RESTAURANT REVIEW
Contributed by our panel of culinary enthusiasts
Photos courtesy of www.highandryeaz.com
5310 E. High St., Phoenix, AZ 85054
480-634-4143 www.highandryeaz.com
HOURS
MONDAY-THURSDAY n 3PM-12AM
FRIDAY • 3PM-2
AM
SATURDAY • 11AM-2AM
SUNDAY • 11AM-12AM
HAPPY HOUR
MONDAY-FRIDAY • 3PM-6PM
SUNDAY-THURSDAY • 10PM-MIDNIGHT
SATURDAY & SUNDAY • 11AM-4PM
NOW SERVING BRUNCH
COME JOIN US EVERY
SATURDAY & SUNDAY
11AM-2PM
Our restaurant review panel was very delighted and eager to savor the arrival of “Southern Comfort” cuisine to High Street. Only two weeks into their grand opening, our panel of culinary enthusiasts ventured off to High & Rye Southern Kitchen & Bar and was greeted with southern hospitality that made us all feel at home in their beautifully decorated open dining and bar areas. High & Rye also features a large outdoor patio that serves as a complementary extension to the bar area. Their spacious dining room is great for hosting larger parties and comfortably accommodated our 10 taste testers. High & Rye southern comfort atmosphere is social, fun, and friendly and will be a welcomed addition to the High Street dining establishments.
Our panel ordered and sampled a variety of delicious appetizers from an array of 8 starter selections. The smoked chicken wings did not disappoint and were sampled in their dry rub spice, Nashville hot and BBQ options to the finger–licking delighted palates of our very discriminating food connoisseurs. The black pepper buttermilk biscuits and jalapeno cornbread, both served and smothered with honey butter, were terrific starters and complements to the wings. The Fried Okra, Blue Crab Hushpuppies and Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs were all great southern starters to our culinary evening too. Our taste panel elected to skip the soup of the day, 4 salads and 6 sandwiches offered on the High & Rye mouth-watering menu, opting to save our appetite to flavor from their southern comfort family–style menu offerings from the 5 meat plates and 12 side dishes. YES, we all tried the Southern Fried Chicken, Smoked Beef Brisket, St. Louis Style Ribs and Pulled Pork with our side order of Burnt End Baked Beans, Crispy Brussels Sprouts, Red Skin Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Southern Collard Greens, and Mac ‘N’ Cheese. Although our panel of connoisseurs varied on their favorite meats, their overall #1 consensus favorite was the flavorful, tender, melt–in–your–mouth Smoked Beef Brisket. For all the meat lovers out there, all we can say is bring a big appetite because the portions were large, the presentations were eye–popping, and we simply could not stop eating. The Ribs and Pulled Pork will not disappoint and can be enjoyed naked and/or drenched in 3 types of flavorful BBQ sauces. Some of the panel tasters could not resist thinking that a Pulled Pork sandwich would be a great addition to the menu (hint…hint). The Southern Fried Chicken tasted great and remind you of southern-style home cooked fried chicken. Both the Crispy Brussels Sprouts and the Garlic Mashed Potatoes were perfectly prepared and tasted fantastic. The Mac ‘N’ Cheese was a fitting complement with the Southern Fried Chicken and other delicious meat entrees we sampled. Our panel somehow managed to save room for only one dessert and shared an amazing butterscotch pudding with ginger snap cookie. Not a spoonful was left of our dessert plate. Considering High & Rye had only been open two weeks prior to our review, our panel of culinary enthusiasts were impressed with the service. The waiters and servers were very friendly, attentive, and knowledgeable about the menu selections. Menu pricing is comparable for the establishments in the High Street area and range from $10 to $40. High & Rye also offers a full Saturday and Sunday Brunch menu from 11am to 2pm. We welcome High & Rye to Desert Ridge and our panel vowed to return to sample the 5 new High & Rye Specialties added to their menu with their family and friends (i.e., Ribeye Steak, Shrimp & Stone Grits, Fish & Chips, Smoked Grilled Pork Chop, and Carolina Gold Risotto).
