Food

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 PHOTOS BY SARAH MAYO

Ihad 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.

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

From left: Pork chop with cornbread, collard greens and sweet potatoes; bacon double cheeseburger; honey hot whole wings; the custom mural inside; sausage sandwich; buffalo and honey gold boneless wings

Catering Available

HAPPY HOUR MON – THURS 4 PM TO 7 PM SAT 11 AM TO 3 PM

223 West Main Street Murfreesboro 615-203-3498 alleyonmain.com

Contemporary American Dining

Visit primrosetable.com or fi nd us on Facebook to make your reservation today 1650 Memorial Blvd., Murfreesboro • 615.900.5790

everything on the menu,” Falon Crayton said.

As with all fried chicken joints where they cook chicken to order, made to order can mean a bit of a wait. Call ahead if you are in a hurry, but the fried chicken and fish enthusiasts appreciate the hot and fresh food.

“Good food ain’t fast and fast food ain’t good,” a Bee Hive customer, Joe, posted following a recent meal, calling it his “new favorite wing spot in Murfreesboro. How they can make them as juicy as they are is beyond me. Their lemon pepper wings and honey hot are incredible.”

Amanda Hight agreed that the Bee Hive food is “worth the wait.”

“The chicken was divine! We loved it all, sides included,” she said. “You won’t be disappointed.”

Aside from the wait time, one of the few complaints from Bee Hive Bistro customers is the level of salt in some of the food.

Most didn’t find the dishes overly salty and say that everything is spectacularly done, but quite a few reviewers online have left the comment they would prefer less salt.

“I had the honey gold wings and fries. My wings were phenomenal and the sauce was so good. I did enjoy my fries but they were extremely salty. We also tried the fried pickles and they were good, but salty too,” Kearston Dornae said.

Otherwise, rave reviews.

For a tasty, filling lunch on a budget, grab a smoked sausage sandwich (a large link on a hot dog bun), perhaps topped with some slaw and honey gold sauce, for only $3.99.

As far as wing types, Malone says the honey gold is probably the most ordered flavor so far.

“My personal favorite is the seasoned,” the Bee Hive proprietor said.

The business now sells jars of sea moss, which reportedly delivers lots of vitamins and minerals and assists with digestive health as well.

And family meals, containing chicken, fish or pork chops, two large sides and bread for four people are available for $25–$30.

Figure out what sauces and sides you’d like to try, give Bee Hive Bistro a call, let Mike drop something in the fryer for you, and get ready for a very flavorful meal from a welcome addition to the Murfreesboro restaurant scene.

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HAPPY HOUR DAILY, 3–6 P.M.