Swallow At The Hollow

Date: Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Restaurant: Swallow At The Hollow
Location: 1072 Green Street, Roswell, GA‎
URL: theswallowatthehollow.com
Recommended By: Mason

7.83

A trip to Swallow at the Hollow may give you the feeling that you are at a North Georgia hollow. The restaurant is off a small side road, gravel parking lot, and the building seems to be made of all old wood. Right in front of the open kitchen there is a large canoe filled with beer. There is also a stage, but no music during lunch.
Every table is set with three BBQ sauces (Carolina Vinegar, Carolina Mustard, Thick KC) plus additional hot sauces. Mixing the three together made for an excellent sauce. The baby back ribs are very tender and covered in the KC style sauce. The sauce is thick and has a strong molasses flavor, not everyone’s favorite. The chopped beef was tender but did not have any sauce, when sauce was added it was pretty good. The pulled pork was good – “some of the best I have every had”.
Each order came with a choice of homemade bread, Texas toast or biscuits. All were better than the average BBQ joint. The mac & cheese was outstanding, very creamy. The Brunswick stew was very soupy and had corn meal bits in it. They just threw the taste off. Fried Green tomatoes were too thick so they came out under cooked, and the breading was a little flakey, more like they were baked and not fried.
The biggest downside is the price. A plate with 2 sides is $13. A bit pricy for lunch, although it is enough for 2 people to share.


Mason
Overall Score: 8
Main Dish Taste:
      Pulled Pork – 9.5
      Ribs – 3.5 (I hate Baby Back Ribs)
Sauce:9.5
Tenderness:8
Sides Taste :
      Brunswick Stew - 6
      Mac & Cheese - 9
Service: 8.5
Atmosphere:9
Cost: 5
Comments: To get to Swallow at the Hollow you have to drive through some questionable streets. It feels like you are back in the woods. The entire building is made of wood except for the roof. Really cool atmosphere. The portions at this place are enormous. Two people could easily share a normal pork plate, which may explain the $14 i paid for lunch (without tip). The pulled pork was excellent, some of the best I have had. Great Smokey flavor. The sauce was awesome because you get three different kinds (sweet, spicy, mustard based) and mix away. The mac and cheese was excellent as well. The Brunswick stew had a good taste but an almost grainy texture, it was just too different so i have to say pass. Which leaves the ribs. They were the smallest ribs we have seen to date and absolutely caked with a dark thick sauce that resembled molasses. Not really my style of rib. Overall, great atmosphere, country style portions, great BBQ, not so much with the ribs, and expect to pay more.

Dan
Overall Score:7.5
Main Dish Taste:
      Pulled Pork – 8.5
      Ribs – 8.5
Sauce:8
Tenderness:8
Sides Taste :
      Fries – 7
      Biscuit - 7
Service: 8
Atmosphere:9
Cost: 4
Comments: Having been there recently, my expectation were extremely high. While it didn’t quite deliver up to my expectations, it was still a very solid experience. The atmosphere is exactly what you want out of a bbq place, a nice rustic feel. The number of different option on the sauce was fabulous, not to mention how good it was why you mixed the sauces together. The pork was good, but the ribs were better. Tasty and tender. The ribs were a little small, but that’s what you get with baby back ribs. My one main complaint with the place was the price. Definitely more expensive than the other places, and when you know it can be done well for cheaper, that what I expect. All in all though a very solid place and I would definitely go back.

Matt
Overall Score:8
Main Dish Taste:
      Beef - 8
      Ribs – 8.5
Sauce:8
Tenderness:8
Sides Taste :
      Brunswick Stew - 8
      Mac & Cheese – 9
      Fried Green Tomatoes - 7
      Texas Toast - 9
Service: 8
Atmosphere:9
Cost: 6
Comments: Pulling into Swallow at the Hollow, I had the feeling that I was up in the North GA Mountains. The building looks like an old country farm house. The inside is just as rustic. The menu was a bit pricy, especially for lunch. But the platter can easily be spit. I did like the number of options that you had. You can get the beef or pork, chopped or sliced; three types of bread, white, Texas toast, or biscuit (all homemade); Carolina, KC and Carolina Mustard sauces.
I got my beef chopped; fairly tender with a good smoky flavor. It did not come with any sauce. I ended up mixing all three, which came out very well. The ribs were very tender baby back ribs. There were smothered in the KC style sauce, a little too much for me, and I love sauce, plus the sauce had a bit too much of a molasses flavor. The mac & cheese was very creamy, very delicious. The Brunswick stew was more like a soup with bits of corn meal in it. It had a different taste to it. The fried green tomato was a little thick so it did not cook all the way and the breading with a little crumby.