The Kickin' Pig

April: While this place is better described as a bar rather than a restaurant, it is the place that I keep coming back to over and over again. It only offers chopped pork barbecue and ribs but it is some of the best tasting pork I have had. Most times I do not even add sauce even though they also have one of the best hot sauces (vinegar based) on the table. The sides are just as good. The baked beans, barbecue slaw, and onion rings are fabulous. The hushpuppies tend to be overcooked and a little dry. Nothing that a $1.50 Pabst Blue Ribbon beer can’t take care of!

Lane: I had to describe to some friends the other day what my favorite places around Rock Hill are for barbecue and why. The Kickin’ Pig is great food, a relaxed atmosphere, and a pretty cool place to chill. The people are nice and the food is simple. The Kickin’ Pig is my default place to eat and chill out. I have not had their ribs yet but I thoroughly enjoy their chopped pork sandwiches whenever I can and as sides go the red slaw (coleslaw made with a vinegar-base) and their baked beans are amazing (I usually dislike baked beans too.)

On a side note, some of the coolest Hogs can be found parked in front of the restaurant daily.

The Kickin' Pig 1227 Cherry Road Rock Hill, SC 29732
(803) 980-2689
Distance from Home: 1.62 miles

Firebonz BBQ and Grill

Lane: Firebonz is bright, well lit, and decorated red, white, and blue. It has a full bar and a great environment, and is very clean and modern. The restaurant is very family friendly despite the full bar, but with the family setting it gets a little noisy at times. The Phillies were playing the Red Sox (for a win) so April was pretty happy (Firebonz has great large flat screen TVs with un-obstructed views). The good news: I had a sliced bar-b- q sandwich with very good sides, Mac and cheese, coleslaw, and a Cottonwood Nut Brown Ale.

April: This is a chain restaurant in Rock Hill and is very popular with the York County Democrats as they have their monthly meetings here. We visited on a Saturday evening. While the restaurant is fairly large, it was very crowded and very loud. Despite sitting across the table from my husband it was difficult to carry on a conversation. There were large screen TV’s, music, and lots of people. As for the food, it was on the mediocre side. The fried pickles are spears, not chips and this fact is not included on the menu. They were very good and served with the requisite side of ranch. I ordered the chopped pork sandwich. The meat has a great pink smoke ring and is on the sweet side. Firebonz has six different sauces that sit on the table for your choosing. They range from mustard to vinegar to molasses based. The barbeque was a little dry, so experimenting with the different sauces was good. I wonder if this is purposeful? We shared an order of banana pudding for dessert. While the presentation of this dish is impressive, do no waste your money or your daily sugar allotment on it. There was a lot of whipped cream and a lot of really bad banana pudding and no bananas.

Firebonz BBQ & Grill 2445 Cherry Rd Rock Hill, SC 29732
(803) 366-1555

Distance from Home: 3.41 Miles