Appetite Stimulus Plan – The Chicago Firehouse
By Anthony Todd in Food on Nov 21, 2008 4:07PM
As we have previous mentioned, Opentable.com has teamed up with a ton of great Chicago restaurants for its “Appetite Stimulus Package” – a fixed, three-course meal for $35 per person, excluding tax, tip and beverages. Depending on the restaurant, this can be quite a deal! Since we’re always interested in a bargain, we had to check it out. We made reservations online for dinner last night at the Chicago Firehouse Restaurant.
The Chicago Firehouse is just a few blocks from our apartment, and we’ve always wanted to try it. Despite some mixed reports about the food (Ed. Note: My opinion on Chicago Firehouse is that the service greatly outshines the food, although the latter is quite good. But then that's why they're called "opinions." — Sudo), everyone seems to agree that it is a comfortable and attractive dining room, and with a regular menu offering $45 steaks and chops we were interested to see what they’d do on the cheap.
Be warned: The selections are not extensive. Diners are instructed to request the special “appetite stimulus” menu, and at the Chicago Firehouse the choices were very limited. First course: the house Caesar salad or soup. Second: a choice of roast chicken or pork. And third: Chocolate Mousse Cake. Our dining companion ended up ordering off the regular menu, as she wasn’t in the mood for either of the entrée selections. Lesson learned – be sure to call and see what will be offered, if you’re concerned about selections.
That being said, the dishes that we were served were excellent. The Caesar was delicious, with a light homemade dressing. We chose the pork, a 2-inch thick, very juicy chop, topped with a chili-mango barbecue sauce and a homemade dried cherry topping on the side. We would go back and order this off of the regular menu anytime. The Chocolate Mousse cake was gigantic and decadent, if fairly boring. All-in-all, an excellent value for our $35.
Opentable still has tons of reservations for dinner at restaurants all over town. Tonight is the last night for this particular promotion, so if you’re looking for an inexpensive taste of a restaurant you’ve been wanting to check out, get it now!