Fireside Restaurant & Bar-B-Q
947 Hope Street
Stamford, CT 06907
Telephone: 203-348-1495

The Buggisch Family has been in the food business since 1956. Taking his cues from his grandfather and father, Ernst Buggisch, after selling the family’s popular Stamford store, Atlantic Meat Market, ventured into the corporate catering arena, and now the restaurant business. Fireside Restaurant & Bar-B-Q opened in 2000 in Ernsts’ hometown of Stamford. A sister restaurant to that of his partner’s Sherwood Restaurant in Larchmont, NY, Fireside mixes hometown Americana with a little bit of  spice.

The 70-seat space, with 30 more seats at the bar, boasts a combination of patriotic paraphernalia, dark wood furnishings, and local camaraderie. A steady stream of friends and families file in on any given night for dinner, cocktails, and, of course those famous Monday night 10-cent wings (4-5 thousand wings on a Monday night! – over 1 million since opening!).  The room is energizing with large windows looking out over busy Hope Street. Commuters from the surrounding train stations are a fixture at the bustling bar.

Fireside is known for their ribs and Cajun offerings, as well as juicy burgers and scrumptious finger foods. Appetizers ($2.50 - $8.95) include a cheesy California quesadilla with scallions, guacamole, salsa, and sour cream, deep fried mozzarella sticks with marinara sauce, and potato skins filled with gooey cheddar cheese and bacon. We kept our “oldies but goodies” fest going with spicy calamari, perfectly seasoned sweet and tender squid rings, golden fried and served with a tangy tomato sauce.  Classic nachos with all the fixings are also offered, as well as garlic bread with melted mozzarella. I know, I know, a bit indulgent, but sometimes you just have to say, “what the heck.”

Moving on to Fireside’s signature barbeque entrees ($12.95-$18.95), we began with the shrimp. While these little guys held a lot of the sweet and pungent flavor of the house made sauce, the ribs are really what true barbeque is all about here.  The tender pork meat pulled away nicely from the bone and was slathered with just enough sauce so as to make them fun to eat, yet not impossible to handle. There’s also barbeque chicken and combinations of the two, all served with crunchy French fries. A side of creamy cole slaw is worth the extra couple bucks.  Cajun spiced chicken, shrimp, and even a 12 oz Angus sirloin steak, are spiked with a tad of heat and grilled for that extra smoky flavor. There’s even a Cajun chicken and pasta dish tossed with broccoli and cauliflower florets in a light parmesan cream sauce.

The menu crosses over a few more borders with sizzling fajitas, and a fabulous vegetarian Tex-Mex burrito. The bold flavors and al dente vegetables offer enough contrast that it’s easy to forget that it’s meatless. Again, the extra dollar for a side of guacamole is worth it. Fireside’s Southern fried chicken is rather unique in that it is first dipped in a sweet honey concoction then deep-fried ‘til golden.  Entrees come with a “Memphis Medley”, a combination of simply stewed tomatoes, kernel corn, and sautéed spinach.  There’s no way to make this dish sound delicious – but it is.

Burgers are a ½ pound of top grade beef and the chicken sandwiches, which come grilled, and Cajun style are quite popular with the regulars. A classic French dip sandwich is piled high with shaved roast beef and melted mozzarella and served with a side of au jus, and the grilled steak sandwich comes with sautéed onions and is served on toasted garlic bread – the way it should be.

Since our diet was already blown, there was no reason to skip dessert. Tollhouse cookie pie is a dessert staple here. This warm chocolate chip pie is topped with vanilla Haagen Dazs and hot fudge. Is there a better combination? I don’t think so.  “River bottom pie”, is what I grew up calling “mud pie”, which is coffee ice cream in a chocolate crust with hot fudge and walnuts.  If you enjoy the flavor of coffee, this is the ultimate dessert in my opinion.

My entire experience at Fireside brought me back to the days of growing up in New Canaan where I worked in a neighborhood pub called Huckleberry’s. The customers all knew one another, the beer flowed freely, the food was comforting, and there was a friendly place for people to gather at the end of the day. I’m glad to know these places still exist.