Yesterday afternoon I found myself tasked with making a restaurant reservation for our gang of five. This was with some trepidation, as the Boston restaurant scene has become superheated, and making a Saturday night reservation on Saturday afternoon can be somewhat daunting. Having heard that a new restaurant, Sorellina, had opened in the space previously occupied by Salamander, I gave them a call, only to find they were booked for the next month(!). The next three places offered to take us at 10:30. Finally, I had the presence of mind to try Open Table. They have a great feature which lets you put in the date, time, and size of your party and then displays a list of all of its participating restaurants who have suitable openings. To my surprise, one that appeared, at 8:00 pm no less, was the Fireplace Restaurant, a Brookline neighborhood place that had proven impossible in the past.
The Fireplace has been described as "upscale comfort food" and I would have to say that's pretty accurate. The atmosphere is reminiscent of a ski lodge, with wood paneling and an appealing aroma from the wood fireplace near the entrance.
We arrived promptly at 8 to find that the previous occupants of our allocated table had finished their meal, paid their check, but were in no mood to leave. While I am usually of the belief that a patron should not be hussled out the door just because the establishment has booked another party at the same table, after 45 minutes were were wondering if these people were ever going to leave. Finally the management gave them the hint and they departed.
The best appetizer was a dish of fall mushrooms sautéed with country ham, Madeira and cream over a crispy cornmeal Johnny cake ($9). We were glad we ordered two of those. The roasted vegetable and feta cheese tart with toasted pine nuts ($9) was also pretty good.
For the main course, the grilled, aged sirloin with blue cheese walnut butter, creamy mashed potatoes and roasted broccoli ($29) was excellent, and perfectly done. The pan-seared duck breast topped with a roasted shallot, honey pan sauce over sautéed spinach and crispy potato cake ($27) would have been good if the duck had not arrived overcooked. We chose not to wait for a replacement, but the manager did comp our desserts, which allowed us to indulge in an absolutely fabulous molten chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream and raspberry sauce ($7).
The wine list ranges from $17 to $72 (more if you ask for the "reserve" list. We splurged on an excellent Chateau Montelena Cabernet.
The Fireplace Restaurant
1634 Beacon Street (at Washington St.)
Brookline, MA 02446.
617-975-1900
www.fireplacerest.com
Reservations Accepted
~100 seats
Parking lot (limited) behind the restaurant - off Washington Street
I'm yet to have a go at online restaurant reservation, I always wonder if my reservation is going to get lost/misplaced somewhere in the net and believe that on has a better chance of success making the call yourself.
However, the fact that you managed to get an 8pm Saturday night reservation at Fireplace Restaurant on a Saturday afternoon has completely changed my tune. I didn't know such things were possible. I'll have to give it a go...
Posted by: Ashe Linde | 22 December 2010 at 07:29 AM