Tag Archives: Fire

2006 Pride Cabernet – Hold for 2 more years

by Jamie Ginsberg on 03. Jul, 2010 in Jamie Ginsberg

I headed out on a Man Date with my buddy M.Deminico. We hit Fire, mostly because the food is delicious, but partly because we can sit at the Chef’s table and watch the food come out. The food was above average tonight. I hit a Beet Tart that was the perfect combination of dry and succulent with a side of greens that was exactly what I wanted. The cheese plate was good, not great but good. My finisher was Tawney’s Veggie plate. This was the second time in 5 days that I had this dish and I would have it again tonight if I could. Cumin coated eggplant with chick peas and greek yogurt is ummmmmmmmm delicious.

But the focus of the evening when Mike and I get together is usually drinking. The 2006 Pride Cabernet is not ready to drink. That is all there is to it. This wine is ok. It needs to breathe and we just drank it. Blame us, or just say let this wine sit for 2 more years and it might deliver upon the promise that lays below the muddled mess of body and soft tannins. Mike has tried this wine twice and says it under performs. For me, I think it is just a matter of time. Hold this wine for 2 years and it may be ready to drink. Or, invite me over and we can try your bottle whenever you are ready, I’ll bring the cheese.

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Fire Serves up a Great Vegan Dish

by Jamie Ginsberg on 20. Jan, 2010 in Jamie Ginsberg

Two weeks into my Cleanse, we head to Fire for dinner to celebrate Rosie’s birthday. What does a temporary vegan not eating gluten, alcohol or caffiene do? Party! I started with an order of sauteed olives. This is a rare treat that I have only experienced at Fire. The warm olives are delicious, despite not being able to dip bread in the olive oil. I was not feeling or looking like a salad so I ordered a side of sauteed chard, delicious. Finishing with a large portion of the curried quinoa tower, pictured above, made the meal delicious. Yes, I destroyed the tower immediately. Yes, I think a swish of pesto should be on every plate. Yes, I regretted not being able to eat the cookies that came with the bill. Beyond all of the regret, I had a fabulous meal.

So, how is the cleanse going? Great! This has been shockingly easy. There is a ton of food I can eat and I have been cooking out of my comfort zone. It may help that I am doing this cleanse with a large group of people at Cleveland Yoga, but it is more likely because I have done a few really rough cleanses in the last year (Master Cleanse & a week long Green Cleanse). Giving up my ability to control what I am eating and drinking has been quite freeing. As I have gotten older, I have come to appreciate a few rules that enable my freedom. A great side result of this cleanse has been an increase in my ability to transition, I have been seeing options instead of obstacles. If you are thinking of trying a Cleanse this year, get together a group to do it with and try this one.

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Thai Night at Fire

by Jamie Ginsberg on 03. Sep, 2008 in Jamie Ginsberg

Jan, Bob, Amy & I headed down to Fire for Thai night. We joined Amy & Karen Goldberg for a great night of food and conversation. Fire has been running a special dinner every few months with a guest chef, this dinner was done by the General Manager, Chin.

The menus were simple on natural looking paper. As we sat at the table enjoying Mango, Vodka, Champagne refreshers, I glanced at the menu and felt like I was looking at the itinerary for a 2 week trip. Could there really be 11 courses coming our way? I reached forward and did the unthinkable, I poured myself a beer. There were 3 beers on the table and I decided to try all 3, resulting in me drinking all 3 by the end of the meal, yet another reason to eat with the light weights. The beers were beers, water would have been better. The Thai iced coffee and tea arrived and my liquid issues were done. I am a huge fan of the Thai iced coffee and quickly downed 2 of them, the sugary sweetness lingering in my throat as the caffeine kicked in.

Spring rolls arrived first. The dipping sauce was a classic Thai sauce that you have had a million times. This was lighter yet still sweet. The spring rolls were cleanly fried with a crisp edge, I would swear these had little nibblets of pork mixed in and I decided ignorance was bliss.

The food started arriving and for the next hour it did not stop. At some point the serving order switched from the menu, but I was too full to complain. The beef kabobs with peanut dipping sauce were tender and as you would expect delicious covered in the reach smooth sauce.

