| rev:text
| - I visited Firebirds with my wife during the recent Arizona Restaurant Week. I didn't realize it was a chain until after I'd made reservations. This would usually be a nonstarter for locavores like us, but the prix-fixe menu looked appealing and it was close to home for a weeknight dinner, so we stuck with the plan.
The place is BIG. Claim Jumper big, but not obscene like Cheesecake Factory. This was a bit of a put-off, but the dim lighting and well-spaced seating made it feel a bit more intimate. The smell of wood smoke in the entryway was delightful and did a good job communicating what Firebirds is all about. Both the hostess and waiter were polite and knowledgeable. Service was attentive but not rushed on what appeared to be a slow weeknight; we spent an hour or so enjoying our dinner rather than feeling like a "turn."
The Restaurant Week menu was a great bargain at 30 bucks a head for an app, entree and dessert. Learning that wine by the bottle was half price that night was just a cherry on top. They started us out with a nice bit of crusty fresh baked bread.
For apps, the boss had a crab cake and I ordered Firebirds' signature BLT salad. The crab cake was well seasoned, if a bit mushy in the center. The accompanying coleslaw was a split decision--I liked it, but she didn't enjoy the tortilla strips that were meant to add crunch. Honestly, the crisp purple cabbage provided plenty of texture. I'm not usually a salad guy, but the BLT was fantastic. The finely-diced tomatoes and abundant large bits of crisp thick-cut bacon appeared in every bite and it was tossed with just the right amount of creamy garlic dressing.
Our entrees were nicely prepared, which is a tall order when one of them is a pork tenderloin--a cut that's not naturally flavorful and very easy to dry out. Mine was done to a perfect medium (as promised by our waiter) with a moist, barely pink center despite a great char from the grill. Another half teaspoon of the glaze and it would've been perfect. The wife's sea bass was cooked and seasoned well, but the thickness of the fillet was inconsistent, resulting in slightly overcooked edges. The potato sides (chile cheddar mash for me and a potato pancake for her) were both excellent but overabundant. We sure would've loved some fresh veg instead of all those carbs (and plenty of butter, no doubt).
Our desserts were nothing to write home about. The flute of mixed fresh berries and cream was light and refreshing, but nothing more than you'd expect. The chocolate brownie a la mode was a bit dense and lacked the chocolate punch and fudgy texture I look for in a good brownie; it certainly didn't give the impression that it was baked in house.
With the exception of the potato sides mentioned above, portion sizes were appropriate--satisfying but not excessive. The prices listed on the regular menu for the items we ordered were pushing the limits of what I'd consider fair; they certainly wouldn't be what I'd consider a bargain.
Overall, we were impressed. This three-star review is in part a reflection of my personal preference for small, locally-owned restaurants with executive chefs you know by name. Compared head-to-head against its true peers (upper-echelon national chains), it's deserving of four stars and will be one of our go-to places when we need a safe choice for a nice dinner with a mixed group of friends or family.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)