Firewood Cafe

4248 18th Street

Tel: 415-252-0999

I have a word of warning for those of you who walk into Firewood (whether in the Castro, at the Metreon or at SFO): Firewood's idea of a 'Garden Salad' with some fixings could feed you for a week. I made the mistake of ordering a pasta entree, and then thinking, I'd like a little salad too...I thought, I know I'll get the garden salad. You know, I expected some shredded lettuce, maybe shredded carrots, a couple of croutons and a cherry tomato.

Mountains of food arrived at my table. Mountains of pasta, mountains of salad, each accompanied by several slices of bread. So be warned: the 'Garden Salad' is a meal. And a pretty economical one at under $7. If you want some petite, girly little salad to go with dinner...order the 'Side Salad'.

Firewood is the kind of place where you order at a counter, take a number and they bring you the food. But it's definitely making an effort to be a step above many such places. They have nice little bowls of olives on each table, and their salads (in addition to being gargantuan) are also of the 'Build Your Own' variety. You get to choose 3 add-ons for your salad from a list of creative and yummy choices, such as roasted beets, green apples, gorgonzola, sweet white corn cut off the cob.

Frankly, the salad way overshadowed my pasta dish, which was pretty unmemorable. Some of my carnivorous dining companions got some meat dishes, including roasted chicken and salmon, and both seemed pleased with their choice. I also tried some of their "finger foods" from the deli case, such as vegetarian dolmas and roasted red peppers and goat cheese. Both were fine.

We selected Firewood in the first place because a large group of us were going to a movie at the Castro and expected to arrive at various different times. It was a perfect spot for everyone to arrive at their pace, order (and pay) separately, yet with plenty of room for us to sit together. It also looks like a great place to pop by if you're alone and want a healthy nosh break. In addition to tables which can be moved around and linked up for large groups there are seats at counter facing out on the street.

Quick, fresh and economical (if you actually know how much you're getting and don't over-order!)

5/18/04 by Elisa Camahort

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