Farm-to-Table Upscale Dining at FireLake Grill House & Cocktail Bar
Hey girl!
My most recent guilty pleasure was having the opportunity to enjoy an exquisite evening dining at a farm-to-table restaurant called FireLake Grill House & Cocktail Bar. This hidden gem is located conveniently in my neighborhood Lakeshore East, Chicago inside the luxurious Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel!
The location is somewhat tucked away just south of Navy Pier in an area surrounded by several incredible hotels, so it tends to be overlooked by locals. But make no mistake, my fellow Chicagoans, it is definitely worth a trip over to this fabulous part of town that is not only super safe, but just steps away from highlights like Lakeshore East Park and Millennium Park.
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Mouthwatering Local Fare at its finest
Nothing describes FireLake’s farm-to-table menu better than its own mission statement:
Our philosophy is simple; source the very best regional products, prepare these ingredients over real burning wood, and serve this delicious food in a pure and uncontrived manner. Our name says who we are; a restaurant about the complex flavors of real burning wood (FIRE) from the land of the great lakes (LAKE).
FireLake Grill House & cocktail Bar
There are several robust sections within their lunch and dinner menu, most of which my boyfriend and I tried! And while I wished I could have tried several other items, we left completely stuffed and satiated from the dishes we did enjoy.
To Share or Not
The first part of FireLake’s menu is the shareables section, which we didn’t order from. Some of the fun favorites in this part includes the 2-lb Mega Pretzel with beer cheese and honey mustard, the Mezze Plate with hummus and babaganoush, and the Cheese & Charcuterie Board. Of course, the latter would have been my go-to had I not wanted to fill up too fast. Look how cute it is!
Simmered & Tossed
This menu section includes soups and salads. We had the Winter Salad, which was presented beautifully! This salad comes with Tuscan mixed greens, roasted pear d’Anjou, candied pepitas, craisins, blue cheese, and honey cider vinaigrette. Typically, I’m not a fan of fruit salads, but I actually enjoyed this one a lot. The flavors meld perfectly together and the vinaigrette wasn’t too overpowering.
House Specialties
This section of the menu boasts a selection of farm-to-table seafood and pasta. My boyfriend and I are big lovers of mussels. We’ve even made them at home before in an amazing beer sauce! So we tried the Steamed Mussels from the menu, which are made in a white wine sauce with shallots, garlic, and fresh parsley. And WOW, we were impressed. They were so flavorful and topped beautifully with green onions, tomatoes, and lemon.
Rotisserie & Oven
As part of the main course, we had the Half Rotisserie Chicken; and trust me this is better than any $5 Costco rotisserie chicken (yes, I said it!!!). This crispy and succulent meat comes alongside sour cream herb mashed potatoes and charred sweet corn. And for you skin lovers, this chicken’s skin was the best I’ve had! I’m not sure what the seasoning was but it was quite flavorful as well.
Other options in this section includes flatbreads of different kinds: rotisserie chicken flatbread, margherita, and fennel sausage.
GRILL ~ MESQUITE
Any true meat lover knows that it’s this section that makes up a true farm-to-table menu. There are currently four cuts of meat on FireLake’s lunch and dinner menu, including a NY Strip, Prime Filet, Flat Iron Steak Frites, and the Smoked Pork Ribs.
Rather than going with our usual selection of a steak, my boyfriend and I couldn’t help but notice the gorgeous display of ribs at a neighboring table! And after tasting this creation, we were NOT disappointed.
The mouthwatering Smoked Pork Ribs are incredibly tender and smothered in a heavenly Calabrian Chili BBQ sauce. They come with a jalapeño-cheddar skillet cornbread, which was perfectly moist inside and only had a hint of spice! Also, the cornbread comes wrapped in actual cornhusk, which I assumed they baked it in. This was super inventive and something I had never seen before. I’m not sure it did much to change the flavor but it was pretty yummy.
