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Firestone's Culinary Tavern, Classic American on N. Market Street in Frederick - Chef Andrew Mayer Replaces Dave Rusk


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Ventured out to Frederick yesterday for brunch at Firestone's, located on the main drag of Market Street. It's gotten a couple quick mentions in the Dining in Frederick thread, but figured I'd expand on it a bit. I was being a temporary teetotaler yesterday so I didn't bother opening the drink menu, but it appears that it has a reputation of being a good bar. The lounge area was quite nice and there was a decent jazz band playing throughout our meal, which was a nice touch.

We started off with crab dip, which was served with two small loaves of bread and some carrots and cucumbers. Despite the sherry, the crab dip wasn't too rich and the large amount of cheese made dipping a bit difficult, but it was good. The eggs benedict was a hit and my grandmother, born and raised in New York City on delis, was quite happy with her hot pastrami sandwich. The meat was quite red and lean and she was pleased with it. I decided to spoil myself and get my once-a-year order of biscuits and gravy, which weighed me down (duh! it's biscuits and gravy!) but hit the spot. It probably wasn't the best item to order on the menu, but it caught my eye while I was in the mood. The burgers looked delicious and our waitress also recommended the Frittata, but nobody in our party went with either option.

Their website lists a bunch of awards from OpenTable, Frederick Magazine and Wine Spectator. The bottom line is that it's not going to blow you away like Volt, but if you're in downtown Frederick on a whim and wanted a classier meal it wouldn't be a bad choice at all. I'd be interested in going back for an upscale dinner and a night out if I was in the area and the occasion called for it.

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http://firestonesrestaurant.com/

Firestone's Culinary Tavern

105 North Market Street Frederick, MD 21701

Hours: tues.- sat. 11am-1:30am

sun - 10am-1am

closed mondays

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The 360 degree tour is neat - looks like a great space with the tin ceiling, mezzanine level and stained glass accents.

What's the general dress like?  I'm often in Frederick in jeans and sneakers - OK for Family Meal, not for Volt.  Would I be OK here?

edit - being called a Tavern, and being in Frederick, I would think that so long as my attire is modest I'd be welcome.  But - I don't want to be 'that guy' who makes the other diners uncomfortable.  So I'm hoping someone can chime in with the overall dress vibe as it looks like it could go either way.  I promise a full review when I do go.

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This is, first and foremost, a bar, and the dress is as casual as you like.  You would basically need to vomit on the floor before anyone there starts to judge you.  I only know this because I have been in the bar with someone who vomited on the floor.  She was not made to leave, although I would have preferred she had.

The food is great, though, and the upstairs dining room is removed from the crazy but retains a good view of it all.  I was once one of the crazies, but it's been a good long while.  I've eaten there recently and would recommend it. It's fairly sedate during Saturday dinner hours, but gets considerably more interesting after 10 p.m. Friday is busy from happy hour until close.

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jayandstacey, I read your post a few hours before heading to a lunch meeting at the Tasting Room, so I popped in to Firestone to have a look and talked with the bartender for a few minutes.  Basically, what RWBoone says - "really turns into a bar" after 10pm, before that, any manner of dress, fine for family/children, a little quieter upstairs.

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This is, first and foremost, a bar, and the dress is as casual as you like.  You would basically need to vomit on the floor before anyone there starts to judge you.  I only know this because I have been in the bar with someone who vomited on the floor.  She was not made to leave, although I would have preferred she had.

The food is great, though, and the upstairs dining room is removed from the crazy but retains a good view of it all.  I was once one of the crazies, but it's been a good long while.  I've eaten there recently and would recommend it. It's fairly sedate during Saturday dinner hours, but gets considerably more interesting after 10 p.m. Friday is busy from happy hour until close.

I'm proud to say that I've hurled in a Michelin Three-Star.

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We really enjoyed this place and I can't believe we've walked by it for 15 years and just passed it up.  I figured it was a burger and frozen-fries bar scene.

The highlight for me is the space - a clubby brick-and-leather downstairs bar is flanked on 3 sides by a mezzanine level restaurant seating.  All tables have good people-watching from above the bar, and the tables near the front an also see out the giant windows to the street activity.

We enjoyed the Artisanal Cheese (all 3) $19.   While a little pricey, the cheeses were excellent - a nice blue cheese that was very earthy (I usually dislike blue cheese as it tastes (to me) like a cheese with bits of tin foil in it.  This was sharp but...subtle, not metallic sharp.  very nice), a Cardona goat cheese that was nice and mellow and an Airco cheese with a bit of a smoky flavor.

We split the Artisanal Grilled Pizza $12 that I thought was so-so.  The mascarpone tasted odd to me and the inner crust wasn't as crispy as I prefer.  We did eat all of it and saw others enjoying the same.  If this was a nadir, it wasn't a disappointment and seemed a very good value.  We also split the Seared "Diver" Scallops $31 over grits with spinach.  The dish seems really simple and thankfully so - it doesn't mask the buttery scallops.  Though a bit expensive for the preparation we really enjoyed the large scallops.

The service was excellent - skilled waitstaff, waters topped off, amuse bouche, melon sorbet palate cleanser - I'd never expect this kind of stuff from the outside look of the place.

So it's been there 15 years and has a market and makes their own pastrami and all these wonderful things.  I guess, as for us finding this, better late than never :)

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Frederick has some great old spaces: I've always enjoyed the pressed tin ceiling in this building.  But to tell the truth, foodwise I preferred the previous incarnation, when it was still Donnelly's.  The food was better (the chowder was a must-have) and the bar less hip than those first few years after the changeover.  Guess I should give them another spin since it's been a while.

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