Fire, Winter 2010
We are huge fans of Fire Food and Drink. The atmosphere is upscale but also casual and contemporary, and the service is the perfect combination of friendly and flawless. The food is outstanding in both its complexity and utilization of local ingredients. It had been too long since we’d gone there, so we made a quick Saturday night reservation and brought Jonathan with us.
We started started with the cheese plate, which we all enjoyed. It included a cocoa inflused cheese, a beer infused goat cheese, a complex but not overwhelming blue cheese and an unbelievably sharp aged cheddar (our waitress accurately described it as reminiscent of bacon). Sarah and I liked all four, and Jonathan liked everything but the blue. For anyone interested, the cheeses are listed below:
We also ordered “Dr. Katz’s pickles,” which were a great combination of vinegar with subtle heat and sweetness.
Our meal also came with some good, hearty multigrain rolls. Even the olive oil stood out, and our waitress told us it was a Brazillian brand called Montevecchio. Zagara’s carries it, but they were unfortunately out when I checked a few days ago.
Our second course was the beet and endive salad. Everything meshed beautifully, and the Meyer Lemon viniagrette really brought out all the flavors.
I ordered the pork chop for my entrée. While very nicely seared and flavorful, it was a tad more well-done than I would have liked. This was partially my fault as I said “medium I guess” for the doneness which was probably reasonably interpreted as “he doesn’t really know what he’s asking for, so make it well-done.” The polenta was rich and sharply flavored, but it still didn’t succeed in making any of us bigger fans of polenta.
Sarah had the diver scallops, which were very good. The Israeli couscous and almonds married well with them, making an excllent dish.
Jonathan had the Millgate Farms cheeseburger. The burgers at Fire are their hidden gem, somehow unlike any others in how dense, rich and satisfying they are. Even cooked to medium-well, I was happy to share some of the burger Jonathan was too full to eat.
None of us had room for dessert, which we’ll have to save for our next visit.
Love fire!
Great to read a review about them. I’ve only ever experienced Katz’s dishes at special events, so I haven’t had the pleasure of dining there yet. Looks like I’ll have to make my way over there sometime soon!
Just discovered your blog. Look forward to reading more!
I went to fire today for the first time and highly enjoyed brunch with a group of business associates. We ordered the blueberry pancakes, the strawberry almond french toast, veggie fritta, the salmon plate and the breakfast pizza. We ate family style — what a great way to start a day!