This weeks restaurant is the Hillbillies Restaurant in Murphys.
Suffice it to say, the name itself should tell you of the fixin's offered inside.
After passing a rustic penitentiary wagon in the parking lot you enter a place not like any other in the foothills, filled with kitchen gadgetry of a bygone era, clothes hangin' from a line, saddles perched precariously about and a covered wagon in the corner. With all this decor one would think I would have become distracted, by no, I curiously felt right at home.
We were seated quickly and served our drinks. However the wait for service after that seemed interminable. Then we noticed the house seemed to be shorthanded and the single waitress was handling the whole restaurant with as much efficiency and grace as possible given the size of the crowd.
This wait gave us a bit more time to peruse the menu. A menu that consisted of pretty much every rib stickin' meal you could think of, from chicken fried steak to fresh omelets, locally renowned hillbilly bowl with eggs, potatoes, sausage and cheese inside a bread bowl covered in gravy to fish and chips to frog legs. Yes, Hillbillies has frog legs, and you know my philosophy by now...when in Rome....
Frog legs is is!
I noted heaping platefuls of food passing by and quickly whittled down my order to simply frog legs and fries. Ok, I admit I was a bit nervous about the frog legs, so my partner in crime took the bullet for that one and ordered the frog while I ordered the fish and chips. That was a mistake. One taste of my fish and I could tell it was not fresh...it was frozen. The fries however were divine and the frog leg I stole from my partners plate was crunchy, flavorful and did not taste like chicken. It had its own wonderful, non-gamey, rich taste.
So all in all, I would like to give Hillbillies one more chance and try one of their specialties, however this experience was lacking. The ambiance - hillbilly eclectic - was cute, yet many items needed dusting. The tables were not all that clean...but the service - when she could get to us - was pleasant, helpful, and courteous. The prices were affordable and the servings large.
Hillbillies Restaurant is located at 55 Highway 4 in Murphys.
By,
Charity Maness
(My little disclaimer: 'To dine or not to dine' is meant to be a
helpful - and humorous - informational piece only. I receive no monetary
compensation for this column nor do I endorse any one eatery. This
is simply my opinion. My tastes will be different from others and I
readily admit that I have no culinary background, but I am fairly
confident I know when food is cooked correctly or not, whether a drink
is poured well or not and especially whether wait staff is
first-rate or in need of a career change.)
