Ducky's Smokehouse--Bringing Some Soul to Pasco County

I had been waiting with anticipation after I spotted a white sign saying, "Soul Food Coming Soon!".  Lord knows, Pasco can use a little soul.  Each week I would drive by the new restaurant on Ridge and Hardy looking to see signs of life.  Next came signage saying, Ducky's SmokeHouse.  Oh, good, I thought, progress.

Then, this Saturday, I was driving by, watching the smoke rise with a big white banner stating "Now Open".  I grabbed my companions and we immediately went to check it out.

James Daugherty, owner and operator and native of Clearwater, has been in the food business for 25 years, and initially learned the art of cooking at the knees of his grandmother.  Friends and family round out the staff.   The place is sparse but clean. It isn't very large inside and I worry about seating once word gets out around town that we have a new, phemomenal restaurant in our midst.  The food is simple and tasty.  Ducky's tagline is, "Where the secret ingredient is Love."  That is not just a cutesy saying--you can taste the love in every bite.

Unlike many Pasco restaurants that servce sysco food service slop, this is real, down-home cooking.  The pulled pork was smokey and juicy, with just the right amount of barbecue sauce, and serviced on a kaiser roll which is much sturdier than regular sandwich buns served at other bbq places.  The mac and cheese is made from a family recipe, and was so good, it elicited mmmmmms from around the table. My brother had the baked beans, more like a bean casserole, he said, which contained good sizes crumbles of real bacon in every bite.  "This is dynamite", he exclaimed, with a happy smile.

My other companion stated, "This is, hands down, the best coleslaw I have ever eaten."  I asked her to expain, and she said, "It is not too sweet nor too tangy.  It isn't loaded down with mayo or vinegar--it has just the right mixture of everything.  Also, the cabbage is artistry in itself.  It is not little matchsticks nor ribbons--and it is pretty as well as tasty."  She had the white meat chicken, which we all eagerly tasted.  It was smokey and not at all dry, with the flavor running all the way through.  We topped the meal off with Ducky's homemade sweet potato pie.  With a nice, flaky, buttery crust, it was not cloyingly over-sweet, and again elicited ooohs and ahhs from my dining companions.

We will certainly be back, after we get done crowing from the rooftops how awesome this new place is.  The food is clearly homemade, you get a good portion for your dining dollars, plus, the food arrives on real plates, with actual silverware (not always the case with some bbq joints) and it truly is made with love.

Ducky's is located at 6404 Ridge Rd in Port Richey and is open from 10-10, Tuesday through Sunday.