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| - You'd think, wouldn't you, that with a name like Hillside Spot this restaurant in Ahwatukee would be nestled in a pastoral setting with lovely views? Not so, it's in a typical strip mall off Warner Rd. and unfortunately its patio faces directly on the street, making it hard to carry on a conversation, even on a Sunday. The patio, without misters, is uninviting, with a very odd mixture of seat cushions for the wrought iron furniture. It was even more off-putting because most of the tables were loaded with dirty dishes. There was one hard working busboy who couldn't keep up with the mess. It wasn't much better indoors - messy and noisy (the noise of the cars being replaced by very loud music).
You place your order at the counter. Breakfast is served daily from 6:30 AM to
4 PM. There are pancakes, plain or with apple compote ($6) or with bananas, caramel, creme fraiche and peanuts ($7). Eggs, scrambled or fried, come with MJ toast and a choice of bacon, ham, sausage, or chorizo ($6). Various egg sandwiches and omelets range from $6 to $8. But we had come for lunch. The selection was small, and not particularly inspiring. Tuna or chicken salad sandwiches ($7), turkey ($6), a BLT to which you could add a fried egg at no extra charge ($7) and a croque monsieur ($7.50).
Surprisingly, none of these came with a side. The cheeseburger ($8.50) came with fries.
I ordered the rotisserie half chicken ($10) which was served with fries and seasonal local vegetables. Of course, I requested crispy fries. Ken opted for the Derby Salad, with various greens, egg, avocado, bacon, and blue cheese, served with house made buttermilk dressing ($8). We waited quite a while, when finally a server, shouting our name and number, delivered our food. The salad was good size, with loads of blue cheese chunks of good quality (rather than the generic crumbles served at many places), and large pieces of bacon. The greens were fresh and the avocado looked freshly cubed. It's a shame that the buttermilk dressing was tasteless, and the quantity skimpy. My chicken was nicely cooked, with crisp skin - much crispier, in fact, than my fries which were dark brown, but limp. The vegetables were a mix of roasted cauliflowerets, corn, and red peppers which I enjoyed. We took home a brownie and a slice of chocolate cake. Both were excellent.
All in all, although our food was generally good, I had expected more. More ambience, a nicer setting, a more interesting menu. One of the owners of Hillside Spot also owns Gallo Blanco, a Southwestern/Mexican restaurant (our favorite) in the Clarendon Hotel in downtown Phoenix,. That menu, while small, is full of interesting, flavorful food. The place is clean, the decor "bus station" funky. It is, however, LOUD, especially when the Flamenco dancers are in attendance. Unfortunately, the limp fries are there too. So, while we will continue to eat at Gallo Blanco, Hillside Spot is off limits for us.
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