Blue Hound Kitchen & Cocktails: Dear Downtown Phoenix, Your Restaurant Has Arrived

By Laura Hahnefeld Thu., Oct. 18 2012 at 9:00 AM

Categories: Cafe Review, Hahnefeld

Jamie Peachey

Chef Stephen Jones' version of the Mexican stew pozole may be, for now, the best dish on the menu.

Blue Hound Kitchen & Cocktails is the downtown restaurant Phoenix has been waiting for.

Opened in June and located on the second floor of the new Hotel Palomar at CityScape, the restaurant is a true urban gathering place -- from its dusky lights and reclaimed wood, to its aromas of smoky ham, fried quail, and fresh-baked brick-oven bread.

The aromas come courtesy of Blue Hound chef Stephen Jones, who isn't above mixing his versions of corn dogs, tater tots, and Mexican pozole in with the Hamachi crudo and duck confit flatbread. And it's Jones' contemporary American and local-ingredient-driven menu mixed with the restaurant's decidedly downtown flair, that makes Blue Hound worth the trip.

Here's an excerpt from this week's review:

"Jones' version of the Mexican stew pozole may be, for now, the best dish on the menu. A heady, sweet-and-smoky concoction, the tender Ancho chile braised pork neck, cabbage, hominy, avocado, and pickled red onion topped with a fried egg and toasted bread (for soppin') arrived at the table nestled in a jet-black iron pan. The grilled rainbow trout, tender and mild with a crispy skin, however, comes dangerously close to matching the pozole -- especially topped with sweet corn and atop a wonderful basil sauce. More inventive but just as tasty is the Kentucky-fried quail. Soaked overnight in buttermilk, it's fried to a golden, satisfying crunch and set atop foie gras-kissed cornbread over a thick pool of red beans and sausage gravy that's as good as red beans and sausage gravy gets."

Hungry for more? Get the full review of Blue Hound Kitchen & Cocktails here.

Follow Chow Bella on Facebook and Twitter and Pinterest.