Fireside Grille: The new date night hot spot

Fireside Grille offers an alternative dining experience that contrasts to most restaurants in the area not only in its menu, but also in its ambiance.

The Fireside Grille, located off the Shepherd exit on 127, is part of the newly designed clubhouse of Maple Creek Golf Course and offers Euro-American cuisine in a classy, but comfortable environment.

“Our warm, elegant interior design is very inviting,” Jonathan Hebel said, who is the 27-year-old manager of the restaurant.

But it’s not only the paint that makes the restaurant classy. The food quality is far superior to what one would expect in a rural, mid-Michigan town.

The chefs use seasonal, organic vegetables from Monroe Farms in nearby Alma to keep the side dishes as fresh as possible. Fireside Grille only uses premium ingredients and returns produce that is not up to their standards.

“The food quality is there,” Hebel said, “It’s like night and day compared to a chain restaurant.”

Fireside Grille is a restaurant that constantly has new updates and deals. The restaurant has daily food specials, happy hour from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. every evening and live music on the patio in summer.

“We’re going on our fourth menu in two years,” Hebel said. “We keep it fresh and exciting.”

Eating here isn’t only about the food, but it’s also about the experience. With every meal, customers receive an amuse-bouche, or a gift from the chef, usually in the form of a hors d’oeuvre, and the experience is finished off with a complimentary chocolate truffle.

Favorite dishes on the menu include the Cedar Wrap Salmon, in which a salmon is cooked on a cedar plank, allowing the natural flavors of the wood to absorb into the fish.

There is also the Artichoke Parmesan Chicken, which consists of artichoke dip spread on top of chicken breast sprinkled with Parmesan cheese. Other popular dishes are Pulled Pork Nachos and the restaurant’s meatloaf.

The restaurant offers a venue for wedding receptions, semi formals, open houses, birthday parties, and other celebrations.

“Anything you don’t want to cook for or clean for, we do it,” Hebel said.

Fireside Grille offers fresh food in a classy atmosphere and is the perfect place for those looking for a high-end meal in a comfortable setting.