Tipp City’s Hickory River Smokehouse Captures State Title For “Best Pulled Pork” At The Ohio State Fair

0
1490

TIPP CITY, OH (August 2014) – Hickory River Smokehouse, a casual-style Texas Barbecue restaurant in Tipp City, captured the prestigious Grand Champion honor (first place) for “Best Pulled Pork” at the Ohio State Fair. The honor was bestowed at the fair’s 18th Annual Pork Rib-Off! on Tuesday, July 29, 2014, with teams from across Ohio competing for the trophy. This marks the seventh consecutive year Hickory River Smokehouse has been awarded a first- or second-place prize at the prominent competition, and the fifth time it has received the celebrated Grand Champion honor for “Best Pulled Pork.”

The winner of the Pulled Pork competition was determined by a panel of five judges, which included a representative of the Ohio Pork Council, Ohio State Fair General Manager Virgil Strickler, a Kansas City Barbecue Society Certified Judge, a celebrity judge, and a representative of the Ohio Soybean Council. Each member of the panel did a blind judging for taste, and then provided each sample a score from one to ten based on the three categories of taste, tenderness, and appearance. The taste score was doubled, and then scores were tallied. As recipient of the Grand Champion prize, Tipp City’s Hickory River Smokehouse received $1,000, a trophy, and a banner, which were presented to Hickory River’s owner Dan Davis, and employees Erin Marcinko, Ali Empson and Jared Arndts. 

“We’re thrilled to receive this very prestigious honor,” said Dan Davis, owner of Tipp City’s Hickory River Smokehouse restaurant. “We know that we have the very best barbecue in Ohio, and this simply confirms that. We pride ourselves on focusing on flavor and quality in serving authentic Texas-style Barbecue, and are so pleased to be recognized with this award.”

In addition to Pulled Pork, the restaurant’s specialties include Sliced Beef Brisket, Baby Back Pork Ribs, Polish Sausage, Smoked Chicken, and Texas-Style Chili. Other savory menu items include Pork Loin, Low-Fat Smoked Turkey, and Smoked Ham. Unique items like the Loaded Pulled Pork Nachos and Smoked Turkey Garden Salad are very popular as well. Catering services are available, as well as dine-in, carry-out and Hickory River’s convenient drive-thru service.

-more-
Hickory River Smokehouse Captures State Title for “Best Pulled Pork”/Page Two


True to its name, Hickory River Smokehouse features an on-site smokehouse located at the back of the kitchen. Unlike other styles of barbecue concepts around the country, Hickory River applies a special signature blend of seasonings (known as dry-rub) to their high-quality meats and then slowly smokes them for hours and hours using hickory wood, resulting in one of the most tender, flavored meats in the barbecue restaurant business. The unique barbecue concept, rooted in recipes that you would expect to find in Central Texas, was launched in 1995 with the opening of its first location in Urbana, Illinois. There are now six locations in Illinois, one restaurant in Tipp City, Ohio, and Hickory River’s newest location in Ft. Walton Beach, FL, which recently opened this June. 

Hickory River Smokehouse is located at 135 S. Garber Drive in Tipp City. It is open from 11 a.m.-9 p.m. TuesdaySaturday, and from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. SundayMonday. For more information, call 937-669-2271, or visit www.hickoryriver.com .