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Hull GA: Bill's BBQ

When I asked Marie for advice on a place to eat in Athens, Bill's BBQ was on the top of her list. I can see why. The food is great and everyone there is wonderfully nice. The owner explained the restaurant's long history, starting out in Athens and later moving several miles out of town. The restaurant has all the calling cards of a small-town Southern restaurant: plywood paneling, a rack of potato chip bags at the cash register. But they also sport a very modern, stainless steel kitchen and a giant TV that played Jurassic Park as I ate.

I ordered pork, which came with the canonical sides of Brunswick stew, cole slaw, and white bread. I adorned the pork with the hot sauce, a vinegar sauce that gave the pork a perfect touch of sweetness along with sour. The pork was outstanding as were the Brunswick stew and the slaw.

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