Food
RESTAURANT
Buzz Into
Bee Hive Bistro
Soul food full of flavor: golden fried chicken, honey gold sauce, sweet potatoes and Southern favorites
The Dish RESTAURANT:
Bee Hive Bistro LOCATION:
2309 Mercury Blvd. Suite C PHONE:
615-546-4902 HOURS: Tues.–Sat.
11 a.m.–7 p.m.
PRICES: Fried pork
chop with two sides: $9.49; 20 boneless wings: $12.99; Cheeseburger: $5.99; Chicken and waffle: $9.49; 6 whole wings: $13.06
ONLINE:
beehivebistrollc.com
STORY BY BRACKEN MAYO
I
had honey gold sauce all over myself when I left Bee Hive Bistro, and didn’t really care. This sauce is fantastic. Also, this place has some of the most excellent french fries in town. They are hand cut in the store, and dipped in the same batter used for the fried chicken before hitting the deep fryer, according to Bee Hive Bistro owner Mike Malone. The restaurant, located near the corner of Mercury and Rutherford, has been in operation about a year now, but just recently hung its sign proclaiming the name Bee Hive Bistro. Inside, a colorful mural (painted by Terrell Johnson and Vincent Mosley) welcomes customers to the Bee Hive as they place their orders.
20 * MAY 2021 * BOROPULSE.COM
PHOTOS BY SARAH MAYO Cartoons play on the TV, perhaps to help entertain Malone’s young daughter, hanging out in the restaurant. Waiting on food, a diner notices that every table contains a bottle of Frank’s RedHot, alongside salt, pepper, ketchup and mustard—and even hand sanitizer. As it should be. Every restaurant needs lots of Frank’s available. That indicated that the people at Bee Hive Bistro know what they are doing and don’t want their customers eating bland food. And according to most reports, the food served at Bee Hive is packed with flavor. “Nothing about the meal lacked any flavor. All the food was delicious, well seasoned and spiced,” a local diner named Victor said about Bee Hive Bistro. “I can’t
rave enough about it.” The white breast meat boneless wings can be a great way to feed a group; get 50 boneless wings for $32. Or a good way to feed one hungry person, get 10 for $6.54. The whole wings, expectedly, cost more—about $2 per wing—but these are large, with the flat and drum connected. The lovely fried wings, boneless wings and larger pieces of fried chicken or tenders at Bee Hive Bistro can be plain, battered, seasoned, spicy seasoned, garlic parmesan seasoned or tossed in lemon pepper, honey gold, honey hot, buffalo or bee sting sauce. “Garlic parm was my favorite,” according to Melanie Cason Ryder. She added that Bee Hive also “has a great burger and awesome fish.” The buffalo chicken is delicious. Tasty, but not too crazy-hot at all, and the salty and tender fried bone-in pork chop was fantastic. Plenty of other Bee Hive patrons have positive things to say about the chicken and fish. “Never had the breading on my fish that perfectly crunchy,” Chiana Smith said. At first glance, the menu contains a lot of fried foods—chicken, fish, pork chops,
wings, fried pickles, tenders and such, but it also contains plenty of vegetables. Try some delicious collard greens or sweet potatoes like Grandmama’s—very sweet. The butter and the sugar used turn into a honey-like glaze when cooking these bits of sweet potatoes to just past tender. “You must have the sweet potatoes!” Tammie Todd Patterson. “Wings, chicken Philly and chicken sandwich were so good,” she added. Other sides include green beans, okra, white beans and more. One diner suggested placing the sweet potatoes on top of the mashed potatoes. That sounds like a good idea to me. As good as the chicken, pork chop and fish are, many diners say the side dishes are their favorite part of a Bee Hive meal. “Best soul food in Murfreesboro,” Jami Nicole Parnell said of Bee Hive Bistro. The menu also contains burgers, pulled pork, baked chicken and dressing and Philly cheesesteaks. And overall, about everything makes a pretty good value for the money, with most plates about $10. “Amazing fish! We’re determined to try
