I have eaten at the Firehouse twice in the past year, and enjoyed the food, service and ambiance. So I thought it was a safe bet for a pre-Valentine's outing in one of the few places in Sacramento where it is really worth dressing up and having high expectations fulfilled. Wrong!
First thing was walking up the narrow stairway from the alley below with waiters emptying dirty dishes from tables pushing by us with absolutely no courtesy. Yes, it was busy, but they weren't delivering full plates just clearing dirty dishes. Okay, not that big a deal. Next was being seated directly under a vent blowing cold air which kept blowing out the oil lamp on the table. The repeated line about the fireman ghost quickly got lame as we shivered. It would have been a nice gesture to be offered a chance to move as the dining room started clearing well before we were served our first course.
But, again, not a deal breaker. It was the combination of service and food that left me literally with a bad taste in my mouth. My companion first ordered the carpaccio which was good, and I ordered the salad, also good, and so was the palatte-cleansing sorbet served between courses--hence two stars instead of one. So far so good. She also ordered the fillet mignon, but our waiter didn't bother asking how she wanted it prepared. Come onj!! Even Sizzler asks how you want your steak prepared. When it was delivered, it was exceedingly bland and rare to the point of bloody (she asked for medium rrare--no thanks to the waiter. Who knows how it would have been prepared otherwise. She left half of it. I ordered the duck breast with huckleberry sauce. I love duck and I have had some wonderful examples prepared different ways from the south of France to NYC and San Francisco. Yes, duck is fatty, but this was exceedingly so to the point of that I ended up with most of it in my napkin. One of the grossest eating experiences I've had in a long time. Never once were we asked--while we were eating--how we liked our meal. Only at the end did I bring it up. Our waiter just shrugged.
Interestingly, the night before we ate out at PF Chang's which I do not consider fine dining. We didn't have high expectations. We were just hungry after hours of shopping and it was convenient. The food was great, the service was greater. The Firehouse could take some pointers
I've been around Sacramento a long time, and I knew that the Firelhouse had once gone into a big slump but had recovered and was now on solid footing. It's current popularity has apparently led to a slip back into sloppiness. And, what is it with so many diners in Sacramento--male usually--dressed in tee shirts and baseball caps as if they were visiting Hooters. I know it's more of a reflection of the lack of class of some Sacramentans, but come on Firelhouse don't you have any respect for your customers who do show a little pride in their appearance or yourselves? Are you that desperate for customers that you are afraid to have at least a basic dress code requiring something other than tee shirts and no baseball caps?
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