But the ribs, oh my God…they were amazing. When I say tender, we pretty much had to eat them with a fork and knife because they fell off the bone so easily! So no need to worry about messy fingers while trying the ribs (double win!) And the sauce was unlike anything I had ever tasted.
While I’m sure the steaks would have been phenomenal, we were so pleased with our choice of ribs and we did NOT have leftovers LOL. There are two options for this dish: a half and a full. We went with the half, which I believe had 8 total. But if you’re eating this as your only main dish definitely opt for full!
stacked & crafted
Of course this wouldn’t be a farm-to-table menu without a section of burgers! FireLake has two awesome burger selections and a chicken club in this section. While we didn’t get to try these, the ingredients definitey make them seem worth ordering in the future.
The FireLake Burger is more of a standard gourmet burger with prime beef, American cheese, chipotle sauce, dill pickle, white onion, lettuce, brioche bun, and options to add thick-cut bacon or an organic cage free fried egg. The Field Burger is a meatless option with a black bean, sweet corn, and chickpea burger; this comes with fried onions, roasted mushrooms, lettuce, tomato, pickled vegetables and ginger-avocado mayo on a multi-grain bun.
Side options come with a choice of French fries, onion rings or house salad. And you can make your fries truffle-parmesan, garlic-herbs, or sweet potato fries. Next time, I would love to try the truffle myself!
Sweet Endings
There were several yummy sweet treats on the dessert menu including Gelato & Sorbet. We chose to taste the recommended Chococlate Chips Cookie “a la mode” topped with vanilla bean ice cream and raspberries. It is so gooey and delicous that even my lactose intolerant self couldn’t resist! The other dessert options looked so amazing too though: there’s the Chocolate Walnut Turtle Cake, the Pear Amond Tart, and the Vanilla Bean Cheesecake.
Cocktails & Mocktails
The FireLake beverage menu has a gorgeous assortment of fun and colorful craft cocktails as well as a robust selection of non-alcoholic mocktails; both of which are beautifully garnished with some type of fruit and herb! And of course there’s a long list of beers and wine to choose from.
Don’t sleep on the mocktails either — some of them sound so delicious that you could have one for dessert instead. I had the Orange Rose Blossom, which is fairly sweet and made with rose water. Barbie fans can try the Barbie Breakfast with citrus guava and yogurt. The Dreamsicle with orange and vanilla sounds pretty tasty too, as well as the Chai Chai Slide. And for less dessert-like options, there’s also the What’s Up Doc? with carrot juice and turmeric or the Faux-Jito.
Afternoon Tea & Other Events
From Thursday through Sundays, tea lovers can enjoy an exquisite (and affordable) Afternoon Tea experience at the Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel for $59 per person! FYI, this is WAY less than other downtown hotels (many of which have been overrated). Their selection of house-made finger sandwiches, fresh baked scones, and seasonal pastries along with Rishi Tea Collection is made by Executive Chef Marcin Sobusiak. Reservations must be booked online starting at 1pm and time slots run up to 90 minutes due to high demand.
There’s also an upcoming Mother’s Day Tea that will include a compliementary glass of bubbly!
Live Music & Art Showcases
Every Friday and Saturday, guests and visitors can also listen to live music in the swanky 221 Blu Bar & Lounge between 6-9pm. And starting this month through June, Radisson Blu Aqua is hosting its first rotating artist Roy Rodriguez for its new Artist Showcase! This Friday, April 12 will be a Meet the Artist event from 5-9pm.
Farm-to-Table meets luxury
Overall, we had a fabulous time dining at FireLake Grill House & Cocktail Bar and visiting the hotel in general! Typically, I’ve seen farm-to-table dining in less luxurious spaces, but the Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel truly creates a magnificently upscale environment around such local eating. The lobby itself is so gorgeous and modern with lots of brick and glass designs.
The scene is both casual yet romantic; so whether you’re looking for a date night dinner, a staycation option, or just want to grab a bite (or tea) with friends, FireLake provides a stunning environment with fresh and sustainable farm-to-table dishes you shouldn’t miss! Reserve your table today.
Sincerely,
