Bakersfield Life

Hungry Hunter: Choice dining

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It may have been awhile since you’ve been to Hungry Hunter, but our Dining Divas say it’s time for you to head back. From an impressive wine list to a happy-hour

Locally owned
Whitney: Once a driller, always a driller. What is it with BHS graduates and food? Whatever it is, they got it going on. Hungry Hunter is owned by Kevin Lawless, a local guy who took over Hungry Hunter and made it his own. This is no longer a chain restaurant and it shows.

Aimee: I had eaten there (at Hungry Hunter) in the past, but many changes have been made since my last visit. Kevin Lawless, the owner since September, is a native Bakersfield resident and has put his spin on the restaurant. It is still a family-friendly atmosphere, but offers so much more!

Drinks
Aimee: When you are talking to your friends or co-workers about where to go for happy hour, Hungry Hunter usually isn’t your first thought — but it should be. I started off with a Pineapple Paradise. It is a combination of Skyy vodka and various fruit juices served in a martini glass. It was very tasty, but I got more excited when Kevin came and talked to us about the wine choices. Hungry Hunter offers a wine list of fantastic wines at very reasonable prices. Kevin feels like everyone who likes wine should have the opportunity to experience great wines and his prices reflect that. Well, the Divas really enjoy wine, so we ordered a bottle of Madorom “camouflage” cabernet blend.
Whitney: Geena, the bartender, has her own original cocktails on the menu. I ordered a Geena's Tea. If a bartender puts her name on a drink, order it. It was a beautiful electric blue, ice-cold little number with pineapple vodka, rum, triple sec with everything else under the kitchen sink.
Wendy: We each ordered a drink from the bar. I chose the pomegranate martini. It was very refreshing after getting out of this 100-degree weather! Kevin was excited to tell us about the wine list, which included an incredible list to choose from — Wildhorse, Madorom and Caymus. The prices were below reasonable.

Happy hour
Whitney: Hungry Hunter’s happy hour starts at 2 p.m. Monday to Friday with half off their starters, domestic beer, well drinks and house wine. There's a burger on the appetizer list. Burger and a beer for under $6? Wendy is taking our family portrait for my mom's 70th birthday. I asked her what her fee was and she said lunch, drinks and I'm the safe driver. Fair enough. I believe I found the place. Wendy, you suddenly might be watching your cholesterol but there's a burger with your name on it, on a Friday afternoon. Maybe two for that price!
Wendy: Edgar Segundo, the executive chef, spoke about the half-off happy hour appetizer menu, which is from 2 to 6 p.m. Kevin, hurry up and put lobster on that menu! Whitney owes me a big lunch!

Appetizers
Lori: The appetizers we decide on included: artichoke dip served with warm homemade potato chips, spicy shrimp, lightly breaded and fried calamari, potato skins with cheese and green onion, and crab-stuffed mushrooms. All were so good.
Wendy: Our waitress, Wendy (great name!), brought our appetizers out. Everything looked "scrumptious”! The calamari was breaded, seasoned and served with a ranch dipping sauce. It's definitely an appetizer to experience! The artichoke spinach dip was served with hand-cut potato chips. I noticed Aimee was cheating on her diet by eating more than a handful of potato chips! Gotcha! Now, I saved the best for last, the spicy shrimp. It was my favorite — sautéed in a spicy sauce and full of flavor.
Aimee: My favorite by far was the artichoke spinach dip. It is a rich and creamy dip served with fresh potato chips. The chips were to die for; I could have eaten those for my whole meal. They were thick-cut fresh potatoes fried to a perfect crisp, not the least bit greasy. The flavor was so great they do not even need salt! When paired with the dip it was heaven. I had to ask our server to take them away or I would have eaten the whole plate!

