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| - First of all, there's nothing English pub about this place. It's an American sports bar through and through. I don't say this as a negative, let's just call it what it is. If you're a manchild/ex fraternity member that loves wearing sports jerseys and screaming at television screens while you swig $2 Bud Lights you'll be right at home. Me? I don't like sports, I don't like loud, obnoxious crowds and I don't like cheap macrobeer. So what the hell was I doing here? One word, Groupon.
Allow me to set the scene. It was a Saturday afternoon, about 1pm. The place is pretty big. Huge flatscreens hanging from the ceiling and behind the bar, booths on the outskirts, hightops in the center. The college football game was blaring in the background. A small crowd, maybe 10 or so, scattered about. There are also plenty of pool tables and dart boards if that's your thing.
The menu is actually pretty diverse for a sports bar. It's a bit like a Dave & Buster's or Champps, with a good mix of bar staples, burgers and salads. There are quite a few items that sound pretty tempting including the mini corn dog bites and the Newcastle battered chicken tenders and they've even got pizza and some larger entrees. Like I said, not a bad menu. They've also got a decent beer list with the usual suspects and a few local craft brews tossed in for good measure. Not mind-blowing, but it at least provides options.
So how about the service? Again, not bad. We were greeted immediately upon entering and, given the sparse crowd, ushered to a booth. I love sitting in a booth. It just seems that more often than not, being a party of two, we wind up being seated in the shittiest seats in the restaurant (i.e. right by the kitchen doors, next to the restrooms, directly under the A/C vent, all the way in the back completely out of the actual dining area). I digress. Our server was fairly friendly but didn't seem to know that much about the menu or how a Groupon actually worked. She kept our drinks filled, though, and checked back several times during our meal. All in all, not a bad showing.
In general, our experience with the food was pretty good. I think because we went in with such low expectations we were prepared for the worst. Our order was pretty standard, app, two salads. So let's dive a bit deeper, shall we?
Baked Pretzel Stix with Beer Cheese Dip - The four soft pretzels were soft and warm, no complaints there. The cheese sauce, however, was a miss. It tasted exactly like the processed cheese you get on your nachos at the movie theater and if there was any beer in it at all I certainly couldn't taste it.
Cobb Salad w/Grilled Chicken - Romaine lettuce, tomatoes, bacon, cucumbers, bleu cheese crumbles, egg, black olives and onions. Topped with avocado and served with a side of Cider Cobb dressing. The veggies were fresh and crispy, there was plenty of bacon and the chicken was done well. My wife didn't care for the dressing, though, saying it had a weird flavor.
Napa Valley Spinach Salad - Be forewarned, this comes with chicken but when it arrives at the table you won't be able to tell. They bury it under the spinach. Just check before you inform them you didn't get any chicken. Anyway, this salad was pretty tasty. Plenty of fresh spinach, bacon, granny smith apples, red onions, candied pecans, feta cheese, dried cranberries and mushrooms. The dressing didn't have much flavor and the chicken was extremely salty.
Side of Fries - I'm not one to wax ecstatic when it comes to fries, but these were damn good fries. Very crispy, seasoned perfectly and highly addicting. I can see these pairing well with a nice, juicy burger.
Here's something else I found strange. We were asked if we wanted blue cheese or ranch dressing with our salads. I didn't get it. The salads came with specific dressings, why would I want a second dressing? Whatever, I just didn't understand. Our server told us that it's just what they do.
For a chain (there are actually 70+ locations in 23 states) Fox & Hound isn't bad. The food is definitely a step above typical bar food and the atmosphere is what it is. Like I said earlier, I'm not really their target market so I don't think they'll lose any sleep over my review. But if you're looking for a place to hang out with your brahs, watch a game and exchange high-fives, you'll probably be pretty happy. Will we go back? Probably not but hell, I didn't think we'd have ever gone there in the first place.
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