Like all Tucson restaurants, the Fox and Hound Smokehouse & Tavern doesn't allow smoking.
"Smokehouse" refers to the way some of the meat is slow-smoked. The Fox and Hound, part of an 84-restaurant franchise in 25 states, offers smoked barbecue, including beef brisket and ribs.
At its heart, though, this is a sandwich, burger and wings joint. With 43 TVs lining the walls, the 10,000-square-foot Fox and Hound is a humongous sports bar.
Managing partner Mike Murphy has run the Tucson restaurant, which opened in late 2002 near the Foothills Mall, for five years. He said the two-level eatery, which has nine pool tables and offers 80 beers, is busiest in the evenings. Sports fans tend to gather and cheer on their favorite teams as they dig into some foxy grub.
The wood-paneled interior gives the place an air of elegance belied by the blasting music and ubiquitous televised sports action.
People are also reading…
We visited on a Friday evening in early September when a couple of college football games were just starting and were told to seat ourselves, which made us worry we'd get lost in the shuffle. Thankfully, the waitress was prompt and helpful, able to rattle off the kids menu from memory, which was necessary because the kiddie stuff wasn't listed on the standard menus.
As is inexplicably the case at too many sports bars, some of the wide-screen HDTVs were set in the wrong picture format, so the football players and refs looked squashed and stretched.
On the whole, the bar is inviting and comfortable.
We ordered the Black & Bleu burger, a half-pound patty slathered with melted blue cheese and bacon. The burger, cooked to a juicy medium as requested, was wedged inside a sliced potato roll with red onions, pickles, lettuce and tomato with steak fries on the side. The cheese overshadowed the meat, but that's what I was hoping would happen. The fries were thick and crisp on the outside, juicy on the inside and not too salty.
We also tried the Black Forest sandwich, featuring grilled turkey chunks — a welcome improvement over deli slices and charmingly reminiscent of Thanksgiving leftovers — served on a pretzel roll with lettuce, tomato, honey mustard dressing and Monterey Jack.
The menu said it comes with bacon, but we didn't get it until we noticed it was missing and asked the waitress to bring us a cup of bacon from the kitchen. In less than two minutes of patient fry-munching, the problem was solved and the sandwich was at full strength. It was a little too dry and could have used more dressing.
One-year-old Luke adored his Fastballs, fried chicken nuggets served with fries. He called them "footballs," which was just as well, because football was in the air. He also bopped to the music in between bites. It must have just seemed like the right thing to do, since the Fox and Hound is just that kind of place.
• Where: 7625 N. La Cholla Blvd.
• Phone: 575-1980.
• Normal hours: 11 a.m.-2 a.m. Monday-Saturdays; 9 a.m.-2 a.m. Sundays.
• More online: www.fhrg.com.
THE BILL:
Black & Bleu burger, $8.99
Black Forest sandwich, $7.99
Fastballs, $3.99
Total (before drinks, tax and tip): $20.97.
