Hickok's

Hickok's Bar & Grill is one of my favorite spots downtown, period! It's an awesome Southwest grill in the River Market area; it took over the old Dos Hombres building a little over a year ago. We go to there for any reason, but we are particularly fond of going there after Royals games. Hickok's is not just a great lunch spot, not just a great dinner place, not just a great happy hour place, but completely awesome in every way!

To start out with, "The best chips and salsa on the planet", as the menu states. Hickok's is one of the few places that charges for its chips and salsa, but it is WAY worth it! Its $2 for a bottomless order of "The best chips and salsa on the planet" for the table, they named them that, but I wholeheartedly cosign the name. There is some sort of smokiness to the salsa that I can neither figure out the source of nor stop eating. I probably eat my weight in chips and salsa when I am at Hickok's and I am not a huge chips and salsa guy by any means.

Every single entree that I have tried at Hickok's has been incredible! Whether it be the Boulevard Beer battered chicken fingers, that despite their small size (showing you why they are called "fingers"), are huge on flavour! The garlic-agave dipping sauce for the fingers is incredible too. The hot wings, which are done Peanut style, are huge, but not quite the pterodactyl size (like The Peanut). The Hickok's classic burger is indeed that, classic. The most recent item that I have had at Hickok's was the burrito bowl. Imagine a Pepperjax burrito bowl with more flavour. The chicken is better than Pepperjax, and I believe that it is the jalapeno ranch dressing on top that sets it off!

Disclaimer: I have had the crunchy tacos at Hickok's, and they (as everything else is) are quite good. I always harp on "Mexican" restaurants that have crunchy tacos, but this is not a Mexican restaurant, it is a Southwest grill, and Southwest grills have the Eating Awesomeness seal of approval to serve crunchy tacos (as long as you do not label them as "Mexican"). Its really just the principle or it more than anything.

Almost everything that I listed above can be had at a discounted rate during happy hour. The most wonderful thing about Hickok's happy hour is that it includes food and drink, and it is even in effect on Saturdays. Their happy hour menu is (and entire menu for that matter) ever-changing, so make sure to check their website (or with your wait-person) for the latest specials. Whether you want a Boulevard/Shlafly/Bud Light/Stella/Dos XX draw, a tall boy of PBR, a house margarita on the rocks, a frozen strawberry margarita, or food, you can probably find it on special at some time of the day/week at Hickok's.

Hickok's is incredible, and I have no shame saying it! I love nearly everything about this place, and in sticking with the theme of the Dos XX Man: "I don't always eat at Hickok's, but when I do, I eat a lot. Stay hungry my friends".