I suppose if you want to get technical about it, the west side of Scottsdale Road at that point is Phoenix, but it's served by the Scottsdale post office so it has a Scottsdale mailing address. We spent a good 2-3 hours on this one day at the paper. Honestly, I still don't know what to call it.
Buuuuuuuut, just throwing a little love to Hush, which continues to be one of my most reliably rock solid favorites around town. A truly underrated spot that I worry has kind of been lost in the crush of new joints that are predominantly expensive, loud and dumb.
Distressingly half empty at 7:45 on a Restaurant Week Saturday (though they were participating), but the family and I stopped in for a few favorites and a few new (to me) dishes.
Some highlights:
- hush-cantaloupe.jpg (330.97 KiB) Viewed 74 times
I'm not mad at peaches and burrata, but peaches and burrata is everywhere. So I jettisoned the family request and got the cantaloupe instead. Lovely sweet melon in a cool curry cream with some nice bright herbal accents — Thai basil and mint, I believe — with fried shallots and peanuts for texture. Perfect balance, and so nice to see somebody doing something just a little bit different.
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We've gotten this one the last couple of times, actually, and I love it. It's a super silky whipped eggplant topped with pine nuts, herbs and a pile of braised lamb neck sizzled to a crisp. Not pictured is a simple toasted pita sent out to accompany. It ain't rocket science, but it's perfectly executed, which is really Hush's hallmark.
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This one was a knockout. I find myself super annoyed that Phoenix is in an "All Big Chunks of Meat All The Time" phase (even more lately than usual), buuuuuuuuut I've also lamented for years that I couldn't get a decent Milanese to save my life, so the sudden influx of Milanese/schnitzel/parmigiana is something I'm... not entirely mad at? Anyway, this one is just great. It's a pork tomahawk "schnitzel" — thick, juicy and very, very crisp — sitting over a rich and tangy sauce charcutiere (classic French — think demi, mustard and minced cornichons) with apple butter and some lightly dressed frisee. Again, it's nothing edgy or wacky, but they dot every i and cross every t and the thing just sings.
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And not that this one needs any introduction, but just because I love it so damn much, the Italian Beef. Thick brioche smothered in smoked provolone, tender stewed oxtail, perky and spicy minced giardiniera and a rich demi base. I tried not to order it. I failed. I always fail.
Hush is the kind of place that the broader Phoenix dining public tends to either overlook or forget about, and it's so damn frustrating. I can't help but feel that if you dropped it into any of the nation's premiere food cities, it'd be a deeply beloved chill joint that's booked a week out all the time. The last couple of times I went, it's been just as sharp as it was when it opened. Really worth a revisit if you haven't been in a while.
Hush Public House
www.hushpublichouse.com
14202 N. Scottsdale Road
Scottsdale, AZ 85254
