Why: The newly opened Fireside Café appeals to a range of appetites and offers plenty of room to accommodate diners. A stone pizza oven, drive-up window, and full espresso bar are a few of the elements that set it apart from other cafes. Pizzas and sliders are just two of its specialties, said owner Eric Husemoen. With many made-from-scratch items, such as the soup of the day and Death by Chocolate cake, time will tell which dishes will become Fireside Café’s main attraction.
Atmosphere: Whether you lounge fireside in the comfort of a leather sofa with a cup of joe or at one of the many dining tables for a full meal, the vibe is welcoming. As cafes go, the space is fairly large, but it’s cozy. A rock fireplace, stained cement floor, and varied wood tones throughout create a contemporary backdrop. The chalkboard-style menu is posted above the order counter and reaches to the ceiling.
After customers place and pay for orders, they choose tables and are waited on in true cafe tradition.
What I Tried: My dining companion and I sampled the pepperoni pizza, Ground Turkey and Pork Sliders with french fries, and a Hot Roast Beef Sandwich with smoked Gouda cheese. We also tried the Italian potato salad and the soup of the day, which was Rice, Chicken & Ginger.
The dough and sauce for the pizza crust are Husemoen’s recipes. The crust reminded me of Round Table’s. It wasn’t doughy; it was toward the thin side and nicely crisp. I found myself comparing the flavor of the sauce and that of the pepperoni to Round Table’s as well, but I concluded that Fireside Café’s pizza is much milder. Where Round Table’s is robust and somewhat spicy, Fireside Café’s is mellow and doesn’t carry the same kick. If you prefer a lot of sauce on your pizza, you should ask for extra — although it’s not dry, it isn’t super-saucy.
If you’re fond of meatloaf, the sliders will likely appeal to you. The ground turkey and pork tasted very similar to me, when liberally topped with onions. The cafe also has Beef and Pork Sliders. Slider patties are served on sourdough rolls and are topped with melted cheddar cheese and a homemade aioli spread, which do not overwhelm the flavor.
The roast beef sandwich was generously stacked with lean, thin-sliced beef and its bun was appetizingly soft on the outside with a toasted edge. Oftentimes this type of sandwich is soggy, but this one was not. The smoked Gouda complemented the flavor of the beef. Husemoen said he has plans to serve it with au jus as well.
Both potato accompaniments were delicious. The fries are baked instead of fried, yet they have a crispy fried quality about them without being laden with grease. I dipped them in a side of homemade blue cheese dressing which had an herb profile was comparable to garden ranch dressing but with a subtle blue cheese quality. The Italian potato salad, made with rose potatoes and green onions with a lightly flavored Italian dressing, was a nice change from the usual restaurant potato salad.
The cup of soup was a bighearted 10-ounce portion and the ingredients were fresh and flavorful. Three characteristics made this soup stand out from other chicken and rice soups: it had just a hint of sweetness from the ginger, the chicken had a roasted taste to it, and the jasmine rice, added post-cooking so as to keep it from becoming too soft, still possessed its own distinct flavor and added to the texture of the soup.
Menu Highlights Beyond What I Tried: When we entered the cafe my eyes were drawn to the mountain of Fireside Nachos that had just arrived at another table. It looked delicious. Although the nachos come in a half-size order, that is still quite large for just two people. Six flavors of gelato are available. Fireside Café has about 30 varieties of beer on the menu.
Other Observations: Everyone I encountered was friendly and attentive. Husemoen waited on tables and stopped by ours several times to make sure that our dining needs were being met and that the food was meeting our expectations. To go with the already-long hours of business, Husemoen plans to create a hang-out environment by adding live music on Friday and Saturday evenings.
Cost: Apart from the 16-inch, five-topping pizza, which is $23, the menu tops out at $15.99 for 24 boneless chicken wings. Most items are under $10.
Hours: 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
Telephone: 360-314-4301.
Where: 6709 N.E. 63rd St., Suite 101, Vancouver.
Health Score: Fireside Cafe received a score of 15 on June 22. Zero is a perfect score, and Clark County Public Health closes restaurants that score 100 or higher. For information, call 360-397-8428.
