PHOENIX PHOOD

So I went to check the mail & the PHX MAGIZINE was sent to me, well, long story short they had some spread about the HILLSIDE SPOT in Ahwatukee & all it's success & loyal followers. The pictures were of some amazing PHood & I decided that second that we were going to be eating there that night! So we took the 20 min drive from downtown PHX to Ahwatukee which is a suburb on the south side of south mountain (the one w/ all the red lights blinking in PHX for those who know it by that & live out of town) & known as a decent part of town but for years has been a restaurant black hole due to many trying but failing to succeed down there.
We arrived & were surprised by the fact it was in a stip mall, by the pictures we thought we may have another St. Francis or Postino's on our hands, not the case. We put in our name for a 4 top table. We waited 25 minutes & wondered why there were 5-8 vacant tables inside but we were not being seated. Once we were finally sat the lights inside shut off & it was pitch black, yes, completely dark! Could not read the menu or see what I was grabbing on the table for about 4-5 minutes. They finally turned the lights back on & I ordered some "Homemade Lemonade" which was very tart but tasty. Reminded me a lot of Chick-Fil-a lemonade. We ordered a lemonade for the lil'gurl & she didn't take a 2nd sip, too tart for her but we were charged for both @ a $3.50 premium.
The guacamole appetizer was delicious. Had some type of pineapple, tomato, cheese, mix. The chips were stale to begin with but actually got use to them. For $7.00 I'd say with fresher chips I'd order this again.

I wanted to try something I couldn't make @ home or find anywhere else so I went with the Croque Monsieur Open face French hot sandwich prepared w/ rustic French Bread, Bèchamel (it’s like a white gravy), sliced Ham, Gruyere Cheese. Served w/ hand cut fries & I also added (at no extra cost) an over easy egg to the top of it. This was certainly a one of a kind type dish. It's served on 2 french bread rolls & cut in half, than laid on their sides, the meat & Bechamel is added than baked. Very crispy, dense, warm, & interesting. If you're looking for something different & filling this is a great $8.00 option.
The wife got her usual side of fries $3.00, which are world famous (claimed by restaurant) because they're never frozen. Comparable but more salty than In & Out fresh fries.
The wife got the Tunisian Grilled Vegetable Salad a combination of Kale, Spinach, Tomato, Vegetables, & Olives. Served w/ a simple vinaigrette. $8.00. Had some interesting persuasions with the Kale & spinach along w/ the vinaigrette. A one of a kind salad you can only get @ the HILLSIDE SPOT.
Our lil'gurl went with the $3.00 butter sauce pasta which was served with nothing else. With the fries she shared w/ her momma & her lemonade we got out of here for about $9.00 for her portion of PHood. Somewhat a disappointment with regards to the kid menu, not very deluxe considering the type of "SPOT" we were at.
OK, NOW THE PHUN PART! The sole reason I wanted to eat here so bad was the picture in PHX MAG of the apple pie alla-mode. When we sat down for dinner I mentioned to the waitress we were very excited to try the apple pie. She mentioned they were out of Vanilla ice cream & wouldn't be serving apple pie with out it. Long story short, after I talked w/ the manager, he gave us a slice to go, & STILL CHARGED ME FULL PRICE FOR THE APPLE PIE NON-ALLA-MODE! Let's just say that when I handed him the card about being reviewed by us he almost fell on the PHloor. I told him exactly what I tell every place, "We'll give you another chance because tonight was a debacle", he looked & me in relief. I still have to review it the way I see it however.

VENUE & LOCATION: 5 out of 10.
The inside was cool, nice firepit out side, but in a stip mall & in Ahwatukee. If you live down there you're loving this location but for the rest of the valley it's tucked in behind south mountain & not worth the drive.

VALUE & SERVICE: 2 out of 10.
They ran out of ice cream, the server was having an obvious bad 1st night working there, the hostess was running around like a Beverly Hills Blondie chicken with her head cutoff. They have the hostess stand smack dab in the middle of the "SPOT" & it's confusing as to which door you go into & who you talk to to get a table. It took us 20 minutes too long to get a table, especially since there were empty tables the entire time we were waiting. The PHood was good but the fact that I paid almost 10 bucks for my daughter's lack luster PHood is irritating. I can take her to Ruth's Chris for $13.95 & she can eat prime Fillet Mignon for crying out loud! No big deal, ;-) Not much offered on the service side of things as the manager mentioned to me he had to hire a bunch of people & then fire them, about 3 seperate times. I'm sure it's tough to find good people to work but if that's the case find a professional serving crew or don't offer a waiter type experience; have people order @ the counter & have the PHood ran out to the table. SIMPLE AS THAT!

COMFORT: 7 out of 10.
Once we finally got our table & the lights were turned on it was fine. We had our own corner booth & it worked out well for us.

RECOMMENDATION:
I will go back but only because I'm a man of my word & I told the floor manager / partner that we'd give him another chance. As of now I can't recommend going here unless you live in the store next door & have a free PHood coupon for any item on the menu.
D- total grade for 1st visit: 2nd visit review to come down the road...

Hopefully they're still in business...