ordered dinner. She ordered the Chicken Fajitas, and splurged to get the bacon-wrapped shrimp on the side. I ordered the NY Strip steak.
The fajitas came out on the standard fajita skillet, minus the sizzling and smoke. The chicken meat was nicely flavored but not what you would expect when ordering fajitas. The chicken had a sweet marinade flavor to it which almost made us think rotisserie chicken, but served on a bed of grilled onions and bell peppers. The plate came with the standard side of refried beans, rice and a roll of warm tortillas. Overall, the meat was nicely flavored and juicy but different from the standard chicken fajitas you'd find in other restaurants.
My steak was served pre-sliced with a creamy peppercorn sauce over the top. In hindsight, I wish I would have 86-ed the sauce; while it was a great tasting sauce I lost all the taste of the meat that I was hoping to get. The steak however, was cooked perfectly with a hot pink center as would be expected when ordering a medium cooked steak. The sauce could have been a nice addition to the steak, but there was just too much. I think a drizzle of sauce, leaving me wanting more, would have been preferred over the ladle of sauce that I got on my plate.
The steak was served with "crawfish boil mashed potatoes". Not being a big fan of anything crawfish I was hesitant but in the end they were pretty good mashed potatoes. I couldn't really tell what made them "crawfish boil" over "loaded" mashed potatoes, but I can say that I did not detect anything remotely close to a fishy taste in them.
The second side with my steak was some kind of squash - the waitress gave the name which I can't say I was familiar with. The squash was diced and had been cooked on a grill with some light searing marks. The taste was good, but I felt it was undercooked since it was still firm and crunchy. There was an option of a house salad instead of the squash, but I was trying to live on the wild side and try something new. Lesson learned.
Just a quick note on service - the waitress we had was very polite, checked on us frequently but was not a nuisance. The timing of service was perfect. A few sips into our drinks and the appetizer arrived; just as the appetizer was done dinner arrived. This is a new restaurant so I expect a few service errors like forgetting the steak knife with my steak or not being able to remember the vegetable of the day when asked. I think once the new wears off the wait staff will be top notch at the Hickory Tree.
Overall, this was a good dinning experience for a place that has only been open a few days. The biggest obstacle for the Hickory Tree Grill is size and seating. I see this as being a major issue in the future. The food was different but all well prepared and quality. In another review of this same restaurant someone said the food wasn't worth the money - while the price point was a little higher than "normal" for this area expect a little more taste and quality for your dollar than what you'd get anywhere else. I would gladly visit the Hickory Tree again, and look forward to trying some of their other options. read more