Fireside Grill

I spent many years living just minutes away from the Fireside Grill and somehow managed to avoid the place entirely. It doesn’t help that across the street is Med Grill, a family favourite that has consistently provided us with good eats to this day. So why Fireside? Well, we were facing some time/location constraints and Med Grill was fully booked.

Currently (Summer 2017), Fireside is offering its Three Course Farm-to-Table menu. For just $25, you get an appetizer, entrée, and dessert – a solid deal!

Red Prawn Ceviche

For my appetizer, I selected the red prawn ceviche in a lobster broth with rice wine cucumber and red onion. The dish appeared so simple, but the depth of flavour was incredible. I'm not the biggest fan of citrus paired with savoury items (yes I know, ceviche was a bold move) but the broth had so much flavour that it balanced out the acidity of the prawn. I literally wanted to lick the bowl clean.

My mom ordered the BBQ Beef & Smoked Cheddar Croquette, which is served on top of a corn puree with slaw and a bacon dressing. Unfortunately I wasn’t fast enough to snap a picture because everyone was too excited to dive right in… but who can blame them? The exterior was crisp with tender beef and oozing smoked cheddar on the inside.

Also not pictured are the Charcuterie Platter (for 2) and Local Artisan Cheese Plate (both not part of the 3-course menu), ordered a la carte for eight of us to share. The Charcuterie Platter included a selection of meats (soppressata, prosciutto, chorizo), cheeses (Little Qualicum brie, Island bleu le Clair, and smoked cheddar), and accompaniments (olives, grainy mustard, pickled onions, apricot chutney, candied pecans, and crackers). The website menu description says bread should have been included, but we did not receive any. That’s too bad, as one my criticisms is that they needed more crackers or some sort of vessel for the cheese. The cheese plate included all the same cheeses as the charcuterie platter. I highly recommend the use of the grainy mustard, it was the best accompaniment of the night!

Kale, Mushroom & Leek Linguine

I was craving carbs more than protein and since that doesn’t happen often, I caved and opted for the linguine. I found this dish to be a bit lacking; it could have used more kale and the leeks got lost (were there even any??). They used white button mushrooms which were fine – just not very exciting or flavourful. The “smoky goat cheese” sauce was good (didn't get much smoke), as was the linguine itself… but something just felt like it was missing. If the point was to let the linguine shine, it wasn’t special enough to do that on its own. Maybe some freshly grated parmesan would have helped add another layer of flavour. Or maybe I was just spoiled by that lobster broth…

Sous Vide Pork Cheeks

My mom went with the sous vide pork cheeks which were marinated in sweet chili-soy-pear and served on top of spicy su choy (vegetable) and kimchee rice. The pork cheek was super tender and flavourful! We weren’t sure if it would be too spicy, but it was just the right amount. Enough to give a bite, without an excessive or lingering burn on the palate. The kimchee rice was flavourful as well, even for someone who doesn’t normally like kimchee (sorry). If I was to return to Fireside today, this would definitely be the dish I’d order.

BBQ Baby Back Ribs

At most restaurants, especially the nicer ones, there’s a general expectation that portion size would be disappointing. That was certainly not the case here, as my husband received two decently sized racks of baby back ribs. The ribs came with mashed potatoes (under the racks), baked beans, and spinach with corn. There’s conflicting advice out there on whether or not you should remove the membrane that exists along the back of the ribs, so I’ll just leave it as personal preference and note that ours is to remove it, which was not done in this case. The membrane made the ribs more difficult to cut/chew, which takes away from the ‘fall off the bone’ tenderness we hoped for. The mashed potatoes were a bit dry and could have used a touch of fat like butter or cream. The beans and spinach were good. The BBQ sauce, however, was on point. Note: This entrée was a la carte.

Passion Fruit Panna Cotta

Everyone who went with the $25 Three-Course Menu selected the panna cotta for dessert. It was topped with a gin & tonic granite and blueberries (rather than the blackberries per the menu published online). I’m not sure how I feel about this dessert. The panna cotta had a wonderfully smooth texture, but I didn’t pick up on any passion fruit flavour. I also wasn’t a fan of the granite (or granita, as more commonly known) on top (though many people were) – it just seemed kind of weird having ice on top of my panna cotta.

All in all, the food was much better than expected and I will be back – if anything, for the $25 three-course meal to try more of their offerings.