space. Owner, U.S. hotelier and restaurateur André Balazs, best known perhaps
for New York’s Mercer Hotel, is the creative mind behind all this.
The starter de-rigeur is Crab-Stuffed
Donuts ($11 for four for the table) which
are more of a spherical profiterole oozing with briny crab sinews from the
icy waters off the Cornish coast and all
dusted with coral. In lieu of an amuse
bouche at lunchtime the diminutive size
of these gems is enough to get ones appetite cocked and loaded.
An appetizer of smoked eel ($22)
came with slices of boiled potato, batonets of apple and a blob of barely
piquant horseradish sauce. The subtlety
of the smoke was the winning taste sensation here.
The moll chose Seared Squid ($24)
for her appetizer. I have always been
baffled by the popularity of this mollusc which has the neutral flavor of tofu
without the latter’s ability to absorb
other flavors (and took the occasion to
admonish her on her choice). To be fair,
Firehouse kept the shards of the body al
dente and provided vegetal interest with
herbed fregola, nasturtium and parsley.
I promised myself to try the steak tartare
($26), which has become another house
signature, on a future visit.
My main course of monkfish ($42)
cooked over pine with puffed barley (like
a pearl barley on steroids) and fennel
was a competent rendition of this tasty
fish but the moll’s Chargrilled Iberico
Pork was a winner and pitched just right
for the winter season. It was served with
chestnuts and a mixture of braised and
raw Brussels sprouts. While I am unconvinced that the texture and flavor contrast of the two preparations of sprouts
possessed enough range, this vegetable
is always a copacetic accompaniment
with pork.
We hit a side of fries (as we did at
every restaurant on our trip, in a quest
to find the world’s best). Firehouse’s are
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