Hey! I’m a little late in getting this post up and you may have noticed that I didn’t have a workout recap post up on Monday, but that was because I didn’t work out last week other than checking sap buckets and then lifting buckets to pour into the sap cooker a few days! I had promised myself a little time off to let the lingering aches settle after Yogapalooza , and I took it. Plus, syrup season is a bit all-consuming but so worth it end the end. But we aren’t here to dwell on that today! Recently, Matt and I went to a restaurant with some friends, and I thought it would be the perfect place to talk about for my first restaurant review!

We met up with some friends and headed out to St. Charles to hit up Firebirds before seeing a movie. Quick background on Firebirds; it labels itself as an American Steakhouse type of cuisine. They have restaurants in 20 states and have two locations in Missouri, one being St. Charles, which as only been open for a few years, and the other being in Lees Summit. This was our first time checking out the St. Charles location, and the restaurant itself, but it has always been relatively busy when I’ve driven by. So busy in fact, reservations are definitely recommended.

First Impressions

We had a 6:15 reservation for dinner and got there about 5-10 minutes early. The place was packed, with the bar area being completely occupied and no additional seating for guests waiting for tables. It was quite crowded around the hostess stand since the lobby area is not very large at all. We had to wait about 10 minutes past our reservation time before we were seated at our table. Our waitress came over fairly quickly, and we placed a drink order (2 glasses of water, 1 sparkling water, 1 specialty non-alcoholic drink, and a lemonade). The regular waters came quickly, but we had to wait for about another 10 minutes before we got the sparkling water and two other drinks. The waitress said the bar was very busy, and that caused the delay. We used the time to go over the menu.

We skipped the appetizer, and just snacked on the complimentary bread, which was actually very good. We placed our orders and then waited. And waited. And waited. While our waitress wasn’t slow, because she made several laps by our table, the kitchen seemed to be a little behind. I saw what I assumed were manager type people (based solely off their dress) standing in front of the line or just kind of standing around, but they didn’t seem to be speeding anything up. I’ll put it in these terms. Our reservation for dinner was at 6:15 and our movie was at 7:40 and we were starting to worry about getting our food in time to make our movie.

Once we got our food, we tucked in our meals fairly quickly. I ordered the Pineapple Chicken with a side of port mushrooms. The chicken was lightly marinated, and the veggies grilled nicely with a good, crisp crunch when you bit into them. The port mushrooms (which I know didn’t really go with pineapple chicken, but I love mushrooms!) were probably the highlight of the dish, too be honest. The chicken was good, but the flavor of the mushrooms was superior. I do wish that there had been a few more vegetables with dinner. There was plenty of chicken, enough that I was able to split the leftovers between myself and Matt the following Monday with salad for lunch. I had also ordered the Blood Orange Agua Fresca, which was pretty decent, but probably not something I’d order again with dinner.

Overall, our experience at Firebirds was ok. I wasn’t blown away by anything I ordered, other than the mushrooms, but the food was good. Service was decent, if not a little lagging, but I imagine some of that had to do simply with the number of folks in the restaurant. The atmosphere was good, the seating was all comfortable, and other than the crowded reception area, the place didn’t give off a bad vibe. I give it a 4 out of 5 stars. Not somewhere I would choose if I had to be someplace after in a hurry, but I would go back and try something else on the menu for sure.