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| - Downtown Phoenix is certainly in need of trendy restaurants like the Blue Hound. It has an industrial meets urban-chic-trendy type of atmosphere. There are chandeliers in cages, plank floors and rustic wood tables - and it all works nicely together. That said, there is nothing to help absorb sound so it can get quite loud quickly and difficult to carry on a conversation in a normal tone of voice.
The service was excellent so whatever kinks other reviewers have mentioned were certainly not apparent the evening we were there. Our servers was extremely knowledgable about the menu items, but also about the cocktails. She was attentive but didn't smother us, and she wanted to make sure we were happy with what we ordered.
Some have described the menu as "southern" cuisine, which I don't get. Just because there are grits on the menu doesn't make it southern. The menu is innovative and creative - perhaps a bit too much so.
The food we had was good - but be prepared for very small portions overall, and fairly high prices. We started out with the pulled pork sliders on a white corn johnnycake. The pork was extremely flavorful but the johnnycake just wasn't substantial to support it. These sliders have to be eaten with a fork, and the pork fell off the johnnycake so it was difficult to get both the pork and cake in one bite. Entrees: the mac & cheese ($11) came in a very small cast iron cassoulet. Good, but more appetizer size than entree. Again, the portion size of the Alaskan Cod was small. Nicely presented, but it looked very lonely on the plate. The Plum Tomato flatbread was unispiring, lacking character and flavor. Very little basil. Steer clear of that option. The best entree was the Porterhouse Pork Chop. This was a good-sized portion, cooked perfectly and the confit was excellent. Desserts: the Sticky Toffee bread pudding with bacon ice cream was dry and not flavorful - very disappointing. The Carmelized Pineapple Upside Down cake was excellent.
The food was good - not outstanding - and high priced for the portion size. Great place for visitors to the Valley, and maybe business lunches. Glad we tried it but I doubt if we'll return. We just weren't that impressed.
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