Mark’s Score 9.7
Out of the Fire has been a culinary favorite on Goldsborough Street in Easton for a quarter century. Three years-ago they moved to Washington Street, and to be honest, I had forgotten all about them. Last month I was driving past the hospital and I saw the restaurant in their new location. I resolved the next time I was in Easton I would stop for lunch.
Amy Haines opened Out of the Fire in 2000. She quickly earned a name for herself and her restaurant, being one of the first restauranteurs to jump on the farm-to-table bandwagon. The restaurant’s motto, “Eat Well, Be Well, Give Back,” embodied a new entrepreneurial spirit of locally sourced, eco-friendly food. Amy sought to establish a restaurant that would not only provide a memorable meal, but would also support local artisans and producers.
When I returned home that day, I looked up their menu. I mentioned before that I am not a big salad eater. But every once in a while, I see a salad that intrigues me. I skipped the over the mains, it was the starter menu that piqued my interest. In particular the Spiced Duck Confit Potatoes with jalapeño aioli and the Medjool dates with white cheddar, almonds, country ham, and arugula salad had me anticipating my next visit to Eaton.
To be honest, from the outside, I thought the restaurant looked unassuming. I do not know who did the interior design, but whoever it was deserves an award. The grey and white walls combined with orange/yellow lighting and sleek Scandinavian furnishings with strategically placed vaguely Japanese floral arrangements created an upscale, welcoming, and calming atmosphere. The walls are covered with works of art by local artists. It feels like someone plopped a restaurant in the middle of an art gallery. Whoever chose the artwork has an eye for good art, or at the very least we share the same taste in art. I loved the bar, it is tiny, there is barely more than half a dozen chairs, and it looks like it was placed in a hallway. But it felt cozy, and I almost eat at the bar, but the day was so beautiful I decided to sit on the back patio.
The waitress went through the specials of the day, but I stuck to my plan. They have an eclectic wine list, and I wasn’t sure what would pair well with the salad. The waitress suggested a Friulan wine with which I was not familiar. But she was right, it was the perfect choice.
It is hard to make salads memorable, they’re just salads. But I have to say that my meal was perhaps the most memorable meal I have had in many months. The combination of tastes and textures of the salad was perfection. The duck confit potatoes added a little heft to the meal and the aioli was the best I have ever eaten. That, combined with the beautiful décor, makes Out of the Fire my current best restaurant on the Delmarva.
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