One of the spot that I found during my research was also one of the recommended spots by locals. It is located at the CityScape, on the upper level. They have both stairs and escalators from the sidewalk.

The main lobby area seems to be sharing space with the hotel right next door, Kimpton Hotel Palomar Phoenix. With that, it was really nice and fancy, with modern, chic, relaxing and elegant decor.

There was a blue hound dog welcoming us next to the host/hostess station. The first area is occupied mainly by a large bar. They had a few happy customers enjoying some drinks.

We were there a bit late, on a weekday. About the time we were leaving, there were only a couple of people left. I got to see the bar space better with less people. They had lots of counter seating, and tall bar seating right behind it. Then some booth tables along the wall. The space is pretty dim, producing relaxing and romantic atmosphere.

All the way in the back is the main dining area, with a good amount of table seating. It was pretty dark in here too, with main light source coming from an open kitchen. I knew I was going to have a hard time taking photos… But that has never stopped me before!

Since 2018 is the Year of the Dog, they had a special page in their menu. And the blue hound is a hard working dog. The cocktail menu had a name and description of the drink on one page, followed by the photo of each drinks, presented by the blue hound. You can see the blue legs of the dog by each drinks in the photo. It was cute and really nice to be able to see what the cocktails would look like before deciding which one to order.

I actually picked the cocktail from the photo, since I knew I wanted one with egg whites on top. Made it really easy and fast for me to decide, since they had quite many selections of all sorts of cocktails. I went with #46 on the menu (they have total of 48 selections of drinks when I visited!!!), called Lion King ($14). The menu actually doesn’t say what the ingredients are, but the “origin” of the cocktail. This one said 2017, Phoenix, Hotel Palomar, Jake Nedved. It is kind of cool to see when and where and by whom this cocktail was first created. I loved the egg whites, exactly what I wanted! It was topped with black berry which was a bit sour. The cocktail itself was really tasty, sweet and elegant, delicious cocktail.

For food, I decided to order two appetizers as both appetizers and main, so that I can try more than one items without stuffing myself. The first appetizer I ordered, as an appetizer, was Corn Grit Fries ($10), made with smoked bacon, white cheddar, served with pomodoro sauce.

I was excited about this item, as I heard such great things about it. It came with six pieces of corn grit fries, each one nice size and heavy. Since it was more than enough to share, my co-worker also got to have couple of pieces. It was rich, with crispy exterior. The only issue was that it was a bit too heavy to stay in one piece, as I tried to pick it up with a fork. It was tasty but I think I had a too high of an expectation, that it didn’t wow me. Comforting for sure, and I liked the breading, but not amazing. 

 

The second appetizer I ordered as my main was Pulled Pork Sliders ($7/two sliders). They had an option to choose between two or four sliders, which was really nice. It is made with cola barbeque, grain mustard slaw, on king’s hawaiian roll. 

It was a nice size, not too small, with generous amount of filling. The meat was nice and tender, packed with flavor. Juicy and perfectly coddled in tangy barbeque sauce that had nice sweetness to it from cola. Coleslaw was great, fresh and went perfectly with the pork. The buns were really fluffy, gently holding all the deliciousness in between. Really enjoyed it!

Since I didn’t have huge portion, I got to enjoy a dessert as well. I ordered BHKC Pudding ($9). There was no description of what it was, but I went with it since it had their name on it, I figured it is their signature item. It was basically a vanilla pudding with whipped cream and caramel on top. It was simple but very tasty. Creamy and velvety with nice firm consistency. Nice way to end the pleasant meal.

The service was polite and helpful, but don’t bother you much while you are there. It is both good and bad. You can relax without feeling rushed, but at the same time, it is not always easy to catch your server when you need something. The dinner was tasty, satisfying, good quality and we had a good time there. If I ever get to go back to Phoenix, I would definitely give them another try.

 

Blue Hound Kitchen & Cocktails – 2 E Jefferson St, Phoenix, AZ 85004