Fire: A Warm Spot in Grayton Beach
33 Clayton Lane, Grayton Beach, 231-9020
Hours: Lunch 11:30-2 p.m. M-F
Dinner 5:30 p.m. M-Sat
Sunday Brunch 11 a.m.


By Bruce Collier November 15, 2007 Issue

The decision to eat at Fire was made almost at the last minute. We were scheduled to eat elsewhere, but switched off and took our chances without a reservation. Fire is located on Clayton Lane, which you may not know, but if I told you it’s on CR283, one block north of CR-30A, it should be more familiar.

Fire occupies a building once used as a catering business and kitchen. The place has been redecorated to accommodate diners, with a number of small, separate rooms, like a house. The walls are painted in earthy tones, and hung with abstract art and Belle-Epoque beverage posters. Wine racks sit along the walls. In the back is a large bar area, with televisions that are kept at a low volume level. Soft, jazzy music floats through the other rooms.

We were seated and given menus. The tables and chairs are of polished wood, and comfortable, with cloth table linens. Wine glasses stand at the ready, to be filled from a list of bottles or wines by the glass. Fire also has a short list of red and white wines at quite affordable prices, plus daily specials. There’s also beer, and some wine-based mixed drinks.

Our server told us that the menu varies seasonally, and that the chef sometimes changes things up daily, so what we had may not be available when you go. The organization of the menu is basic: starters, salads, and entrees. Desserts are recited at meal’s end, or at the beginning if you need to plan ahead.

My friend chose the day’s soup — smoked cheddar with pickle relish. I chose a seared Asian-style tuna, served with lettuce wraps and daikon/carrot slaw. The salads looked interesting, but we also wanted to try a selection of house dips. We ordered a trio of those, and asked the server to hold off entering our main course orders. We wanted to do a literal gut check after the starters before ordering a salad so as not to waste.

The dips came on a large plate, with endive, toasted pita slices, and corn chips in Christmas colors of green and red. We got olive, apricot habanero, and red pepper and peanut cilantro dips. They were variously creamy, salty, sweet/hot, and tangy, and made a very decorative display.

The soup had a true smoky cheddar flavor, countered by the tangy relish. My tuna was rare and tender, and filled several crunchy lettuce packages for dipping into the soy ginger vinaigrette. Other starters were flash-fried calamari, panko-crusted oysters, smoked salmon crepes, and a Gorgonzola filo with mushroom carpaccio. Despite all that we had eaten, we felt the need of a salad.

Fire offered four salads that night: grilled romaine, roasted beet, mixed greens, and pineapple with bibb lettuce. We chose the last. The lettuce came with wedges of sweet grilled pineapple, shredded cheddar, spiced walnuts, and a light buttermilk dressing. It was plenty for two.

The night was chilly, and the kitchen was roasting pheasant, so I got that. My friend chose a parmesan-crusted veal cutlet. Other entrÈes were pork roulades stuffed with duck sausage, seared scallops, butternut squash and shrimp fettucine, grilled tuna, blackened tuna, and braised short ribs. All came with imaginative sides, such as celery root remoulade relish, roasted pepper and tomato rice, Swiss chard cake, anchovy pepper and sweet potato croquettes, and cassoulet.

As we had asked, our server kept the meal leisurely, appearing regularly to refill water, pour wine, and clear away. When the entrÈes came, we were ready for them. My pheasant was plump and tender, with a date compote. It sat on a mound of pureed cauliflower (easily the best way to serve that vegetable), with crisp “walnut-scented” shoestring potatoes. My friend’s tender veal was topped with roasted mushrooms and a lemon beurre blanc. Her side was a truffled pasta “mac and cheese.”

After all this, we weren’t stuffed, just satisfied, and ready to tackle dessert. On offer was a molten chocolate-chipotle pepper soufflÈ, a devil’s food cake and cheesecake “sandwich,” key lime torte, honey or vanilla bean ice cream, and sorbets. My friend got the soufflÈ and I got the sorbets, possibly because we wanted the order to rhyme.

The soufflÈ was melting hot, and tasted like spicy cake batter — that’s a compliment. A pile of real whipped cream cooled things off. My three sorbets were melon and gew¸rztraminer, persimmon, and plum with sake, served in little martini glasses. All were light and refreshing, but the persimmon had the strongest fruit flavor. The melon got a touch of spice from the gew¸rztraminer. The plum in sake was more like a sushi-bar cocktail, and a good finish to the meal.

Look carefully for Fire. The painted sign is illuminated, but it sits off the road. You’ll not regret going, even if it requires a u-turn.

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