 
Lunch
Aimee: I decided to go for the traditional Cobb salad for my main item. It was topped with fantastically flavorful garlic croutons and comes with your choice of dressing. You can get your salad two ways — tossed together with your dressing or separated on the plate. It was a huge serving, very filling. The chicken was very tender and seasoned to perfection. The vegetables were extremely fresh and crunchy. The chef, Edgar Segundo, came to the table to see if all was all right with our food. He took the time to answer all of our questions (well it was really just Whiney asking her usual 100 questions).
Whitney: You've got to love a chef who knows his beef! Edgar Segundo has been a chef at Hungry Hunter for 14 years and knows his Angus corn-fed cows. We discussed the menu and I knew immediately what to order: beef. There are lots of choices at Hungry Hunter but I felt it was my duty to order beef since Wendy, our beef expert, went with the chicken. Suddenly she's watching her cholesterol? I ordered the beef tips with whiskey peppercorn sauce. Are you a sauce type of person who likes mushrooms and onions smothered all over tender cuts of beef? Add the whiskey cream sauce and you got a winner!
Lori: The meal I decided was the petite-cut prime rib served with au jus and creamy horseradish. I chose broccoli as my side dish and the Caesar salad. Or the staff will also create your dinner salad at the table, which has everything a salad bar has. The Prime Rib was cooked perfectly and it was so tender you almost did not need a knife to cut. My favorite!
Wendy: I was very happy with my choice of entrée, the forest mushroom chicken. The chicken was tender and smothered with the mushroom sauce. The sauce was very flavorful. It tasted like it was beef-based, what I would describe as hearty, and with the chicken it became a great combination. Lori was kind enough to let me sample her Prime Rib. It was fabulous! Cooked perfectly pink just like prime rib is to be cooked with a thick layer of seasoning on the edge of the cut. Only a true carnivore can appreciate the importance of beef cooked to perfection.

Dessert
Wendy: With Aimee on a diet, me trying to eat right, and Lori and Whitney full, we decided to go with all four of the desserts made in house. We rotated the desserts. It was a toss-up between mine and Whitney’s, which was the fresh strawberry shortcake made with locally grown strawberries.
Lori: We all shared today, amazing! The flowerpot is the one that ended up in front of me. It was so satisfying made with crushed Oreo cookie on top and on the bottom with the filing being vanilla cream cheese. Not a heavy dessert. Loved, loved it! Wendy had the chocolate brownie topped with butter pecan ice cream and drizzled with chocolate and caramel. Aimee had the turtle cheesecake drizzled with chocolate and caramel and Whitney had the double-layer strawberry shortcake.
Aimee: If I had to choose one as the winner, I would have chosen the strawberry shortcake. It was piled high with fresh strawberries, moist cake, and light and fluffy whipped cream. Kids will love the flowerpot Oreo dessert. It is served in a pot and looks as if they are eating “dirt.” When in reality it is a combination of crushed up cookies between a layers of delicious vanilla cream cheese pudding. Great for kids of all ages!
Whitney: Next time, I'm ordering dessert first because I'm always stuffed before we get to feast on it. Kevin mentioned to me how great the strawberry shortcake was and he spoke the truth, regardless of what people say about BHS grads. All the desserts are huge. No, I mean huge! If you didn't save room for dessert, order it “to go” and think of me while you devour it at breakfast with coffee.

We’ll be back
Lori: This restaurant is classy, yet, casual. With all the new restaurants opening in Bakersfield, I believe Hungry Hunter gets a little overlooked. Our dining experience there was wonderful. The food, the service was exceptional and the prices are very practical. Kevin and his staff were very excited to have us dine there and we felt very welcomed. We would definitely go back. They have excellent food, friendly staff and a beautiful setting.
Wendy: I enjoyed our experience at Hungry Hunter. Lunch is always good when you’re at a great place with great food and great fun friends!

Hungry Hunter
3580 Rosedale Highway. 328-0580. Hungryhuntersteakhouse.com.
Lunch: 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday to Friday. Dinner: 5 to 10 p.m. Monday to Friday, 4:30 to 10 p.m. Saturday, noon to 9 p.m. Sunday. Lounge open 11:30 a.m. until close during the week, 5 p.m. until close Saturday and noon to 9 p.m. Sunday.