Fireside

Went to Fireside last night with my wife. Here’s what we ordered…

Me: Skillet Pastrami with my fries upgraded to the Buffalo fries, comes with house slaw.
Wife: Tacos de Carne and Sweet Potato Gnocci.
Dessert: Sunday Sundae.

My Skillet Pastrami tasted great, although some might say it was a bit fatty. It was three very good slices, all of which were grilled well on both sides with char marks to prove it. It came with a choice of salad, mashed potatoes, or fries. I chose the fries because the one thing on the menu I refused to leave the place without was the buffalo fries. They were actually even better than I thought they’d be. Instead of putting the buffalo sauce on the actual fries once they were on the plate, I think they were tossed in it before the garlic ailoi and smoked beef were added on top. This meant that the fries didn’t get soggy. Truly great. The house slaw was good, although not really my kind of thing.

The Tacos de Carne were made from a kind of crunchy soft taco. They were generally pretty good with a good amount of meat. My wife loved the Sweet Potato Gnocci. She particularly loved the pulled short rib in the dish and there was no shortage of it in the bowl.

The Sundae Sunday was really great. The flourless chocolate cake tasted like I was full of gluten, the whipped cream was fine though not amazing, almond brittle crunch was really good (unless you’re on your way to a dentist), but the ice cream was the best part. The three flavors we chose were the double chocolate chip, dark chocolate cherry, and salted maple. While the first two were really good, the maple one was amazing. It had a subtle maple flavor and was super creamy.

Positives: Service was great. Waiter made recommendations when asked. Allowed me to upgrade my side of fries to the buffalo version. Even if they charged the full $8 difference as if it was a full side dish, other restaurants might not have allowed it. Ambiance is really nice and it was quiet, even right after Pesach. Pastrami served on wooden board (listed here because it was raised off the table and made it easier to eat than a plate would have). They ask you if you want bread and don’t charge you (one mini croissant for each of us with roasted garlic to spread, both extremely tasty). All the food was amazing.

Negatives: Menu not quite the same online as in person. 18% tip included and I’d rather make my own choice on how much (even though that’s probably how much I’d have given and it was stated clearly on menu and bill). Waiter didn’t tell us that there were specials and we didn’t know to ask, but heard a couple across from us having them read by their waiter. Pastrami served on wooden board (listed here for those scared of sanitary issues). Waiter didn’t mention that the meat in both of my wife’s dishes was prepared in exactly the same way (she’d have chosen different tacos if she knew).

I would definitely recommend this place and I will go again.