“Flap Faster Winged Warrior”

“Flap Faster Winged Warrior”

We recently had dinner at Firebirds Wood Fired Grill in St. Charles located at 1501 Beale Street, in the Streets of St. Charles, just south of I-70 at 5^th Street. This is where the old Noah's Ark was located.

We had made reservations for four and were quickly seated upon our arrival. The FireBar is a visual experience with it's colorful back bar, and fireplace with what appears to be a cast iron logo of a Thunderbird. So far, so good.

After being seated, our waitress gave us our laminated menus which included a number of very creative items. The problem was that my menu had a good portion of another person's meal smeared all over it. My friends menu was also dirty. We asked for different menu's and got two more smeared menu's. We finally got clean menu's and placed our orders. And yes, I did mention this to the host on our way out and he seemed rather non-pulsed. I expected more.

Sue, and our guests, ordered the evening special, short ribs with Gouda grits and brussel sprouts. This was a very tasty item. I ordered a cup of chicken corn chowder which was also very good. My main dish was steak frites, which our waitress insisted on calling steak fritz! Oh well. I asked for medium rare and it came to the table medium well. After looking at a number of website reviews, this seems to be a recurring problem. The fries were very good.

In the interest of journalistic integrity, I also ordered the seasonal dessert of Ooey Gooey Pumpkin Spice Butter Cake topped with spiced pecans and vanilla whipped cream, drizzled with Woodford Reserve-spike salted caramel sauce. This was the best part of the evening.

The atmosphere could be somewhat romantic were it not so loud. We we there on a week night, so it was not that crowded, and they are definitely in need of some acoustical treatment. It was difficult to carry on a conversation.

The wine list is more than adequate. Cocktails appear to be above average in cost. Food cost is average to a bit above average when you add ala carte side items.

Over all, I will give them another try, but I am not holding my breath. In the words of Ms. Hellfinger, of Chicken Man fame, they need to “flap faster winged warrior”

Firebirds Wood Fired Grill is located at the Streets of St. Charles near the AMC theaters. They serve wood-fired steaks, seafood, specialty cocktails and select wines. Happy Hour is Monday thru Fridayfrom 4-7PM in the FIREBAR or on the patio.

They are open 11am – 10pm SUN – THURS and 11am - 11pmFri – Sat . Reservations may be made at 636-866-0984