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The Hitching Post, Soul Food in Petworth - Alvin and Adrienne Carter Have Sold After 45 Years


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After the debacle that was the family visit to the waterfront Philips "Flagship", I was left to wonder if this was the "flagship" what were the rest? Shit Barges? Anywho...I need to redeem myself with the 'rents. I had heard from friends that the Hitching Post was good, I decided to give it a try. Comfort food for a low key Friday with my Southern parents...seems like a match. Let me say that the place lacks for decor but has that family owned, neighbor frequented, been around for a long time feel, I like it, it's quaint. It also isn't fast, but then rarely is good food on your table quickly. It took about an hour for our four top to get three "1/2" orders of fried chicken and an order of fried Porgy. The portions were huge and cooked to order by one guy who seemed more than happy to be cooking right in front of us. The chicken was hot, crisp and had a shell that when peirced oozed juice and steam. Perfectly fried, could have used a bit more salt but that was easily fixed. Dad had the Porgy which was not one fish but two huge fish split and fried, read: four....HUGE....fillets. The fish was moist, delish and easy to de bone. All had the greens of the day which were collards, cooked sans meat but good non the less. Two had the mac and cheese which was also tasty. Dad had potato salad and Mom also had the broccoli. The broccoli was wonderful. Steamed perfectly and season with just salt and a lil bit of butter it was also the size of my head. Needless to say we all had some broccoli. The pot salad was also tasty if a little meally. All told for 4 sweet teas, three chicken dinners and a porgy we paid.......wait for it......$67.00!!!!! By the way....I don't know what chicken has four legs but my "half" had one breast, one thigh, one wing and two legs...nice, mutant chickens are out and about and noone else told me......I can't rave anymore about what a great value this was and how good the food was.....Go and get it.....enjoy it and tell your friends about it.......There are other things like fried shrimp, gumbo, beans and pork neck, sea trout and various sandwiches but I think the ckicken is the thing.....gotta go and eat a piece now......

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I adore the beans and neckbones and will second the chicken raves. I'm not so fond of the Mac & Cheese but I think that's a matter of personal taste. I find it a bit bland. A little tabasco takes care of that though. The service is warm and comforting, just like the food. Don't go, I want to keep this one to myself :)

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I'm very fond of things that evoke a certain nostalgic feeling in me and this vcery much felt like a large family dinner at my grandparents house or an aunts house. The food was basically the same and the atmosphere felt very much like sitting in someones kitchen or dining room watching tv while you ate. Love it.

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The pork chops and fried fish are good, but the chicken was so good it made me swear out loud at the dinner table. Of the sides we tried collard greens, potato salad, fries, broccoli, cole slaw, and macaroni & cheese. The mac & cheese wasn't to my taste and the cole slaw is on the sweet side, but the collard greens are worth the trip and the fries ain't bad either. Monique is a doll, although as we joked with her, she really should have warned us about ordering so much food. :P We showed some restraint and didn't finish everything on the table.

It's easy to imagine a Sunday afternoon parked on one of turquoise barstools, having a drink & a smoke, talking football, and singing along with Teddy Pendergrass and Teena Marie on the jukebox.

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Sometimes you have to say "I'm mad as hell, and I am not going to take it any more" but that is another post! Sometimes you have to say "Diet be dammed, I am going to the Hitching Post! That is exactly what a few of us did last night, headed for the Hitching Post for some down-home cooking. This is a neighborhood bar/grill. There are no fancy lights and polished tables. We knew after we ordered, we would be waiting for a long time before dinner would arrive. We sucked down a few beers and some wine, and talked food and restaurants while incredible smells of fried bliss filled the air. Then it started to arrive... greens that heavenly melted in your mouth and rewarded you with a little kick, Mac and cheese that was white and not out of a box, that yes needed a shot of hot sauce. Potato salad that tasted like my Aunt's, complete with the relish in it. Then the chicken arrived..first one plate, then a second plate, finally a bowl of wings. We thought they mistakenly sent a whole chicken, but the bill said it was a half (actually was an entire chicken less one breast). The chicken is breaded and deep-fried. You know that each piece just came out of the fryer and was hand dipped. The crust is thick, with salt and pepper and is quickly consumed by everyone at the table. Next was a plate of fish, fresh, expertly fried and that to is quickly gone. Finally, a whole head of broccoli arrives, fresh with butter and salt.

Not everything is perfect, the server had a case of the Mondays, our bread never arrived, and we had to find her to get more beer and a piece of lemon cake. Nevertheless, our meal lasted over two hours; we left full, refreshed from good conversation and all wondering why we did not order an extra chicken to take home.

