Rolling out a new menu can be an exciting time for a restaurant and so when we were invited to come take it for a spin we had to say, “Yes”! This past week Blue Hound Kitchen & Cocktails rolled out their spring menu to the delight of WSWE’s resident food experience gurus. It was a dinner that gave us a lot of background on the chef and how the menu was developed along with a trip back in time for our foodies. In a word we found the new menu to be, inspired. So sit back and relax as we share what we had the pleasure to experience.
To start the Blue Hound changes its menu for every season so don’t be shocked if you see multiple menus throughout the year. It’s not because it wasn’t successful, in fact it probably is due to all the amazing ideas that go through the Chef’s dreams. Yes, Chef Stephen Jones dreams about food, the absolute sign that he is doing exactly what he should be, feeding his customers. One of the more interesting options we tried was a Cured Strawberry and Fennel Flatbread. It didn’t really appeal to us initially but upon its arrival we were excited by its pure fresh beauty. It did indeed look like a garden party on a flat bread. Its taste was one of contrasts with the sweetness of the strawberry to the peppery arugula and licorice-like flavor of the fennel. A choice we would recommend to anyone while combing through the menu and finding themselves unable to decide due to the shear vastness of fresh seasonal options. It was then that Chef Stephen explained that he developed this combination in a dream and after several tastings added it to the menu. Many of the menu items came about in similar fashions, it is almost as though someone was sending him a divine message of miraculous proportion.
The restaurant does its best efforts to source all the food and cocktails from local producers. A trend in the industry we love to hear and learn about. Not only does this support the local economy but it also ensures that the food sitting in front of you is as fresh as it is going to get. One such item on the menu is their Hickman’s Farm Deviled Eggs, no offense mom, but these eggs are probably the best deviled eggs we have ever had in our lifetime. It sounds like a massive overstatement doesn’t it? We don’t take these things lightly nor would we exaggerate the flavors. The yolk was creamy and seasoned with a spicy Dijon that was neither over heated or bland. It was topped with smoked ham and what I would assume was just a dash of paprika. The item which set these apart was the fried yolk sitting in the egg’s crevice under that creamy yolk. What a pleasant surprise as you bite into the egg and the flavors meld together, leaving you with a spicy creamy Dijon on your palette. We also ordered the Tater Tots which were rolled perfectly incorporating smoked bacon & chive and came with a romesco sauce. The sauce was a spicy sriracha base but only added a small level of heat making it enjoyable for all heat seekers and those with more sensitive stomachs.
It was time to move on to a Crispy Salt n’ Pepper Shrimp. The shrimp came complete with head and legs still attached fried and then covered with a nice salt and pepper rub. Chef Stephen encouraged us to eat them with our hands as that was how he envisioned it being eaten. If you want to follow his complete vision, he also eats the shell and head. We opted to remove the aforementioned items and focus on the shrimp but we did eat with our hands. The shrimp was perfectly cooked and the rub was perfect, leaving it on our fingers for a little finger licking after promptly devouring the plateful.
Our meat and game selections included the BBQ’d Beef Short Ribs and Smoked Lamb Ribs. Both dishes had so many similarities that we can describe them together for the most part. For both dishes we again had a fantastic combination of flavors that accentuated each other in both contrast and comparison. The meat in both dishes were smoked and mostly fell off the bone with little effort. However, the short ribs came with a creamy grits side all presented in a cast iron bowl and the lamb came on top of 1000 bean salad and green hummus, beautifully displayed in layers. We enjoyed a moment of silence during this portion of the meal as we realized we had come to a close on our stomachs limited capacity. We would be taking the rest of this portion home to re-experience the next day.
One comment we would like to expand on was the recommended practice of using your hands during the shrimp dish. It was part of the enjoyment with this plate, mostly because it became another conversation piece during dinner. In fact, the whole experience was one that promoted conversation about the food and also brought us back to some personal past memories. For example, my cocktail was called the Lawless and it incorporated burning pipe tobacco into a glass then serving my whiskey in it. Instantly, it conjured memories of my uncle and for my dining companion it was memories of her Grandfather. This immediately created conversation and made us ponder how rare it is that the whole dinner experience itself connects at such a deep level. We experienced this throughout the dinner. Whether it was the smells of the whiskey, the tastes of the tater tots, the hand peeling of the shrimp, whatever it was, it felt almost choreographed for our lives. Blue Hound Kitchen & Cocktails gave us an experience that we won’t soon forget.
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