I concur with many people who are seriously disappointed about our new addition to the neighborhood. Some of it is forgivable -- waiters who seem unclear on beer/food, the service perhaps being a little slow, and the kitchen not getting things quite right yet. But others are not in my book. First, FS1 still calls itself a brewing company when it is not brewing anything, and worse than that, a lot of what they are serving is some of the most generic beer around. Here's what was being offered today in bottle: Coors, Miller, Bud, Michelob, Heineken, and Corona. They also had Newcastle Brown Ale, but I don't find that very interesting anymore. As one might expect they did have H&L to offer too, but that along doesn't cut it for me. The taps were not that different -- Bud, Stella, Yuengling, and then two H&L varieties. My assessment of the beer selection: boring!!
My hope was that at least I'd have good beer to drink since I was not expecting great food, but now we have the mix of average food and boring beer. As people have already complained the menu is generic and very uninspiring. I know this place is not a chain, but man, it really does feel like it. What else can you say about chicken wings, queso sticks, wraps, pizza, burgers and sandwiches.
These dishes could be somewhat interesting if done right, but it appears FS1 is trying not to offend anyone with its dishes. I'm guessing these meals would fit in without anyone blinking their eyes at Ruby Tuesdays or TGIF. It's like they had a formula and they followed it without letting any creativity get in the way. This restaurant is a business plain and simple. To me it primary mission is to make money, not serve good food or provide good brews.
While food-wise I can only comment on my lunch and it was mediocre at best. A Caesar salad and a fried mahi-
mahi wrap. The salad was fine, but not worth $7.99. The wrap was pretty much tasteless - not sure where the cajun aioli was or the pico de gallo. In addition, the tortilla which wrapped the sandwich was not that hot - even cold in some 
places. And check out the McCormick salt and pepper. Wow, this places takes their food serious!! Also my pint of Sam Adams was $5.50, a little too steep in my opinion. I could see $5.00, but would prefer $4.50. It is only Sam Adams. To accompany my beer I had a glass of soda water -- $2.39! Not acceptable for carbonated water.The office worker who was sitting next to me asked how my wrap was and I told him. I think I convinced him to get something else, but he never had the chance since no one wanted to take his order. He waited patiently and then finally left. I bet he ate better elsewhere. Maybe he got a gyro!
Not sure what else to say about the place. I do not expect to be back unless the place gets a serious makeover. I typically grade on a sometimes pretty easy curve when restaurants are walking distance to my house, but this place still gets a failing grade.
And for those
interested in the World Cup, FS1 does have 4 big TVs behind the bar, but not surprisingly the bartenders did not know if the games would be televised. Even if they are, I bet the muzak will not go away, so no volume on the games. Just head a block north on the Avenue to Olazzo. They already have their World schedule out on the street.All right, I need a $1.25 pupusa to make things right again.
21 comments:
Thanks for taking one for the team. This place is a major disappointment given what we have all been hoping and waiting for. I was toying with the idea of going, but am not fooled by the overly positive reviews on yelp. Have a papusa - you'll feel better!
I went for dinner last Saturday night. My friend and I had their "rib eye", which was OK at best (it was overcooked, but that will hopefully get worked out). My girlfriend had the salmon which she said was good, it was perfectly cooked (thank goodness b/c overcooked fish is aweful). Another friend had a burger, which she was satisfied with. We had some boneless chickenwings which were OK, and some ranch fries which were also OK. I had a H&L beer and tried the firestation 1 beer which they said was their own. Both beers were good. The waitress also explained that they were looking into acquiring the building next door (Aamco) to do the brewing there. Not sure who is right on whether they actually have any of their own beer.
All in all, the food wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either; it certainly wasn't anything to write home about. In fact, if I had to describe the food, I would call it unoriginal.
Hopefully they will hear everyone's complaints and improve their menu.
Sounds as bad as the decor looks in the photos at ThayerAvenue. To me, it is the exact opposite of what a brewpub should look like (others have compared it to a TGI Friday's or an Applebees). Who would want to spend any time in there?
