FIREBIRDS WOOD FIRED GRILL
Hoppen Hierarchy:★★⭑
District: Dundee; Village Pointe
Steaks, Seafood, & Cocktails
Perfect For: Lunch; Casual Dining; Happy Hour; Drinks; Date Night
Standout Dishes: Big Daddy Chocolate Cake; Wood-Grilled Salmon; BLT Salad
I hate to do it, but I’m kicking off this review by breaking one of every mom’s cardinal sins–no dessert before dinner.
But this cake at Firebirds Wood Fired Grill is worth breaking all the rules for.
Feast your eyes on the Big Daddy Chocolate Cake, a behemoth that requires multiple mouths to conquer. I’ll spare you the calorie count (sometimes ignorance is bliss) and get to the good stuff. This monster is chocolate personified, combing chocolate cake, icing, drizzle and shavings on the exterior. It’s incredibly moist, decadent and perfectly sinful… provided you share it with the rest of your table.
As if the chocolate avalanche isn’t enough, Firebirds pairs it with a creamy vanilla bean ice cream and a raspberry coulis on the side, allowing diners to add a little tang and tone down the chocolate if they please.
This cake is the thing of dreams, which is ironic, because it will either put you into a beautiful food coma or induce a bouncing-off-the-walls sugar rush.
Excellent as the cake is, it’s not the only thing Firebirds has going for it. Located on the perimeter of the Village Pointe shopping center in Omaha, Firebirds offers an enticing menu of grilled options, ranging from steak to lobster tails, chicken, burgers, shrimp, ribs, and more. It toes the fine line between feeling upscale yet inviting and casual, all housed in a cabin-like building. I obviously haven’t tried everything on the menu, but I have yet to encounter a meal here that wasn’t well thought-out and prepared.
The Wood-Grilled Salmon is near nirvana for lovers of this glorious fish. The flesh is perfectly flaky, almost falling apart when brushed with a fork. It’s basted with butter, which adds a bit of a fatty crust and seeps flavor into every bite. A pinch of grilled lime provides a citrus punch.
The roasted vegetables are fine, but the baked potato is delicious. Firebirds traditionally serves their potatoes loaded, complete with chives, sour cream, cheese and butter. Honestly, this starch is just fine with salt and pepper. Firebirds adds a salt crust to the potato skin, infusing both flavor and texture.
And don’t sleep on Firebirds tater tots. These crispy, salty orbs of goodness release a pleasing burst of oil upon biting. They’re excellent alone, but the roasted garlic ranch dressing takes things to a new level.
The Delmonico Steak Sandwich is tremendous. The steak is tender and packed with flavor alone, but the pillowy bun is the perfect delivery vessel. A quick application of butter and toast on the grill slightly char the bun’s interior without affecting the warm, soft outside.
I’m not one to order salads at restaurants, but if you’re going to change my mind, load the thing with applewood-smoked bacon. That’s exactly what Firebirds does with its BLT Salad. Each bite is infused with the salty, fatty punch only bacon can provide. The lettuce and tomatoes are fresh, and that peppercorn ranch shows up again to steal the show.
I have some friends that call themselves “ranch snobs” (their words, not mine) who swear they can immediately differentiate ranches from different restaurants. I think that’s a bit strong, but I’ll agree with them when it comes to Firebird’s version. This ranch packs some pop. You can taste the roast of the peppercorns, which infuse a sharp hint.
The salad itself is massive and passable as an entree.
The service has been a bit off-putting on a few visits. During my most recent meal, our waiter didn’t visit our table initially until we’d waited about seven or eight minutes and rarely returned to check on us or refill our drinks. He wasn’t completely knowledgable of the menu and made several odd comments throughout the meal–nothing inappropriate or off-putting, but quirky quips that had us raising our eyebrows.
All in all, Firebirds is a fantastic meal. The menu offers almost too many tantalizing options, and everything I’ve had is delicious. The atmosphere is down to earth, and I recommend sitting out on the patio if the weather allows.
The portions are large and filling and the complimentary bread delicious, but if you can find a way to squeeze in the Big Daddy cake, it’s an absolute must. Just plan for some extra time on the treadmill tomorrow.