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| - When the Station Street Hot Dog restaurant was located at 6290 Broad St in East Liberty, I visited the restaurant several times and I enjoyed their food. The problem that I had with the restaurant is that the menu was very limited and to make a long drive for hot dog and fresh cut fries, although tasty, just wasn't worth it. Additionally, paying $15 or so for said hot dog and fries just wasn't worth the effort. Hey, I can go get a pack of high quality hot dogs and a couple of potatoes and feed a horde for the same price. Would I have the same accoutrements? Not necessarily, but close enough!
That leads me to the re-opening of the same space as The Fire Side Public House. Now, my cousin told me that the new owners were having a "soft opening" and that I should get there quickly. (I have been eyeballing the opening of this place for quite some time, so I hightailed it over there and I called my fellow Yelper Tim W. to let him in on the soft opening secret.)
The ambiance of the place is literally "smoky hipster-chic". (They have a show kitchen centered around a Grillworks oven. The owners also own Sidelines Beer House in Sewickley, which opened in 2012, and Sidelines Bar & Grille in Millvale, ) The menu includes sandwiches, burgers, small plates and entrees. I have actually been to the restaurant/pub on two different occasions and they're barely open, so be a little patient with them. On my first occasion, I had the grilled Siracha Maple Bacon wings and my daughter Muff had the Smoked Chicken Nachos as appetizers. The wings were delicious and cooked perfectly. My only complaint was that they actually came AFTER my entrée. (That's a timing issue that the chefs have to work out.) My daughter enjoyed her nachos and I thought that they were good, but I think that they can be GREAT if they truly "smoke" the chicken ahead of time and then heat it/sear it right before serving.
Now to the entrees! I had the Blue Corn Shrimp & Grits and my daughter had the Beer Glazed Citrus Chicken. I am a shrimp & grit connoisseur! The Fire Side's shrimp & grit dish was tasty. Wood-fired Cajun seasoned shrimp over blue corn grits with an over easy egg? Shoooot! Sign me up! Minor complaint? Yes! I love almost any type of shrimp in any form or fashion, but peeling grilled head-on shrimp after they have been "stuck" in grits is not a pleasant experience. Lose the shrimp "body" shell, keep the head on and grill away! (They have another shrimp dish that is prepared similarly, "Smoked Prawns",that is better served by this style of preparation because the diner is not asked to dip their hands into grits to enjoy the shrimp.) Muff's Beer Glazed Citrus Chicken needed a dose of additional seasoning/sauce to enhance the dish.
The desserts that we had, Campfire S'Mores and Blueberry Cobbler served in cast iron pans were delicious. The S'Mores dish needed a little more graham crackers and the chocolate needs to be placed on top of the crackers and not at the bottom of the pan. (Burned the chocolate in spots.) Blueberry Cobbler? Yummy! They should change the cobbler seasonally.
On my second occasion, we had their signature Fire Side burger, Smoked Prawns, Beer Cheese & Bacon Fries and Chicken Skillet Pasta. All of these dishes were decent and the service on both occasions was excellent. I would definitely recommend trying this restaurant.
Was everything excellent? No, but they are definitely heading in the right direction. Once they tweak and refine a couple of the dishes, (E.g., The beer cheese sauce was way too thin) they will definitely be worthy of 5 stars, in my humble opinion. They have all of the makings (I.e., Reasonable price points, tasty menu offerings, great service) of a five star pub, just give them a moment to get their bearings. We need this type of place in the East End where you can leisurely enjoy tasty food and drinks without competing in expensive parking Olympics.
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