Fried egg halves appeared, maybe the Thai version of deviled eggs? I watched in horror as I tossed one back enjoying the cilantro cutting thru the crispy exterior of the hard boiled egg. Strange, yet good.

The fish cakes were delicious. My worst fear of fish cakes is that fishy smell and taste that makes you think it is simply chopped up left over fish.  This was clean and well balanced by the crunch of the cucumber salad. I missed a few shellfish laden dishes. Despite my allergies I have a good eye for shrimp and the shrimp was nice and plump. Maybe the best sign was my ears did not start itching, this is always a great sign the shellfish is fresh and clean.

The tilapia was presented beautifully on a banana leaf and yet was strangely bland and uninspiring. I came in with a bias towards tilapia and I left with the same bias. It was just kind of boring. This is the problem with expectations. I love fish and was looking forward to this being my “main” course and here I was eating bland fish and drinking crappy beer. Expect the unexpected.

Change is good and panang beef is even better. This must have been slow cooked for days. The tender meat was richly seasoned and melted in my mouth. I had 2 servings to make up for the squid and shrimp salad I missed. I wanted to go in for more, but the ground pork was in danger of passing me by.

The ground pork was spicy and delicious. I know the basil added some flavor, but each bite was enveloped in complex layers of heat and spice. My next mission is to get this recipe, it is a must have for Thai night! The Pad Thai arrived and I was mildly irritated that my request for a non shrimp version was denied. As I sat their stuff trying to understand how I could possibly be irritated, a bowl of Pad Thai arrived just for me. As I picked out pieces of chicken I forgot I was stuffed and enjoyed some of the best Pad Thai I have had in Cleveland. I was hoping the Pad Thai would be delicious and it delivered. After all of the delicious food, I felt like I was not only special, but my expectation of great Pad Thai was delivered.

At this point, you may remember that I am generally a vegetarian. I am a firm believer in experiencing life and when in Thailand I eat Thai food…even if Thailand is a one night only dinner at Fire on Shaker Square. There are few reasonable explanations for how I manage to justify Thai Night to myself, the best I can come up with is living and learning are more important than a silent protest against the beef industry. Dessert was delicious fresh made coconut ice cream, unbelievable sticky rice with fresh sliced mango and I seem to remember rolling myself away from the table to have the valet get our car. I knew this was a mistake as I made it, but I was so full I needed fresh air. Leaving Amy and her Mom in the restaurant was a guarantee we would be the last to leave. I leaned up against the car and let the food settle in, Today was a Good Day.

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Jan’s 60th Birthday at Fire

by Jamie Ginsberg on 19. Aug, 2008 in Jamie Ginsberg

It was a perfect summer night in Shaker when the family converged on the Square for dinner at Fire. My parents were in town for the celebration, as was Tracy & Theo….this dinner was bound to be good. Why is Grandma the only one laughing in the above picture?

Popovers with with scrumptious butter…oh yeah. Washed down with a little Finca Sandoval, mental note this needs decanting!

This is how the famed Karen’s Cesar rolls…Deep! Don’t want bacon, then leave the spoon on the plate. I love it, build your own cesar with Karen!

If you think Karen’s Cesar looks good, you need to see my summer salad, happy, fruity, delicious! The dressing is perfectly light and edgy, I must learn how to make better, more interesting salad dressing.
I could not resist, I ordered the Large Mouth Bass, knowing that I would be staring at a fish asking me to eat him. I have had the whole Bronzini and the whole Trout previously and could not resist trying the Bass. The rich smokey flavor compliments the tender juicy fish. Could I do with less bones, yes. Next time I may choose to have the fish filleted in the kitchen, but that is just not as much fun.

The dinner was great and the company was even better. The only downer was the can of cinnamon accidentally dropped into the Ooey Gooey Chocolate Cake. Doug took it off the bill, but in the end I would have been happier paying for a perfect one. Fire does some of the best desserts in town and I will have to go back sooner than later for the real deal. Who’s in?

