The mac 'n cheese at Fox and Hound combines Cavatappi pasta, caramelized onions, and bacon with beer-cheese sauce. Parmesan makes a crusty topping.
Hold on to your Red Sox cap. A few weeks ago, I watched the final game of the World Series at the Fox and Hound in East Memphis, where I cheered for my favorite team and sampled the tavern’s new menu items.
At first, the oversized menu confused me. Typically, I find vegetables first and then turn to proteins. But my tactic isn’t possible at the Fox and Hound because meat, cheese, and chips control the testosterone driven choices. Befuddled, I didn’t know what to order.
Tony, shaking his head, chided me a bit. “This is a sports bar," he said. "Just go with it.”
And so I did, ordering the bar’s new Buffalo Chicken Dip ($8) pictured below, a pumpkin-colored sauce served with a side of blue cheese. When the dip arrived to our table, I immediately dumped in the chunks of blue cheese (a faux pas, perhaps?) and watched them disappear into the warm and creamy stew. Then we spent a glorious 10 minutes fishing out the cheese and chicken with a crunchy tortilla chip in one hand and a celery stick in the other.
I was starting to like this place, especially when the Extreme Mac & Cheese ($7) settled on the table. Served in a cast iron skillet with two handles, the hardy dish combines Cavatappi pasta (those are the spiral ones) with bacon, caramelized onions, and beer-cheese sauce.
Already satiated, I thought, Why stop? So we tried the bar’s Ultimate All-Star burger ($10.50). Fortunately, we ordered only one, because this burger earns its name. First, the patty combines Angus beef and Chorizo sausage. Next, cooks stuff the burger with guacamole, jalapenos, and cheese and dress it up with lettuce, tomato, pickles, red onions, spicy mayo, and two very thick onion rings. Served on a Brioche bun (ugh), the burger is stacked high and held together with an oversized steak knife. Like I said, this is a manly place.
Lots of other new items are sprinkled across the menu, including an Italian Grinder Panini ($10) and Jacked-up Cheese Wedges ($7) with a side of jalapeno jelly sauce. About a dozen new drinks also are available, including one called Angry Balls made with hard cider and Fireball Cinnamon whisky. The bar’s 100 different beer choices are even more impressive than the name of that drink. Start making your way through the list on Tuesday evenings when drafts sell for $2.50 a pint.
Fox and Hound Bar and Grill, 5101 Sanderlin Road (901-763-2013)
