Tom and I recently met John at Jackie at Firebirds Wood Fired Grill at Polaris. We were looking for a new place to eat. Firebirds looked good and its prices were in the middle range. Jackie had suggested a restaurant that is new (opened last week) but their prices seemed high, so we decided to save that for a special occasion. There are so many restaurants at Polaris that we could probably eat at a different one every night for a year.
Firebirds Wood Fired Grill is a chain of restaurants, which surprised me. I had never heard of it. There are 67 locations scattered all over the United States, including six in Ohio. Although the menus vary somewhat from place to place, the theme of cooking over a wood fired grill remains a constant focus. The interior of the restaurant is warm and inviting with lots of wood. The restaurant was busy but not packed.
The hostess seated us at a table that had two chairs and a bench seat with moveable pillows. The bench was a little deep for just the one pillow, so I tried putting another pillow behind my back. Nope. Not comfortable. I ended up moving to the other side of the table so I could sit in a chair. Much more comfortable for me. Tom and Jackie both found the bench perfectly comfortable.
We all found something we wanted to try on the Firebirds menu. Tom got a burger. Jackie ordered the Three Courses, which includes a starter, an entrée, and dessert. She got the wood fired chicken for her entrée. John ordered a grilled sirloin with au gratin potatoes. I was thinking about the Firebirds Chicken pasta, but the waitress said it was a little spicy – about a four on a scale of ten. I’m more like a two on a scale of ten person. I like a little flavoring but don’t really do spicy. Instead, I ordered the baby back ribs with au gratin potatoes. Once I ordered the ribs, the waitress said they were on special – a full rack for $19. What a deal!
Firebirds is not a fast food restaurant. Our service wasn’t slow, but I could tell that each of our dishes was made while we waited. Our waitress brought us a loaf of homemade bread while we waited. We enjoyed catching up with each other, after six weeks apart.
When the food came it was hot and fresh and delicious. I shared some ribs and still had enough to take home for another meal. Likewise, I only ate half the potatoes. The au gratin potatoes were the best I have ever had. They were hot and firm and the cheese sauce was creamy and gooey.
Dessert came with Jackie’s meal so Tom and I decided to have dessert as well. Jackie and John shared bread pudding with ice cream. Tom and I shared a brownie sundae. The sundae came with salted caramel sauce which we passed on to John and Jackie. The brownie was very good and was the perfect ending to a delicious meal. We were so eager for our delectable desserts that I forgot to take pictures!
We enjoyed our meal at Firebirds Wood Fired Grill very much. I would certainly like to eat there again. They have a weekend brunch and the pictures from the menu online are mouthwatering. Maybe I can talk John and Jackie into meeting us there again.
PS: I just did a quick calculation, and there appear to be about 150 restaurants in the area known as Polaris. Currently. There are more opening and some closing all the time. But, at any rate, only enough for three a week with no repeats. Still – plenty to choose from!