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Hot Like Fire

by Jamie Ginsberg on 30. Jun, 2008 in Jamie Ginsberg


Ahhhh…Amy and I hit Fire on Saturday night to Celebrate Mike and Rosie Ford’s 10th Anniversary with them. With random down pours and threatening clouds, the idea of a nice summer Saturday night on Shaker Square was deteriorating fast. We dropped the top and headed down Shaker watching the clouds move. Amy proved how annoying Satellite radio really is as we proved that even with 500 channels there is really nothing good on and I wondered why nobody has invented the convertible umbrella.
The Square is doing a good job on Saturday nights. There was a band out playing and people were braving the threat of rain to get their custard and enjoy the break in the weather. The tables were out on the deck and the white table cloths looked so clean and inviting that we decided to challenge the sky and eat outside. Enough on the weather, it held up and turned into a great night.
We started with a bottle of 2005 Golden Eye, the pinot from the mad scientists at Duck Horn. It was smooth as always and even Amy was raising her glass once or twice. The Clay Bread with parmesian and garlic arrived quickly as did the Sauteed Olives. The Clay bread was gone before I could ask if it was good, and Mussels arrived in a tomato based broth. I was content eating my olives despite the slurping and clinking of empty shells hitting the bowl. These animals were hungry, but the Mussels were also very well received. Rosie vocalized more than once that she wished there was more toasted bread with the dish. If this was the only complaint, it was simply solved with the bag of bread sitting on the table…yes the broth was bread dippin good. The olives were excellent, particluarly the small Kalamata like olives, I found the onions and garlic sauteed perfectly being soft and delicious without any of the kick that normally comes with them. If I was eating bread I would have been dippin as well.
My seasonal soup was a Viscious Swa (hah chilled potato leek with a dolop of creme fresc in the middle). It was light and smooth without any of the chalky residue that normally bothers me with the cream based soups. For the record this did not have cream and despite Mike’s areguments, there were no fish heads either. As I zouped the soup the salads arrived and we started pouring the 2nd bottle of wine.
Mike and Rosie got “Karen’s Cesar.” The presentation was unique and fun with little spoons holding capers, bacon bits, salmon bits and some other bits. The lettuce was waiting for the spoons and the salad looked delicious and fun to eat. I got the normal spring greens salad and it was light and highlighted with thin sliced radishes. Dollops of dressing shaped like the radishes let me turn up the volume and live a little crazy. The wine was ready to drink.
Ten for Ten we dug into the 1998 Guado La Tasso from wine make extrodinaire Marchesi Antinori. Comprised of 60% Cab, 30% Merlot, and 10% Syrah and produced just outside of Florence near Bolgheri is an excellent way to move into your main course. A bit fuller and rounder it begged for a delicious steak to open it up with. For better or worse, I looked down at the Arctic Char and wondered when I would get over my issues and start eating beef again. The Fish was light and cooked well, the olive tapenade made the fish enjoyable to eat. I assume the rissoto and asparagus was good becuase I do not remember eating it and when I looked down it was gone.
Mike got the Grilled scallops with Shrimp and snap peas in the middle. The presentation was good and my allergies were glad I was sitting across the table from him. The tension rose briefly as Amy and Rosie dug into their rib eyes and freaked out that they were over cooked. Digging further they found the pink and relaxed as they tasted the meat and seemed to think it was delicious. Doug stopped by and told them they get more steaks sent back due the lighting outside and the appearance of the meat then they actual cooking. Feeling slightly reassured they started eating and Mike and I got to converse again as the women were silently stuffing their faces for the next 15 minutes. I tasted the mashed potatos which were excellent and Amy’s Gorgozola Butter that she did not want on her Rib Eye. The butter was out of this world and a new favorite of mine for sure. Amy is not a fan of Chard and I would up with a generous helping on my plate. It was perfectly cooked and not soaking in olive oil.
We ordered dessert and did breathing exercises to clear a little room. The fruit rhubarb with house made Ginger ice-cream was excellent and ideal for summer. Amy was happy the chocolate souffle was ooey and gooey with a crispy outside. The coffee was ok and priced appropriately. Mental note to convince Doug he needs to start rolling out French Presses…Overall the bill was high, hello we ordered a lot. The service was excellent, the presentation was great, overall it was a pleasure to have fine dining on Shaker Square. We are putting our reservations in for Thai night coming up in August. If it is anything like Goat night (ok Indian), it will be a great opportunity for me to expand my horizons and experience something new. Clearly, I did not weigh myself Sunday morning.

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