Signature Dish: Firebirds Wood Fired Grill

Emmett Gartner, The Frederick News-Post, Md.
Updated ·2 min read

Apr. 19—Since opening in December 2022 on Buckeystown Pike, the wood fueling Firebirds' smoker and grill has been flowing as steadily as the customers entering the restaurant's doors. Executive chef Dustin Starling has been with the restaurant since opening day and, with leadership from general manager Beth Parsley, has helped the national chain's newest Maryland location take shape. Starling said just about every protein dish on the menu, from the salmon and red snapper to pork ribs and steaks, has a component that is cooked in Firebirds' wood-fired grill. Restaurant staff start feeding wood to the grill around 10 a.m. and keep adding hickory, oak or apple wood all day long. Vegetables, too, spend time in the restaurant's wood-fired grill, and their smokey flavor is exemplified by the vegetarian black bean soup. Elsewhere, Firebirds' pork ribs and chicken wings get an extended treatment in the restaurant's smoker.

"We slow-cook our ribs overnight ... low and slow, in our smoker, so they fall off the bone and melt in your mouth," Starling said. He also highlighted the restaurant's popular lobster spinach queso, a shareable dish made with fresh Maine lobster chunks and a creamy Pepper Jack cheese sauce, which comes with a warm batch of in-house tortilla chips. For dessert, Starling touted with creme brulée cheesecake, with fresh fruit and raspberry coulis. From the bar, Starling recommends the Double Black Diamond Martini, which is infused with fresh pineapple juice.

The chef recommends: The Filet & Shrimp. The filet is a bacon-wrapped, 7 oz. tenderloin and, like most cuts of beef and fish at Firebirds, is butchered in-house. The shrimp are cooked intricately, Sparling said. The goal is not to overcook them too much and cause them to shrink but instead ensure they are nice and plump. The dish is finished with a key lime butter sauce.

Firebirds Wood Fired Grill

5201 Buckeystown Pike, Frederick

301-850-0077

Website: frederick.firebirdsrestaurants.com

Social: @Firebirdsgrill

Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday through Saturday

Price: Entrees range from roughly $15 to $65; shareable appetizers are $11.50 to $18.75; brunch items, served on weekends, are $13.95 to $21.75; cocktails are $11 to $12 and mocktails are around $6; desserts are about $10.

The chef recommends: Filet and shrimp. The filet is a bacon-wrapped, 7 oz. tenderloin and, like most cuts of beef and fish at Firebirds, is butchered in-house. The shrimp are cooked intricately, Sparling said. The goal is not to overcook them too much and cause them to shrink but instead ensure they are nice and plump. The dish is finished with a keylime butter sauce.