The Fireside Martini Grill
Basic Information:
Hot, Mild, Honey Mustard, Garlic Parm, Hot Garlic Parm, Porketta, Thai Sweet n Hot, BBQ, Mango Habanero, Honey Hot, Bourbon Street, Gold Fever
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The Fireside Martini Grill - 11/02/23
Overall Rating: 75
Lynch SerniakLynch's Rating: 39 out of 50
Environment: 8
The Fireside Martini Grill is a restaurant in Dunmore that lives up to the name, especially if you opt to sit outside. While I’ve driven by Fireside many times in the past, this is my first time actually stopping in. I always thought it looked cool at night time as they have lots of outdoor seating with fire pits at many of the tables. Even though we visited as the weather was getting cold, we still requested an outdoor seat in hopes of experiencing the fire pit tables. Unfortunately, we were given a table without a fire pit, but I’m sure if we did specifically ask for one, the hostess would have accommodated. Regardless, since the outdoor area is covered and enclosed, you could still enjoy your experience without being too cold. As we walked through the other rooms to the outdoor section, I noticed lots of seating, with many of the tables already filled even though it was only 6 on a Thursday. The bar section also contained a good amount of bar-height tables and seats at the bar. They also offer a good variety of cocktails and martinis, which again, is very fitting for the name. Our waitress was quick with our drinks and orders, but it did take a while for the wings to arrive. When they did come out though, they were really hot.
Wing Size: 9
Whether you visit The Fireside Martini Grill on Wednesday for their wing buffet, or on Thursday for their wing special, you’ll definitely get a good deal. For the buffet, you only pay $12.95 for all the wings you can eat, Depending on how many you take down, that can be a great price per wing. I’m not 100% sure on the logistics of the buffet, whether they provide you every flavor, but a wing buffet sounds pretty cool regardless. We went on Thursday, which they offer 10 wings for $5.95, which, again, is a pretty great deal. These were some pretty large wings as well. They don’t allow splitting of order, so Serniak and I had to coordinate options to ensure a good spread of flavors.
Wing Flavors: 6
Fireside offers a decent spread of flavors, covering most of your classics with a couple unique flavors for those more adventurous. There were no signs or mention of anything off menu, so what you see if what you get. I do like that they try some interesting mixes such as Porketta, Bourbon Street, and Gold Fever.
Wing Taste (x2): 8
As I mention above, they don’t allow splitting of orders, so we didn’t have that many options on this visit. In typical Wing Men fashion, since this was our first visit, we ordered the plain Hot. This wing sauce has a pretty good flavor with a strong vinegar and cayenne kick, giving the wing a nice, spicy kick. They did seem a bit more on the saltier side. I also ordered the Hot Garlic Parm. These wings were really delicious. The Parm balanced out the hot with a good amount of garlic flavor. They had an appealing orange sauce with an enjoyable butter flavor. I definitely recommend these wings
Serniak's Rating: 36 out of 50
Environment: 8
The Fireside Martini Grill located in Dunmore is a very elegant place that also allows you the opportunity to kick back, have a cocktail, and down some wings all while being next to a fire. Who doesn’t love that?
I got the feel of an Italian restaurant when I stepped inside. It’s the kind of place that a blazer would look really good in.
We sat in the location of the fire pits but unfortunately, they were already being occupied. That’s just fate and I won’t tempt it.
There is a decently sized indoor area that houses the bar. The outside area has about 6-8 tables one of them able to incorporate a large group. Even if you’re lucky enough to have done right in a past life and get to sit at one of the fire pits, I’d still wear enough layers to keep warm. It’s that time of the year in case you were unaware.
Our server was pleasant and informed us of how Wing Night worked. She also explained some of the wing flavors there were.
Wing Size: 9
Fireside Martini Grill has a really good deal on their wing night, which is on a Thursday. It’s 5.95 for 10 wings. In today’s world of escalating prices, that’s not bad at all.
And it wasn’t like the wings were tiny or anything like that. I would say they were slightly above average in terms of size and girthness.
Wing Flavors: 7
11 sauces is what you can get at The Fireside. The standard sauces are available along with porketta, Thai sweet and hot, bourbon street, and Gold Fever. Gold Fever is a hot and mustard blend.
It’s another place where if they incorporated ranch into some of the flavors they already have, that list would increase and it wouldn’t take too much effort since ranch can be found in just about every structure on Earth.
Wing Taste (x2): 6
You can’t split up wings at The Fireside so Lynch and I each got two flavors and split everything.
I could have used a bit more crispiness with the wings. It’s not like it’s a deal breaker or anything but I would rather them have more crisp to them.
First, we have the hot. The hot was very solid. The sauce had a nice spice to it but nothing too hot where you’re going to have a problem.
Next was the Hot garlic parm. That same hot flavor was throughout. For the parm they had shaved slices of parmesan cheese in there which is a nice touch and visually cool to look at. It is a chore to try and have that shaved parm on your wing. You often have to place it on the wing yourself.
On to the mango habanero. This flavor was much more sweet than hot. I would put the percentage at an 80/20 sweet-to-hot ratio. Naturally, I wanted that kick of heat from the habanero and it never really happened.
Finally, I had the porketta with an added bonus of the Gold Fever to dip it in. The reason this happened is that I wanted to try the Gold Fever to see if I liked it and I did. Then I thought it be smart to dip the Porketta dry rub into it. I’m telling you right now that the Gold Fever enhanced the porketta. It’s like the secret ooze from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2. It’s exactly like that. The porketta is a dry rub but there is a buttery wetness that I really enjoy.