Between that, your review, and the lame, lame McCormick's salt and pepper shakers on the tables, it seems that this place is far more suited for the mediocre dreck of Hellsworth Avenue than what we are really hoping for on a renewed Georgia Avenue: places with a soul.
We had dinner there Saturday night. Found the staff very eager, chatty, trying to get things right. Explained that this was a 'soft launch' so I'm sure that all of this feedback is appreciated.
I agree that the safe approach seems to be the line here. I had the Lobster BLT where I found the saltiness of the bacon overpowering the lobster. My wife had the burger - a little rare but good. Our toddler enjoyed his chicken fingers and good on them for serving the kids meals with a side of veggies instead of fries.
This place has potential and I think we can forgive some of the 'finding themselves' moments. I'd much rather have an independent operator in this spot than an Outback Steakhouse or similar.
And good job on the renovation!
Funny that the last poster mentioned Outback Steakhouse because one of the FS1 owners owns three of them in Virginia! I imagine this is why there are all of these poor reviews here and on other blogs. This is so unfortunate. A special building like this deserves a special restaurateur.
Agree with the food analysis, bland. The space can't be beat though and the outdoor seating does wonders for the street scape. Not playing devils advocate, but the food can (hopefully) change, but we need more life in the hood, and in this it delivers.
Three Outbacks - that explains a lot. And I agree that FS1 would certainly be a better fit on Ellsworth. I'll be curious to see how the place fares in the coming months. I assume other restauranteurs who might be considering downtown SS to set up shop will also be keeping an eye on FS1.
Didn't the owners buy this place for $2.5 million? Does anyone really think a bank would make that sort of loan for a restauant unless the owners have considerable experience owning/managing restaurants. I agree that Outback is nothing special, but I'd rather having something in that space rather than nothing. And if the place does not succeed, I'm guessing that the place will remain empty for a long time.
@Anonymous 2:21: Yes, something is better than nothing, but if FS1 is the spearhead of a mediocre redevelopment of Georgia, then we'll have gone from urban blight to suburban bland. That's progress only in that you won't die from being knifed or shot, but from boredom and dismay.
Just tried it. Had the Lobster BLT, lobster definitely frozen, pretty mediocre. The space though is pretty cool, especially that upstairs area. That could be a fun place to watch sports if they add TV's.
The people who greet you when you walk in the door, while waiting for a table, while you sit down, while you order, while you wait for your food etc need to STOP. They need to organize their staff. Have one or two people greet people and seat them, not 5. The whole thing was pretty chaotic. In the future I'll be going to drink, not eat.
I'm sorry, but I can't take most of the reviewers seriously. It sounds like people from Bethesda moved to Silver Spring (oh wait)...
"the lame, lame McCormick's salt and pepper shakers on the tables" Seriously? That is a concern!?
This is still a SOFT opening, and work is obviously not complete. Give the place a month or two to work out the kinks with food and service, and complete the little details-such as salt and pepper shakers and railings.
This has nothing to do with Bethesda v. Silver Spring v. anywhere else. As a community, we all live, work, and/or play here and have an interest in seeing Silver Spring be the best it can be. I think it's great that the community is so vocal - it's a great way for current and future restauranteurs to hear from their potential customer base. And I must say, those McCormick's S&P sets also caught my eye...details are important.
I don't know about other people, but I moved to Silver Spring from D.C. But even if I or others moved here from Bethesda, so what?
Tacky is tacky. FS1 had ample opportunity to prepare for its opening, and thus far, its opening has been lackluster, from the salt & pepper shakers to the beers on tap.
Nobody is saying that they cannot regroup and come back in a better way (for one thing, they can either start brewing beer or drop the brewpub charade altogether), but it is legitimate to criticize the things we do not like about the place thus far.
In fact, in its tackiness and apparent lowest common denominator appeal, FS1 seems to be more suggestive of Bethesda than the relatively new restaurants in DTSS that most of us here truly enjoy, such as Olazzo or Ghar-E-Kabob.
I hope FS1 reevaluates itself and perhaps even considers the comments here and elsewhere. If not, then fine, that's their choice, but it is not the direction that I, at least, want to see DTSS go in.
