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REVIEWS As We Said Before, Big Portions, Fair Prices By JOANNE STARKEY New York Times GEORGE MARTIN’S GRILLFIRE
is a casual, rollicking storefront with a busy
bar and a dining room that is always crowded. Occupying the former
Max’s in Rockville Centre, it is brighter and more youthful
than its previous incarnation, with a smaller, more focused menu. The long bar has a backlighted stained-glass panel and mirrors; there are also inviting high-top tables and a banquette. The dining room has bare wood floors, with two lines of booths flanking tables in the center of the room. There are lots of mirrors and wood paneling painted in a light shade. The walls are dotted with framed black-and-white photographs of kissing couples, including the famous one with the sailor in Times Square on V-J Day. Our waitress, pointing out the photos, added, “We’re a friendly bunch.” Indeed they are. The staff is also helpful, attentive and speedy. When a diner at our table asked for espresso, our waitress regretfully told him the restaurant didn’t have it; she returned a minute later and offered to “run next door to Starbucks.” We didn’t take her up on it, but she typified the energetic can-do staff. Nine years ago, the headline on my review of Max’s was “Large Portions at Very Moderate Prices.” The same headline applies to Grillfire. The highest-priced entree is a $20 rib-eye steak with blue cheese, onion rings, salad and another side dish. Still, burgers rule this menu. The prime Angus burger ($9) was terrific, cooked medium rare as ordered and running with juices. It arrived with crisp shoestring fries, lettuce, a slice of ripe tomato, a big pickle and a choice of an add-on, like sautéed onions or bacon. We also tried the Kobe beef burger ($14); it, too, was a cooked-to-order treat, but the Angus was juicier. The po’ boy burger was also enjoyable, gilding the Angus with a topper of crunchy popcorn shrimp, a dollop of guacamole and a ramekin of rémoulade sauce. It was surf and turf on a bun.
Other good entrees were the juicy turkey meatloaf with cranberry compote, the perfectly turned out grilled salmon over green beans, popcorn shrimp with two sauces (spicy and rémoulade), and sautéed chicken breast covered with sliced portobello mushrooms and artichoke hearts. All included a choice of Caesar or house salad. The latter was more appealing, with its toppers of broccoli, sweet and sour carrots, tomatoes, chickpeas and feta cheese. For $4, diners can upgrade to one of two winning choices: the George Martin chopped salad, a mix that includes roasted peppers, golden raisins and candied walnuts, or the tomato-blue cheese chopped salad, with bacon, cucumber, lettuce and red onion. Appetizers are unnecessary, given the large portions and the salad included in the entree price. We did find some good ones, though. The crab spring roll was crunchy and loaded with seafood. Also impressive were the airy buttermilk-dipped onion rings and the basket of three fries: shoestring, waffle and addictive sweet-potato fries dusted with cinnamon. There were a couple of strikeouts among the openers: dry chicken quesadillas and vegetable pot stickers (steamed dumplings), which sat in a half-inch of water. The top three desserts were
a gooey molten-center chocolate cake with ice cream and a mound
of whipped cream; a huge, moist brownie sundae topped with ice cream,
whipped cream, tiny M & Ms and chocolate sauce (big enough for
the whole table to share), and a super strawberry shortcake: warm
slices of poundcake surrounded by heaps of fresh berries and drifts
of whipped cream.
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GRILLFIRE Our hours are: Curbside To Go Service At Rear Entrance |
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