I had heard of The Hive, due to it winning Men’s Journal’s “Best Fried Chicken in America” this past year. The reviews online looked pretty good, so I definitely wanted to check this place out. Drew and I met a couple friends there for a nice dinner, and it ended up being one of, if not THE, best dining experiences I have ever had. While we paid for it (it was NOT cheap) I think it was well worth it. Here’s the breakdown:
The Environment
The Hive is located in the 21c Museum Hotel in downtown Bentonville, AR. The first thing I noticed was all of this really modern, unique art throughout the lobby of the hotel. So, we took some time to enjoy the displays while we waited on our friends.
We had no reservations on this Thursday evening, but had no trouble getting a table for four at around 6:00. In fact, the restaurant was almost completely empty, except for a couple of business men in suits at the bar.
The restaurant was very large, open, modern, and clean. I loved the low lights with the bright colored furniture and unique artwork throughout. Even the tables were set very properly, which suggests you are about to have a fine dining experience.
Our waitress was perfect. She was professional, while also being very kind and friendly. She made us first-timers feel very at home and she answered any questions we had, even if she had to go ask the kitchen first.
The Menu
The menu changes pretty often here, so I was not expecting to know what options would be available this night. One thing that was definitely disappointing, though, was that “America’s best fried chicken” is only available at Sunday brunch. Really? Come on!
The Food
Butcher Plate:
As a cheapskate, I ordered us the cheapest items on the menu that still sounded delicious. We started out with the butcher plate, for $12. I asked our waitress what meat came with it, and she explained that it changes daily, depending on what is fresh and new. Tonight, there was chicken liver mouse, pate, and some sort of hog jowl pate as well. Forgive me, I can’t remember the specific name.
I have tried chicken liver mousse before, and been sorely disappointed. This (bad) version tasted and smelled of soft cat food…I won’t mention this popular Little Rock restaurant. But THIS chicken liver mousse was very different. It was much lighter in flavor, had a silky texture, and was very enjoyable with a little of the house-made course mustard and pickled green beans on the crostini.
The two pates were similar in texture. However, the hog jowl version was very porky, in a wonderful way. The whole table enjoyed these. We even rain out of crostini before everything else was gone, and our waitress was more than happy to bring us some extra.
Complimentary Cornbread and Sorghum Whipped Butter:
After our butcher plate was finished off, we were given a nicely sized piece of cornbread, which is unsweetened and made of coarse-ground cornmeal. The cornbread was refreshingly savory, though very crumbly. However, the whipped sorghum butter that came with it made it delectable. The sweet butter meshed very well with this unsweet cornbread, and we found ourselves asking for more butter to enjoy with anything else we could muster up throughout our future meals. Again, our waitress was more than accommodating.
25 Minute Egg:
This was my favorite thing of the night. If you even slightly enjoy a soft yolk, this is a must-try. On previous menus I had seen online, the 25 minute egg comes with all different components, broths, and such. Tonight, this dish came in a chorizo broth with wild mushrooms, sauteed kale, and a saffron aioli.
This $8 dish was absolutely delicious! The egg was cooked to perfection. I have never had a “25 minute egg” before, but the way it was cooked allowed the white to be just solid enough that it was not runny (gross), but the yolk was still silky and runny enough that it thickened the broth and brought all of the components together. I LOVED this dish. In fact, I made Drew order his own so I could have this app all to myself. Get the 25 minute egg, please.
Chile Garlic Panisse:
I had to google what “panisse” is, as I had never seen the word before. It is a French, fried chickpea flourless cake. This dish came topped with carrot romesco, root veggies, and toasted hazelnut pieces. It was one of the cheapeast entrees, easily, at $19, so Drew and I split it.
The cake was a delightful, creamy texture on the inside with a nice crunchy exterior. Though, it lacked in flavor on its own. However, the carrot romesco sauce was robust and delicious. The sauteed vegetables, including brussels sprouts, carrots, potatoes, garlic cloves, and onions, were cooked al dente and added great texture and flavor. The toasted hazelnut pieces were a perfect crunch. This dish had great variety in texture and was a nice, light entree. It was very pretty as well!
Our friends got a seared scallop dish, that I did not try, as well as the “hog chop” that the entire table tried to help finish. WHOA! Even at $28. this large, smoked pork chop was well worth it. I, honestly, have never had a more perfectly moist, smokey, and tender piece of pork. I got one bite, and it was mind-blowing. I would never usually order a pork chop at a restaurant, but if I return to this one, it is my number one choice. Definite pork game-changer here.
Dessert:
After we had finished our entrees, we were given dessert menus full of traditional desserts, as well as alcoholic beverage desserts. Everything looked delicious. Drew and I decided on the special dessert at the time: sweet potato custard with ginger cookies.
For $9, I feel this was pretty steep and I wouldn’t pay this much for it again. The custard was tasty, and sort of thin, which I appreciated. Though, the cookies were so gingery that they were spicy and a little too much so. Plus, there were only about 4-5 bites of custard from the small jar. Again, not worth the money.
Our friends ordered the chocolate mousse with peanut butter crumbs, a graham cracker, and banana ice cream. I snuck a bite of this and it was VERY rich. The chocolate mousse on its own is way too rich, but the other flavors and textures made a delicous and unique dessert. This dish was also $9, but it was much heartier, so I feel like this was the better dessert of the two.
After dessert was finished off, we were greeted with the infamous complimentary green apple cotton candy. Wow, what flavor! It tasted just like a green apple jolly rancher and there was plenty for all four of us to enjoy multiple bites. What a great treat to end on!
Overall
All components combined (atmosphere, elegant table settings, complimentary cornbread and cotton candy, delicious menu items, and fantastic service) really made this dining experience a wonderful one. I can’t find anything to complain about, except it is more expensive than what I am comfortable with. So, for a very rare, special occasion dinner, this is perfect. And I REALLY want to try that fried chicken, so a Sunday brunch is in order some day….or you guys could put it on your permanent menu, eh?
