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| - 18 filtered reviews--13 of which gave one star: I felt compelled to give Phil the Fire a try. To start with, I wasn't a fan of the space the restaurant was in--an old Houlihan's (with what seemed minimal interior adjustment) connected to a Fairfield Inn. The environment seemed to suck away the character of the restaurant and the food--the self-proclaimed comfort food for the soul.
Fortunately, the food proved better than its environs. The Quarter Chicken (Breast & Wing) Chicken and Waffles was solid. It wasn't the best fried chicken (a bit drier than I would have liked), nor was it the best waffle, but it remains a pretty satisfying combination. In retrospect, I wish I had gotten a bigger side of the breakfast syrup to pour over my dish. I also wish the syrup was served warmer. I didn't taste "The Jake"--two pieces of chicken breast put in a waffle pocket, but it didn't look that appetizing (even topped with a small mound of cinnamon butter)--seemed like a kids food version of the chicken and waffles combination.
The sides were really good: I loved the Red Beans & Rice (by far and away my favorite thing of the night), and the Fresh Green Beans were a good accompaniment as well. I wasn't that crazy about the Fried Green Tomatoes appetizer, but they are improved with the remoulade. The Sweet Tea had a mix of lemonade in it (not sure if this is standard operating procedure there or not)--which is fine if I wanted an Arnold Palmer, but it cannot rightly be called sweet tea.
Unlike some of the opinions in the filtered reviews, I found the service to be rather inviting and friendly. Our server even let us know that they had only been open about a month and were taking comments very seriously in an effort to improve. The execution of the service was a little flawed, however: We actually didn't get our appetizer order until after the entrees and sides came out. Hopefully that will get better as things smooth out further.
This is a tough restaurant to rate. I'm not personally in any rush to go back, but I think it's worth a try--at least to give the Chicken and Waffles a go. Again, it's not amazing, but in its simplicity it rises above the concoction over at The South Side (airline chicken breast) as well as the gourmet gastropub version at Deagan's (Amish chicken with blackberry maple syrup). I will note that Phil the Fire was a little more expensive than I anticipated: The Breast & Wing Chicken and Waffles was $17 and the Fried Green Tomato appetizer was $9.
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