Redhound Grille used to be one of our favorite  places to have dinner. From when it first opened on Paoli Pike until a few months ago it was always fairly flawless.

Not anymore. It’s like a hound that has lost its scent.

Once again this evening the service was awesome and the food was off. Things too salty, not cooked right. Just off.  At least this time we did not smell shellfish gone bad coming out of the kitchen.

So I’m thinking they need to decide what they want to be when they grow up. Do they want to just be a local taproom, or do they want to be a restaurant? Or a hybrid combination of both?

It’s a little hard to tell.

And while they aren’t the most expensive place on the planet, they aren’t the cheapest, either.   And it is getting annoying going in and ordering dinner and it is too salty and not quite right.

They advertise they do catering, but with a kitchen as currently uneven as theirs is, file under save your money.

Tonight they were rocking another odd fossil crowd with a band called Zoot Suit.  It was the second time we had the misfortune to be there when they were playing. They are as inconsistent a cover band as the food currently coming out of Redhound’s kitchen.  Zoot Suit has a following, which has now surprised me twice. But if you don’t like the band, you can always go see one of the band founders impersonate Ben Franklin – a freakish sort of sacrilege. But hey, cover band and cover historical figure impersonator…I guess it all makes a weird sort of sense.

Anyway, I liked it better when there were fewer theme nights (bingo, quizzo, karaoke) and they were just the Redhound: good food, good drink.

I don’t know why or where Redhound fell off the awesome train, but I wish they would get it back.   They just keep missing the mark.  And they truly have terrific staff and a great atmosphere.   That is what has kept us going back to give the kitchen another try.  But we’re not going again for a while.  It’s like throwing good money after bad.