Chef Eric Hunter at his new restaurant Sidecar Smoke Shack. Photos/Kyle Davis
A new restaurant in Hico is dishing up some amazing authentic Texas barbecue.
Chef Eric Hunter converted the former Chicken Express attached to the Chevron station into the restaurant.
A Texas native, Eric has devoted his life to the craft of cooking and is also the head chef at Hico’s Midland Chophouse.
“I didn’t think I had enough to do, so I started this,” he joked.
Sidecar serves a variety of smoked meats like brisket, sausage, chopped pork, ribs and handmade sides like coleslaw, potato salad, mac and cheese and cowboy beans.
“The only thing we don’t make in-house are the buns; those come from Two Clay Birds, a local bakery in town.”
Eric says one of the unique things that goes into his Texas-style barbecue is attention to detail.
“We are still small enough to make sure everything is always on point,” he said.
One of Sidecar’s bestsellers is a sandwich made with thick cut bacon that’s cured in-house, steak and coleslaw made with Honeycrisp apples and blue cheese.
“But brisket is our number one seller and it’s my favorite as well,” he said.
Eric has been a chef for more than 20 years, with the majority of his career spent in fine dining.
“I started cooking in the kitchen when I was 29, and before that, I had never stepped foot in a kitchen,” he said.
And boy, how things have changed.
Stop by Sidecar and check it out. You’ll be glad you did.
Sidecar Smoke Shack is open for breakfast and lunch from 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
To place an order ahead, call 254-795-9404.
(Keep scrolling for more photos.)
Dishes and sides from Sidecar Smoke Shack…
