I kind of regarded this place as the de facto restaurant around Newark to get gourmet burger after our first & pleasant encounter here. Even though the burger isn’t one of those that are loaded with stuff, it is definitely loaded with flavor. Since I had been working hard the entire week to produce a last minute report for my project, and to give a quick shout out to Nicolas because he made it all possible, we decided to treat ourselves to this fancy restaurant, once again. I brought along my “new” camera and lens this time – you might notice that the pictures are of a better quality than before.
Unlike the last time we were here, Redfire Grill was filled with diners. Be aware, we are talking about a Wednesday that drizzled the entire morning and it wasn’t a spectacular weather by any means, so we were expecting ourselves to be the only patrons. Even with a larger crowd, the restaurant continued to draw the same older diversity just like before. We were seated promptly and served by a much younger waitress compare to everyone else in there. It only took us a couple of seconds to decide on two burgers and some wings. I went back for their famous RedFire Burger for the sack of having some photos for this blog post while Nicolas got the Steakhouse burger, which is definitely a take on the Swiss mushroom burger. I complained on the previous post that this place did not serve decently priced items other than the burger but now I have to take that back. They have an entire sandwich menu that are priced around $10+ and is of a similar portion to the burger, so fear not if you aren’t a beef person. I think the price on the salad are still kind of ridiculous, but that’s also the reason I never order salad as an entree.
The plate of Redfire wings came out first. The wings (there were 9, it was an odd number :D) were drizzled with both Thai buffalo sauce and chipotle ranch and displayed beautifully on a plate. It always bothered me when I have to eat wings and burgers at a fine diner – do you eat them with your hands or with utensils? I opted for the more efficient way this time, which was to use my hands, but by the time we finished the appetizers, I had created a huge mess. The kitchen was very kind to consider the likes of me who dine here because they provided us with wet toilette on top of a pile of serviette. The wings themselves were succulent but the meat was not tender enough as to fall off the bone; the sauce, on the other hand, was rather unique. It was a combination of spiciness and sourness, but just a slight hint on the sourness. Both of us are fans of sour so we would have appreciated a bolder taste, but that probably wouldn’t work well with the audience here. The wings were deep fried and probably stirred fried again later, but the point is that the crispy skin did not have too much batter. Overall, solid wings.
As I was debating if I should wash my hands before the main course (I did not after realizing that I will be using my hands again), both of our burgers were served. Our burgers were also served on the same white rectangular plate with a pile of peanut oil fried thinly cut French Fries. Presentation-wise, the Steakhouse burger looked more appetizing with the mushrooms toppings spilling out of the burger. Flavor-wise, I still enjoy their in-house made 1000 island sauce on the patty. The bun was still soft and the bacon was crispy. However, the burger was kind of firm for some unknown reason and the bacon lacked the Applewood smoke I tasted on the previous visit. Don’t get me wrong – I still love this burger even if it is just for the 1000 island sauce, but I think the quality might have dropped from before.
We probably spent an hour there and the manager asked for our opinions 3 times in that short period. I don’t think I ever gotten that much attention from the shift manager, and considering that there were so many patrons in the restaurant, he was doing a great job. Speaking of the atmosphere, it is a place to go for a nice date. We did not feel that the place was too crowded or too noisy with this many people and I credit that to the spacious floor plan that provided enough privacy between tables.
P.s. Title is kind of misleading because this is technically located in Hockessin and not Newark. Check my previous post on the burger here.
Website: http://www.redfiregrill.net/
Address: 400 Lantan Dr, Hockessin, DE 19707
Visited: April 8th, 2015 at 12pm for lunch.