Firebird Russian Restaurant

Firebird Russian Restaurant
365 West 46th Street - Map
Between 8th and 9th Avenues
New York
(212) 586-0244
Pre-Revolution Russian Cuisine

Winter Restaurant Week in NYC again. Another opportunity to smuggle myself in to one of the more expensive culinary venues in our great city. This time around, Firebird Russian Restaurant - the love-child of J. William Holt and wife Irina von der Launitz (who is apparently the granddaughter of the late Vladimir von der Launitz, former mayor of St. Petersburg), is housed in a townhouse whose entrance spans two-stories.

Judging by the embellished and pretentious lobby, with green marble-like columns flanking doorways, rich colors, and Fabergé eggs showcased in glass cases, one would expect a mighty fine dining experience. Immediately past the lobby, there's a small waiting area by the bar, with a live pianist playing on the piano, and the bar was heavily stocked with a variety of vodkas from all over the world. The drink menu was particularly impressive with 4 pages listing various vodkas by country. The wine list was also impressive. Firebird was not afraid to show a bit of a whimsical side with a section of the menu devoted to special cocktail drinks with names like Flirtini - vodka mixed with chambord, grapefruit juice, and topped with champagne.

On this particular evening, my sister and I arrived earlier than the rest of our party, so we of course decided to indulge our senses at the bar. I personally was debating between a Kir Royale or the Flirtini, while my sister settled on a cool glass of their Riesling (which, I have to say, was delicate, and apple-fruity). I settled on the Flirtini (I figured, looks like a cosmo, but should taste different!). It tasted more of the grapefruit juice, but the champagne added a nice texture, and the chambord a nice color - even though I would have preferred more of a balanced flavor. I imagine the vodka was supposed to just add that alcoholic kick, I must not have noticed it over the décor. I would like to mention that the bartender, a giant of a man, was not particularly attentive to his patrons. He looked busy, but after careful observation, he was just moving around a lot, and not paying much attention to either mixing drinks or the clientèle waiting to place an order. After waiting for what seemed like an exasperating amount of time, we were eventually served. Slowly, the rest of my party arrived, and the very friendly host (not in a pretentious, but sincere way) caught my attention so that I may round us all up.

We were escorted into the next room, and one of the servers, bedecked in a starched, white coat, with gilded cuffs and buttons pulled the table out of a large booth, allowing 6 of us to slide in comfortably, and seating 2 of our party at the exposed end of the table. We were distributed their restaurant week 3-course menu, and their wine selection. The wine selection was meager at best. They only offered a handful of wines, by the bottle only ($45). When I asked for the more extensive list, I was given a shady answer to the effect of them relocating their wines to a different cellar and so the wines are not all accessible. I doubt it. I think they were just limiting the selection for restaurant week patrons. Ew. Consequently, we ordered no wine at all, and ordered cocktails instead, c'est la vie.

The menu was not all that exciting, actually. The offering for the first course was either the Soup of the Day, which was a silky a lusciously thick soup of root vegetables, with a distinct zucchini flavor - overall, not bad at all, the Firebird salad, a small amount of fresh goat cheese, topped with a mound of mixed greens, barely dressed with a bland vinaigrette, topped with a very thinly sliced piece of roasted pain de mie, acting as a crouton. The last offering was a pork pierogie. I immediately was drawn to that, since it seemed the most interesting of the 3 appetizers. I was mistaken. Two tiny pieces of puff pastry dough, filled with pork, and served with a small arugala side-salad (which, I might add, was undressed). The dough was overwhelming, and the pork was bland. There wasn't even a sauce to dip into to help soften the bready crust and to possibly add another dimension of flavor to the pork. One other member of our group ordered the same dish, and he too reflected my sentiments.

For the second course, they offered the chicken kiev, a vegetable risotto, salmon in a puff pastry dough, and a beef stroganov. Turns out nobody ordered the beef stroganov, so I cannot comment on its virtues (or vices). I happened to order the chicken kiev, which was served as a whole breast with a manchonéed wing tip, and breaded, atop a small bed of steamed small dice of sweet potato. As soon as I cut into the breast, like a perfectly timed show, the inner compound butter juices, which have melted, oozed out deliciously over the entire plate, "finishing it off," so-t0-speak. This being my first chicken kiev experience, I found the flavors to be delicious. The compound butter was delicious, the chicken breast was perfectly moist but meaty, and the breaded crust added a wonderful contrasting texture. Furthermore, the sweet potato was a nice addition to the savory juices. While I enjoyed this dish, I was not blown away by it. There were no sparks. It was just good.

The other dish that I thought was executed well was the salmon cooked in a thin puff pastry crust, and was stuffed with rice and egg. The salmon was not overcooked, and was still deliciously moist. The beurre blanc sauce was garnished around the fish center-piece. I have to say, this was a VERY good beurre blanc sauce. Not too heavy, not too acidic, a perfect balance of the two, and well seasoned. Again, a very good dish, but I wasn't blown away by it. The risotto was probably the most disappointing dish, actually. I didn't care for the texture, it wasn't as creamy as I would have liked, and I didn't like the taste of it. It wasn't bad, just not to my personal liking.

Finally for dessert, there was no option, we all were served the chocolate-orange tarte. Mine was accompanied by a cup of Earl Grey tea (since I didn't care for the other tea options). The tea was served in a tall glass cup, and placed in an ornate metal base with a handle - very traditional Russian tea accoutrement. I asked for sugar cubes, and they looked at me like it was the oddest request. Apparently, Firebird isn't that authentic. The chocolate tarte was really a chocolate mousse pressed into a small pyramid mold and plated. It tasted chocolaty and creamy, but for a tarte, I was expecting at least a crust. The dessert was ok, and I was hoping for a richer chocolate flavor, but I was sadly disappointed.

While my friends and I had a wonderful time at Firebird Russian Restaurant, it was more because of the pleasant company than due to the venue. The food was ok, but if you're interested in the show, and not so much in the substance, then Firebird is probably the restaurant for you.