Hitching Post Restaurant — Restaurant in Washington

What Real Fried Chicken and Sweet Tea in NW DC? Did I hear that right???

Thanks to super Yelper Alicia G, I had the chance to (finally) try out Hitching Post restaurant this past Sunday. And was I a happy man after that :)

We got there at noon and did not leave until after 2:30 PM! This is a real hole in the wall place in the middle of residences in NW DC. Been there since the 60s and is run by the same couple who started it! The place is really small and is frequented by mostly regulars. The ambiance is stuck in the 60s and thats what makes it special.

You are taken care by the owners - husband is the busy chef while the wife takes care of the guests. I'm sure she was overwhelmed on seeing 19 hungry Yelpers descend at her restaurant that Sunday afternoon. But she did not miss a stride in taking care of us.

First the bad stuff - Service was SLOOOW - this place is not made for that kind of crowd. If you want fast service go to KFC or Popeyes. If you want good Southern cooking and hospitality, you are at the right place then :) She also mixed up our orders with other Yelpers - which ended up being good as there was no place in my stomach to eat more food!

Now the good stuff: Sweet tea was Sweet Tea - as its supposed to be made - sweet and fresh! Now I wont have to travel South of the border (VA) to get real good Sweet Tea! We had Mac N Cheese, Fries, Potatoes for side dish and Chicken Wings for round one. main course never arrived so no review for that.

Mac N Cheese - I have history with Mac N Cheese - growing up in India, there is no Mac N Cheese. I came to know of this American obsession when I got off the boat in NYC in 1997! But I have heard of horror stories of bad Mac N Cheese that comes out of the box or if it not done right. So I have waited for Mac N Cheese for the past 12 years! And what a place to lose my virginity (for Mac N Cheese) than at Hitching Post! I'm sure the calories were thru the roof, but man did it taste good! You can take that to the bank my friend! We were scraping the sides for some more :)

Potatoes and Fries - good sides but not comparable to Mac N Cheese.

Chicken Wings - there are wings and then there are Wings! I don't know where these guys get there chicken from but these wings were HUGE! The batter was delicious and just perfect. The oil used was good too - no after taste of old oil. 3 of us guys shared one order and were full after the wings...

We've eaten here before and the food was amazing. Unfortunately, today is some kind of holiday (not a US holiday) and the owner/chef was not in house. Whoever was cooking today should NEVER be left in charge of the kitchen. The food was all very one note. Everything tasted exactly the same. From the wings, to the pork chops, ribs, to the cabbage, broccoli and Mac and cheese. There was no flavor to any of it. We actually sent all the food back. The only item we ordered that had flavor was the water because it clearly came from the city water supply.

The server was nice and understanding and let us know the owner was not in the kitchen today. Honestly, in the future if the owner isn't coming in, the restaurant should close. Clearly the Michelin people didn't come on a day like today because Hitching Post would not have ranked even above McDonalds had they tasted this food.

The other concern was that the food runner (another server i think) brought our wings appetizer and set it in front of us. My husband and I joined hands and were about 5 seconds into saying grace when the server returned with appetizer plates, interrupting our prayer by nudging our linked hands so he could put the plates on the table. He did say "excuse me" but really could've waited the extra 10 seconds it would've taken for us to finish saying grace. There were only 3 other tables in the restaurant so it wasn't bustling.

We may return because the first time we came about two months ago, the food was amazing. So hopefully this is a fluke. But it was really bad enough to deter us from coming again. The only thing that saved it was remembering how good it was the first...

The food was served cold and it was not cooked to order. I ordered lamb and it was below room temperature when I received it. The "Southern Sauce" was A1 and some BBQ mix. Disgusting. The macaroni was watery. There is no way it was baked fresh. They had to be reheating food. My stomach paid the price. The cabbage was good. But who can mess up cabbage? Prices were too high for such poor service and overall quality of meal was disappointing. When I arrived the chef was sitting on the deck at entrance of restaurant smoking with his apron on. That should have been my first warning to go elsewhere, along with the weird smell. There was no aroma of southern cuisine cooking in that place. Again, a key warning I missed. The wait staff was friendly, but appeared disconnected and contemplating end of shift. The best thing about the place was the music. I haven't been this disappointed in a long time. I got so sick after I got home. I regret going here. It doesn't deserve even one star. I will dedicate the one star to the juke box and to the poor wait staff that seem equally traumatized by having to work there. I hope they bring their lunch with...