Fireside Grill offers top quality at reasonable cost

Fireside Grill is the place for an upscale meal easy on the wallet and it’s in your own backyard. Owner Kostas Daskalakis has a conviction to giving people "the best food for the money."

Only top quality meat and seafood—certified Angus beef (aged in-house), top grade ahi tuna, free range chicken, natural scallops and fresh Gulf shrimp—are served at modest prices. Most menu items are prepared in an expansive wood-burning oven with a four-inch-thick stone base that keeps a constant temperature and requires no fat. There is no fryer on the premises.

Modest pricing and ample portions allow a diner to order an appetizer or salad plus an entrée and a tapas-style dessert without breaking the bank. Fireside Grill also offers an extensive, yet not overwhelming wine list pleasing the most novice oenophile.

Servers are informed and available to help with wine selections or to taste out a sample before ordering.

During my first visit, I was impressed when my martini was brought to the table in a chilled shaker and poured in front of me. All these little extras, plus chic gold booths with generous seating, made me feel like I was someplace other than Lorton.

This was Daskalakis original dream. Select choice ingredients, prepare them in a healthy manor and present them in a new and exciting way so you "don't have to drive down-town" to get them. He credits his partner, Tony Lagana, a veteran restaurant consultant from Orlando, Fla., as the "brain behind a lot of things, including the food."

A young Daskalakis met Lagana at Bread & Chocolate in Chevy Chase, Md., where he was a server and Lagana was the chef about 25 years ago. After five years of planning, they opened Fireside Grill in April 2007.

Lagana and Daskalakis believe their flatbread is a better alternative to traditional pizza.

Cooked in the wood burning oven using no fat or oil, these flatbreads turn out chewy, yet crisp, with impressive flavors. Ribs are served with Fireside's chunky and sweet homemade barbecue sauce, which includes Caribbean jerk seasoning and dark rum.

Thai cuisine also influences the menu. Instead of a plate mounded with fries, many dishes come with tasty slaws made with napa cabbage, fresh herbs and light vinaigrette.

Although I'm not a dessert eater, Fireside Grill won me over. Miniature ramekins of Key lime pie, crème brulee, strawberry-blueberry shortcake and chocolate mousse with Amarino cher-ries, all made fresh daily, whet your appetite when served in three-bite portions. Who could resist a $2.75 dessert? Bet you can't eat just one.

In Fireside bouillabaisse, which Daskalakis admits must stay on the menu, shrimp, lobster tail and bass mingle in a saffron-scented tomato and wine broth laced with red bliss potatoes and bell pepper. Talk about unique. The "sides" include soffrito rice, asparagus in garlic but-ter, baby spinach with applewood bacon, roasted vegetables and cheddar mashed potatoes.

Although lunch is only available Thursday through Saturday, one of my favorite items is an inno-vative plate called "surf and turf" sliders. A slider is a miniature sandwich, named for the ease with which it can be eaten. Fireside's sliders come in an assortment of three, which include Angus-chuck burger with onions and Cabot white cheddar; an Italian-style burger with pork, Italian spices and marinara; and Maryland-style crab cake with ancho remoulade sauce.

The children's menu offers grilled chicken, shrimp kabobs, quesadillas and chicken pizza. For $6.95, this menu includes drink, choice of salad or cinnamon apples plus ice cream.

And don't overlook Fireside's Sunday brunch buffet from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Beside traditional breakfast fare, one can graze on filet of beef tenderloin (cut to order), Belgian waffles, Mexican chorizo hash (made with potatoes and cheese), salmon teriyaki, shrimp and scallop pasta and a dish called "Bistro Scramble," smoked salmon with a white wine cream sauce.

Mary Ann Kauchak lives in Lake Ridge. Her third cookbook, "SHORTCUTS, TOO," is now available at Salt & Pepper Books in Occoquan or at the Potomac News office in Woodbridge. Send questions or comments in care of this paper at P.O.Box 2470, Woodbridge, VA. 22195.

WANT TO GO?

» FIRESIDE GRILL, 9000 Lortin Station Blvd.

Call: 703-372-1923

HOURS:

Monday through Wednesday 3 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Thursday 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. (live acoustic music Thursdays 7:30 to 10:30 p.m.)

Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to midnight

Sunday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. (Sunday brunch buffet 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.)