Starting with the tacky "Fire Station" logo out front with the campy plastic flames, I knew this place would be a super-sized version of the Piratz Tavern up the road. lol
"This restaurant is a business plain and simple. To me it primary mission is to make money, not serve good food or provide good brews." If that's the case, how pray-tell do you think they'll make any money? You are precluding that good food and brew are NOT necessary for a restaurant to make money. Does that even make sense? With that being said I have not yet tried the food. But to make the argument you did is really weak. You are completely eliminating the consumer from the equation, or in other words, the very thing that is required in order for such a place to stay open. Horribly flawed logic my friend.
It just amazes me that the people behind this business actually messed this up. They started with a great concept... buy an old fire station and make a restaurant. That was probably the hardest part of this business plan, coming up with the idea. Everything else is easy after that. Create your logo and branding using old style typefaces that were once used in old fire stations right? No! We're gonna take a beautiful concept and historic building and make it look like a kids ride at an amusement park. That sign on the front was expensive... and stupid.
The website... is horrible at best. Looks like a site built in 1995 the day after the web was introduced. If you're going to create a successful business then you need to look good... and before even entering the front door FS1 does not look good. It's almost as if it was impossible to mess up... but they did.
They need to close this place down for 2 months. Rebrand and spend some money on a good chef. There needs to be a clear and obvious change here for people to change their minds.
The reviews all over the web have been horrible. The menu has no focus. Might as well add Ethiopian and Burmese food to the menu. Why even bother selling pizza with Pacchi's a few stores down? Especially when the reviews for the pizza are that it's soggy, undercooked and too hot to touch... how is that even possible?! Take 75% of the stuff on the menu off the menu. Simplify. This is 2010 not 1990. Buy better ingredients for 25% of the menu left over and hire an actual chef to come in and flavor it.
I'm sure I'll post again after I give this place another chance.
"Starting with the tacky "Fire Station" logo out front with the campy plastic flames, I knew this place would be a super-sized version of the Piratz Tavern up the road. lol"
I love Piratz Tavern. The place is sincere, from the pirate-obsesssed staff to the decor. They don't pretend to be anything else, and there is zero snob factor. There patio is one of the best places to relax on a comfortable night, and I know of few other venues where you can hang out for hours playing backgammon and checkers (as I and Mrs. Springvale Roader do) while listening to pirate themed rap.
Arrrr!
We went for dinner last Friday and as expected the staff were confused from the menu offerings to the delivery of the food (they delivered our dinners and lost our toddler's dinner...bad move!). Consistent with other commenters, the pizza was extremely soggy and tasteless. The wrap was full of lettuce, but chicken and undried tomatoes were hard to find. They ran out of their own beer at 6 pm on a Friday! Cinnamon ice cream was a definite find. We liked the design of the place and the outdoor seating, but the food and beer selection need some serious revisiting. On our way out, we saw the valet taking a drink of what APPEARED to be a beer (color of a light beer with some head on top). Huge turnoff, but can't confirm, so self park in the garage around the corner to be safe. Your better served hitting 8407 Kitchen & Bar, Olazzo or Ghar e Kabab for a tastier meal and better ambiance. Can't wait to try Pacci's pizza which we heard was outstanding.
What is "their" beer? They aren't brewing, and have said they don't plan to in the near future. They claimed Daily Crisis as theirs, and that's really a Red Brick Station regular offering. And Hook and Ladder is involved in the project, so that isn't "theirs"
And yes, Pacci's is outstanding!
correction: H&L *isn't* involved in the project.
I have to dissent a bit. We had dinner there tonight. There are a few things we hated, such as the inept and untrained guy at the front door and the weird system of getting your name on the list. Definitely off-putting.
We ate upstairs, where it wasn't too loud, and I have to say for the most part the food was pretty good.
I ordered linguine with walnut pesto and it was awful, but when I let the waitress know, she speedily got me another entree, and a manager came around and apologized and gave me a coupon for a free appetizer. The replacement meal was tasty.
It's not perfect but I think it's ok. My family and I would go again. We love Olazzo and other local non-chain places but this place was fine.
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