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My 2 ¢: (1) Believe or not: it was THREE heads of broccoli. (2) The fried trout was not as good as the chicken but the six pieces were more than enough. Definitely needed the hot sauce on that one. The tarter sauce didn’t help; it was basically mayo. (3) The broccoli was overcooked and limp; previous visit yielded huge, crisp heads. (4) The chicken holds up well the next morning. :lol: (5) Ordering advice based on two visits: For a party of four or less, order a half-chicken for the table – now this is important – without any other entrée. You can add sides, in addition to the two that come with the dinner, if you think there won’t be enough food. (6) Even with two drinks each, redefines the $20 Tuesday concept. (7) This is the third time, in recent memory, that I have had a religious (“To eat good food is to be close to God”) food experience -- cjsadler’s creamy polenta and Brendan Cox’s “fresh corn polenta.” The Hitching Post's fried chicken rounds out the list; Omigawd! I left praising the Almighty/Creator/Divine One/Food Goddess and speaking in tongues.

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I *love* this place. The fried chicken is sublime, they have sweet tea, the atmosphere is genuine in a way that keeps getting harder and harder to find. I wish I lived closer to Petworth so that I could become a regular at here (although I suppose my arteries are glad for the distance).

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Ah! Yes! The home of the mutant fried chicken. :(

On my last visit, both of my dining companions, good ol' Southern boys, cut the crust off the chicken. I forgave them when One mentioned he was having blood work done later that week and Two has a wheat allergy. (Two did, however, willingly risked anaphylactic shock for a piece of that cake.) Nonetheless, they both thoroughly enjoyed the meal.

Alas, on the advice of my doctor, I limit myself to only four visits a year.

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I love the place but a bit of a warning. If they say they're backed up, just find another spot to go. We waited well over an hour one night without any hint that they might want to take a food order -- not that we weren't warned -- before deciding to hit Temperance Hall for what turned out to be a frightfully bad but rapidly delivered meal.

Bad night for Petworth, that was.

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Well, the Carters have retired. And now, the Hitching Post belongs to Barry, I forget his last name, who owns Fusion.

I hear he did some updating, and has changed the menu, keeping some of the former menu.

I have to admit, I'm a little afraid to go over there. I want fried chicken. But I wonder if it will be a "you can't go home again" situation. Anyone been since the change?

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I met up with some Southern friends here last weekend. None of us had ever been before. Between the four of us, we had crab cakes, fried chicken (me), fried pork chops, fried catfish, broccoli, fries, collards, and mac and cheese. The frying was *so* well done -- nothing was greasy, and everyone at the table went "Whoa" as they heard the crunch of my first bite of chicken. Perfectly cooked, moist breast, held up well and was still crunchy after I gave it a quick warm up in the oven the next day. So good. I enjoyed the collards, the Southerners *really* enjoyed the collards, saying they had gotten them right. The mac and cheese was not great, as another commenter noted. But -- great chicken and delicious collards.

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I met up with some Southern friends here last weekend. None of us had ever been before. Between the four of us, we had crab cakes, fried chicken (me), fried pork chops, fried catfish, broccoli, fries, collards, and mac and cheese. The frying was *so* well done -- nothing was greasy, and everyone at the table went "Whoa" as they heard the crunch of my first bite of chicken. Perfectly cooked, moist breast, held up well and was still crunchy after I gave it a quick warm up in the oven the next day. So good. I enjoyed the collards, the Southerners *really* enjoyed the collards, saying they had gotten them right. The mac and cheese was not great, as another commenter noted. But -- great chicken and delicious collards.

Was the chicken well-seasoned? So often, I've seen soul-food fried chicken that looks and sounds terrific, but it's *so* bland - often, all it needs is some salt and pepper in the batter.

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Was the chicken well-seasoned? So often, I've seen soul-food fried chicken that looks and sounds terrific, but it's *so* bland - often, all it needs is some salt and pepper in the batter.

I wouldn't call it eleven secret herbs and spices, but I also wouldn't call it bland. I didn't need to reach for the S&P or the hot sauce to give it flavor. The meat itself tasted like chicken, and was very moist.

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A trip here last night with my yoga crowd, and a few added spousal types. So, me, a friend, our teacher (all boisterous types from the same part of the world), and 2 quiet spouses. Much food, much laughter, the spinach is so delicious, the chicken is very good, the boy still loves the catfish, and a few beers. The service is lovely. A fabulous followup to yoga class!

It makes me happy to eat here.

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