Oak Hill Bar & Grill: Pork Chops, Po Boys, and Pie

And no line, no waiting, and no hollering...

There are places in this town that we’ve passed by for years and never gone in. Not for any real reason — just the time wasn’t right, the day wasn’t right, we were in a hurry, we were on our way to somewhere else. “We need to come back here!” was always the refrain. 

Well, we finally went to one of those places, and we’re kicking ourselves for not going sooner. Seriously, our shins are bruised and bloody because we’ve been missing out. Where is this place?

Oak Hill Bar & Grill in Homewood. 

In my mind Oak Hill was more bar and less grill, but surprisingly, if you want a solid meat and three lunch…y’all, this is the place. 

There’s another such place about a block away. A place where people line up down the sidewalk to get in. A place that got national recognition.

But why line up in the hot sunshine and risk getting yelled at by the chef (seriously, schtick or not, don’t holler at me), when you can have food that’s every bit as good, and, in some ways, maybe even better without the wait. You can relax in the air conditioning in a place where they call you “hon” and “sugar” and “darlin’” and take your order at the table not at the counter. A place where they bring you as much sweet tea as you can gulp down, and you don’t have to wedge into a narrow hallway to get it yourself. A place where, after you’re done with your lunch, they bring you pie if you want it. 

What more could you ever want out of a Southern food joint?

And it is a food joint although you can get a drink if you want one and they have music at night. Right now, though, we’re focused on lunch, on the meat and three.

For the uninitiated and folks from the North, that’s what we call a serving of meat with two or three vegetables on the side, and I fear it’s a dying art. Simple food. There’s no fusion (except for maybe grease into gravy). It’s food like your granny used to make, and if she didn’t cook, it’s food like you wished your granny had made. 

The first time we went to Oak Hill was a Thursday. There were three words on the daily specials that drew me in like a possum to a bowl of cat food – fried pork chops. Y’all, it’s been forever since I’ve had a fried pork chop. Really, since the Western on Highland Ave. closed taking its deli with it. That was all it took for me.

Ricky and I went in and took a seat and before too long we were given a menu with the daily lunch specials and another with other items like appetizers, salads, and sandwiches. I was all about the pork chops and chose tomato and cucumber salad and fried green tomatoes for my sides. Ricky chose the hamburger steak with sauteed mushrooms and onions (no gravy because GF) with collard greens and fruit. 

The thinish, fried breaded pork chop was damn near perfect. Crispy coating, moist meat (isn’t that a gross turn of phrase? Moist meat…but it was!) not dried up and leathery as fried pork chops can be. There was a little spice that hit you like an afterthought, a memory, like the perfume of a long gone lover lingers on a pillowcase. 

Ricky reported that his hamburger steak was perfectly cooked and juicy, even with no gravy, and the onions and mushrooms were generous but not overkill. 

All of the sides were a hit as well – crispy fried green tomatoes, collards that still had some “tooth” to them as Ricky put it, the fruit was fresh, and the tomato and cucumber salad had a surprising creamy dressing that I was told is house-made. 

If you do go to Oak Hill and somebody asks you if you want pie, say yes no matter how full you are. Just say yes to the pie. On this day, the options were lemon, coconut, chocolate, and caramel. We got a piece of lemon pie to share. After all, it is swimsuit season. A graham cracker crust held sweet, tart lemon icebox filling and the whole shebang was topped with whipped cream and dusted with powdered sugar. The sugar might have been a bit of overkill, but who am I to turn down a little extra sugar, and it made for a pretty plate. 

The bill for all this food? Less than $35. Mother, I think I’m home. 

We actually enjoyed Oak Hill so much that we didn’t let too much time pass before we went back. 

Ricky, a man who knows what he likes, got just about the same thing – hamburger steak and collards – only this time he added in mashed potatoes. I opted for an everyday special – the fried shrimp po boy which comes with a bowl of chicken and sausage gumbo. 

I’m a South Alabama gal, and I’m always curious about gumbo. And it’s hard hard hard to find good gumbo in this town that doesn’t come out of my dutch oven. You might call me a gumbo snob, and I can live with that. There’s actually only one place in this town where I’ve ever had what I would consider to be a true gumbo. It was decent, and I might even consider ordering it again. Maybe. Spoiler alert: That place isn’t Oak Hill.

But I will say that the soup I had was good. I liked it. I really really did! And it was served on rice with some gumbo elements like okra. I’d probably get it again. But to be considered gumbo in the tradition that I am used to (and let me stress that gumbo is all about what you grew up with, the region you come from, and personal preference), the color and texture didn’t indicate the presence of either a dark roux or filé, and without these things, it’s just not gumbo. But, like I said, what I was served was good, I ate it all up, and I’d eat it again. 

The po boy…now, that was a real treat! Dozens of hot, crispy fried shrimp – not too big, not too little – were piled on some sort of bread roll with lettuce and tomato and Oak Hill’s version of remoulade, which again, was good, but not what I would consider a traditional remoulade. This sauce was tasty and spicy, just like the menu said it would be, and had me asking for tea refills. The sandwich in its entirety is a glorious mess, and you just have to dive in and keep going until you’re gasping for breath. It falls apart faster than Erica Kane, but that’s what forks are for. 

Ricky reported that his meal was just as good as the time before, but I noticed him saving one of his sides for last – a sure indication that something special was on his plate. I nabbed a taste of those mashed potatoes and y’all…if you look up “delicious” in the dictionary, these taters will be in the picture. Creamy but not gluey, lumpy but not too much so, and buttery. He can’t eat the gravy, but these mashed potatoes should not be insulted with a sauce anyway. They stand on their own as one of the best sides on the menu. 

Of course, we couldn’t leave without pie. This time we chose coconut, a personal favorite of mine, and we were not disappointed. Coconut, custard, whipped cream, and more powdered sugar – it was heaven on a plate. 

And this time, our bill was a whopping $36, including drinks. Scuse me while I make myself a regular. 

Speaking of regulars, from the way the waitstaff greets the customers, there seem to be many regulars, and I love that in a place. I love being remembered and acknowledged. It really is the little things.

Little things like the faintest smell of bleach and disinfectant, which I also like. It smells like cleanliness and high Health Dept. ratings. But be forewarned, there are a lot of televisions – seven in the small dining room — mostly tuned to ESPN and CNBC. If you’re easily distracted, you might not enjoy it. But if you love sports and don’t like your lunch companion, this is the space for you. (Note: I LOVE my lunch companion. I’m married to him! But other people might not be so enamored and need a distraction.)

Here’s how we rated Oak Hill Bar & Grill on a scale of 1-5 🥩 (that’s supposed to be a pork chop I guess…):

Atmosphere: 🥩🥩🥩🥩

Food: 🥩🥩🥩🥩🥩

Drinks: 🥩🥩🥩🥩🥩 (We haven’t had alcoholic drinks, but the tea is good and strong.)

Service: 🥩🥩🥩🥩🥩

Bathrooms: 🥩🥩🥩🥩

p.s. Did you know Ricky and I produce a monthly zine about music and cocktails? It’s called “The Popskull Penumbra,” and we pair one album with one drink then share facts and trivia about both. There’s also original art and often a little surprise. You can see them and other interesting things at our website PopskullStudios.com and in our store.