I watched his plate arrive, my eyes getting wide, mouth watering. They have biscuits here? How did I not know this? Has it been so long since I looked at their menu?

To explain how we got to this point in my little story … I am lucky enough to belong to a long- lasting Friday night Happy Hour group. The group existed long before I invited myself to join their ranks, and I’ve been going since, oh, 2008 or so? The members come from all walks of life and parts of town.

On any given Friday, there might be anywhere from four to a dozen or so members gathered around a table, decompressing from the week. We talk about anything, from pop culture to politics to TV to sex, and any combination thereof.

The location changes every week, although there are a few spots that we tend to rotate through. One of our favorite places has been Sportsman’s Grille in Hillsboro Village at their upstairs bar. It is too smoky and for a long time you had to watch where you sat because the springs were coming through the booth seat (recently repaired). Somehow, though, this place has come to dominate the rotation. Brad, the bartender, knows us and what we like to drink, we have our favorite table in the corner, the chicken tenders are the best, and, of course, there are a lot of memories.

All of which makes it shocking that in all this time, all the years, all the late nights, I had never tried their Chicken Biscuits. How did I miss that? Well, the time had come. I placed the order and waited with great anticipation. The serving was huge. Three large biscuits, each with a hefty piece of fried chicken nestled within. I was intrigued to find that the biscuits had been split and grilled to warm them. An ingenious way to reheat a biscuit, making it taste fresh and toasted at the same time. As I previously noted, Sportsman’s makes great fried chicken tenders, so I already knew those would be good.

Mmm… It may have taken me a while, but those were worth the wait.