Firelake

My friend Stephanie and I visited Firelake at the Mall of America recently since I wanted to do a bit of shopping at the MOA. It might have been a bad idea to visit the MOA on a Saturday as it was quite busy. However, Firelake was a bit of an oasis since it is just slightly detached from the mall. It is accessible via a skyway on the second floor of the mall, but as you get closer to the hotel the atmosphere changes a bit. It is a lot quieter and the Radisson Blu has a very modern design. It looked like a nice hotel and it’s about time they built a hotel that is attached to the mall. The design of the restaurant is very open and modern as well, but with some wood accents throughout.

We had a reservation and we were seated immediately. Our server stopped by right away and suggested a couple drinks. We needed a few minutes and it took some time before he stopped back again. About the time we were wondering where he went he came back to take our drink orders. It took awhile for our drinks to arrive and once they arrived we placed our orders. The food came out in a decent amount of time, but it took a long time for the server to check back with us. Later on, I wanted another glass of wine and the server was nowhere to be found until he came to take an order at another table. Once we were finished there was a long break between when the dessert was delivered and out bill was delivered. After our cards were ran we did not see the server again. It seemed like he should have been checking back with us more often and on the floor more.

Stephanie had the honey cured duroc pork chop. She substituted sweet potato spaetzl for the loaded fingerling potatoes, which had with blue cheese, scallions and crème fraiche on them.  The pork chop was good.  Stephanie said she did not recall tasting the apple-pecan flavor that should have been there from the smoking, but the bacon marmalade that was on it was very good and that may have masked the apple-pecan flavor. The fingerling potatoes were really great with the blue cheese and crème fraiche. Tons of flavor.

I had the rosemary rotisserie chicken entrée with cheddar mashed potatoes. The chicken was very juicy and tender and I liked the slight saltiness of the rotisserie rub. The mashed potatoes were good, but I did not detect a lot of cheese flavor in them. The portion was quite generous.

We had the dark chocolate truffle tart for dessert.  Dessert was good, but not too memorable. The chocolate flavor was good, and not overly sweet.

I think Firelake is a nice addition to the current dining options at the Mall of America. It seems a bit more upscale and relaxed than restaurants in the mall itself and the menu is quite extensive with some interesting choices. I think the menu has a wide enough variety, there is something to please almost anyone, which is important in a hotel setting I’m sure. The prices were on the higher side, but they had less expensive options like sandwiches, pizza and flatbreads as well.



Firelake
2100 Killebrew Dr
Bloomington, MN 55425
Phone: (952) 881-5258
http://www.firelakerestaurant.com/moa.php