New Years Eve at Wildfire

Let me indulge the 4 people that read my blog (you know who you are).
Rules of Dining:
1. Pick a restaurant for the type of cuisine you like
2. Do not believe reviews of restaurants - except mine
3. Never go on a weekend expecting to be amazed
4. Never go to a restaurant that makes you pick a pre-selected menu - most items are cooked a week in advance and are sitting in warmer trays waiting to be schlepped upon you
There are more rules, but those are the important ones, keeping those in mind lets continue on.

When you pick a time to go out and enjoy a nice night out, most people choose Friday or Saturday night to hit the restaurants. Most people end up not fully experiencing what that restaurant is capable of, and 80% of the time walk away unsatisfied. The same can be said for a holiday. Now that really isn't the restaurant's fault, they are trying to have a fast turnover, and don't want to keep their customers waiting, so mistakes tend to happen when people are rushed, which is why go on a Tuesday/Wednesday. I was at Wildfire when it first opened over the summer, and I enjoyed it then, however being a holiday, things can change.

Liz and I were trying to figure out for a couple of weeks where we wanted to go for our New Year's Eve. I am not the typical party type as I used to be, so I like to keep things low-key. I am a whore for a good steak and a good steak restaurant, and living in D.C. there are many places to go for a fine example of a steak. We narrowed down our choices: Ruth's Chris, Morton's, Shula's, Charlie Palmer's, The Capitol Grille and Wildfire. The best meal I have eaten in my life so far has come from Charlie Palmer's, however strapped for cash, due to "reasons" we decided to keep things close and stick with Wildfire.

Wildfire is part of the Lettuce Entertain You group, most if not all of their restaurants are located in Chicago, they each have a different type of atmosphere, from quick restaurants like Wow Bao (which I'm dying to try) to more classy sit down restaurants like Wildfire. Wildfire has five outposts in Illinois, one in Minnesota, one in Georgia, and the newest one in Virgina.

The tag line from their website is "Steaks, chops and seafood." Like any steak place they have nicely aged cuts of steaks, in the typical steakhouse range. I, like most adults like to have a good filet if I go out, I like it medium - medium rare, I enjoy cutting it with a fork. I also do not prefer to have my steak seasoned with your local house bbq sauce or hit up with so many spices I can't tell what I am eating. Salt, Pepper, and some butter, put that one a plate with some of the steak juice and I am a happy man.

Liz and I had reservations for around 7:15, but we decided to change plans and arrived around 6:15, and it was quiet and slow, which meant good things. We were somewhat hungry, we started with their Spinach and Artichoke "Fondue" with garlic points, A wine flight: two white and two red (don't ask, I know one was a Cabernet). The fondue as they call it was decent enough, but at Trader Joe's they sell a much better version for a lot cheaper, we'll try something else next time for an appetizer. After we finished that, we got our meals, and this is where it goes off the rails. Liz orders a filet, and I ordered their "not so special" special (it's the special everytime I go), which is 3, 3 ounce filets with your choice of crusts. I went with the Parmesan, Bearnaise, and Loaded Baked Potato. For sides Liz chose the mashed potatoes, and I opted for the White Cheddar Potato Au' Gratin.

My meal is perfect for the type of night, nothing to over-stuffing, because it is NYE and I had plans after, however Liz had a bit of a problem. She had ordered her steak medium, however when it came out it was still rare, I wouldn't have minded, as I have eaten a raw chicken, and beef carpaccio, plus I am fat and I don't care all that much. But hey, we are paying a lot of money for a good meal, so why not have it cooked the way we want it. We asked our waiter to toss it back on the grill, after about 10 minutes and my meal getting cold, Liz's steak arrived, this time burnt and dead, she was very upset as was I, my steak had gotten cold, our sides were cold, and she was hungry. After another 5 minutes Liz spots a manager, and we explain to her the situation, which happens often on weekends and holidays people, take note. Liz asked the manager if she could just have a children's steak as she wasn't hungry anymore. She agreed and had the other steak comped. In the end Liz enjoyed her meal, but this is my blog and I talk about my food. My steaks were cooked perfectly, just how I like them, the crusts that were put on top were all amazing, my personal fave was the Parmesan, with the baked potato coming in second and the Bearnaise coming in a third. The Au' Gratin potatoes, were amazing, however a baked potato walked by me as I got them and had one of those feelings like "damn, should have ordered that."

Minus the screw-up in the kitchen, I'll give them a pass due to the holiday, it was an enjoyable experience had by all, I enjoyed the food, and of course the company. Wildfire is an all around good performer, not quite at the level of the bigger named steak houses, but one day it should make it there. Thanks for reading, leave comments, and let me know if there is anything different I can do or places I need to try. As always Flick Set is located here, not like you haven't seen most of them, forgive the bad lighting, I need better GLASS F2.8!!!!