Fire Creek Restaurant - Downingtown

Finally!

Fire Creek had teased Chester County foodies for months but is now finally open for business.

We've been driving past the elegant old stone paper mill building along the Brandywine River eagerly awaiting a glimpse of the inside. It was set to open in January but zoning issues kept pushing the date back, eventually opening it's doors in early April. We were hoping Fire Creek would became the area's finest new restaurant, as the Philly suburbs are way too crowded with crappy chains like Ruby Tuesdays, Bonefish, etc and can definetly use a great non-chain dining option.

The Mrs. and I went for a late dinner, 8:30pm on Friday night 4/10/09. There was a 30 minute wait for a table, however we did find a high top bar table and remained there, as the menu is shared between the bar and the restaurant proper. I order Steak Frites and was able to swap out the Peppercorn Sauce for the Sauce Bearnaise. While the Bearnaise wasn't homemade, it didn't seem, the steak and the garlic/parsley fries were fantastic. Cooked perfectly with a juicy pink center and served very hot, it was one of the best steak frites plates I've ever had, including those I enjoyed in Parisian bistros. The Mrs. had the Left Coast Chicken sandwich and it was only okay. The chicken was littered with black pepper and the promised Avocado amounted to a smidgen of avocado spread. The delightful server brought additional spread and the Mrs. was able to remove much of the peppery outer layer, so the sandwich was able to be enjoyed.

For dessert we shared the Apple Cider Donut Bread Pudding, with donuts from a local farm, which was absolutely delicious but was more of a Donut Cake than bread pudding.

Go try Fire Creek in Downingtown, while they've only been open a couple weeks, it seems many of the kinks have already been worked out. I have a feeling Fire Creek may end up being the western suburbs finest restaurant.

Free valet parking on weekends! The outdoor patio along the Brandywine River is gorgeous and will be a popular space come the warm evenings of summertime.