Looking to splurge on a meal, but your pocketbook just can't take the strain after the holidays?
Well it's a great time to take advantage of luxurious food all over town, catering to you! The foodie that maxed out the budget on wining and dining less than a month ago.
But if your anything like me this DineDowntown thing is just to good to pass up, the ability to preview the way a restaurant cooks for $30, hard to beat that with the names on the list and the menu's there offering.
Well it's a great time to take advantage of luxurious food all over town, catering to you! The foodie that maxed out the budget on wining and dining less than a month ago.
But if your anything like me this DineDowntown thing is just to good to pass up, the ability to preview the way a restaurant cooks for $30, hard to beat that with the names on the list and the menu's there offering.
Of the multiple menu's I'll no doubt be trying over the short time span that DineDowntown is occurring (Monday January 9th through Wednesday January 18th) the one I was able to preview was distinctly formal and fabulous.
The Firehouse Restaurant has been around since 1960 serving up steaks, wine and general fining dining to Sacramento's Capitol patrons. The Golden Eagle Room, otherwise known as their formal dining room, hosts pro basketball players to governors.
We started out the dinner with selecting our course, bread of wheat and Parmesan and an amuse boushe from the kitchen consisting of goat cheese and sweet potato that upon biting was flaky, creamy and dissolved in your mouth.
The beauty of going to any meal with another person is the eating off their plate, so I was able to really try two meals. Unlike some of the other selections on the DineDowntown line up, The Firehouse specifically has a legendary wine list (although drinks are not included in the pre-fix price) it's not hard to make an outstanding selection to pair with our choice of entree with help of their Sommelier Mario Ortiz.
The Firehouse Restaurant has been around since 1960 serving up steaks, wine and general fining dining to Sacramento's Capitol patrons. The Golden Eagle Room, otherwise known as their formal dining room, hosts pro basketball players to governors.
We started out the dinner with selecting our course, bread of wheat and Parmesan and an amuse boushe from the kitchen consisting of goat cheese and sweet potato that upon biting was flaky, creamy and dissolved in your mouth.
The beauty of going to any meal with another person is the eating off their plate, so I was able to really try two meals. Unlike some of the other selections on the DineDowntown line up, The Firehouse specifically has a legendary wine list (although drinks are not included in the pre-fix price) it's not hard to make an outstanding selection to pair with our choice of entree with help of their Sommelier Mario Ortiz.
The first course was a salad of apples, and a sharp and creamy blue cheese called Fourme D'Ambert that was quite balanced with the shallot-cider vinaigrette
the other option for our first course was their Crab, Potoato and Leek Bisque - it's not just that the crab cake had a bit of spice and maintained it's crispy crunch even after the soup had been poured; but unlike many restaurants this place isn't only about flavor it's also all about the presentation, so the soup is presented and then poured in front of you over the crab cake and your able to indulge. Precision.
The entree course was a pork, chicken, fish and vegetarian option. They hit all the boxes with this one, but my wonder was where the flavors would land. The salmon option (chosen by my friend) was actually my favorite of the pork and salmon dishes we tried. Now don't get me wrong, pork tenderloin wrapped in pancetta, is a wonderfully indulgent dish, and made even better by being perfectly cooked. It's easy to make slightly to overcooked pork, but much harder to make it perfectly pink and moist - not overcooked at all.
The salmon dish on the other-hand was quite exciting with flavor, crispy but tender and juicy. The plum wine-miso glaze made it sweet and savory, but it was the red rice stir fry (soft and sticky) and finished with coconut milk and lemongrass that completed a beautifully unexpected bite.
I am always going to personally be of the opinion that no meal is complete without dessert. It's the perfect compliment to the meal, and I defiantly don't trust people that "hate" chocolate, that's just bizarre, even Dr. Oz says it's good for you! So if chocolate is good for you, these might just help cure those winter colds. The pastery chef put together a chcooalte mousse that was decadently smooth, it's not all about flavor, it's also about texture and this was chiffon-like in style, creamy but not overly rich.
The mango cheesecake on the other hand was that perfect non-cloying refreshing but indulgent treat after the salmon. The texture again was a total hit, but it was the crust made of graham crackers and brown sugar that blew my guest and I away.
If your looking to impress and enjoy all at the same time, all while feeling like your not totally breaking any New Year's resolutions, check out The Firehouse!
www.firehouseoldsac.com
1112 2nd Street
Sacramento, CA 95814-3204
(916) 442-4772
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