This post might earn me a few more food envy and hate mails. However, after visiting Fire and Ice 4 times in the last two months, I do admit to having developed a fondness for the place. That is perhaps why I have decided to blog about it.
Fire and Ice has been around the town for a while. It is an Italian Pizzeria/Cafe/Pub/Restaurant mostly patronized by people in and around Middleton Row. Recently, they have opened a mini-outlet near Deshapriya Park. You would either love it or hate it. The ambiance inside is casual, and I am posting my review about the food the third time I went there, and you might check out the white chairs and lovely prints of the films of 50s and 60s on the walls. I love the decor and the fact that both Indian cinema and International movie poster prints are lovingly placed, side by side. Wi-Fi is available for those who want to check up on their work while eating, and I could see several people staring at laptops or tablets while their coffees cooled on the side – the place is popular for a working lunch with the office crowds, it seems.
On this particular day, I was slightly tired after an all-night sojourn, and had entered the place quite early – so I waited for my friend to arrive, who wanted to eat the Farcita. I sat, studying the menu, and ordered a diet coke (120/-) which came promptly in a bottle, with a glass filled with lot of ice and a slice of lemon. My friend, on the phone, told me that she wanted her food fast, so I ordered the Vegetarian Farcita (400/-) while I waited for her.
The Vegetarian Farcita is not on the menu of Fire and Ice. We being old customers know about it, and order it. It is nothing more than a batch of Caprese Salad stuffed between slices of freshly baked Italian flatbread, and some olive oil and herbs drizzled on top. There is a non-vegetarian version as well, with ham and other stuff, apparently, but my friend, who is otherwise an avid carnivore, prefers this over the non-vegetarian version. Our smiling server was sweet and attentive enough to let us know about the dessert specials of the day as we munched on the grub, and we decided to order two desserts, one after eating the Farcita, and one after we had finished the meal.
We are weird like that.
I love the combination of the cold Mozzarella and tomato slices (The tomatoes are skinned, of course) with the hot bread and the olive oil that brings everything together. We sat there, drinking ice cold soda and this decidedly simple dish, and then started to contemplate on the other things we might want for lunch.
My friend by this time was tempted by the Creme Caramel (200/- I think… I really do not remember though!).
It was messy-looking. And yes, it came in a pool of melted caramel syrup.
It did taste smooth, silky and saucy.
Just how my mother makes it.
And I make it when I am not into making anything too complicated.
In short, we had a lovely winner with the Creme Caramel.
Spaghetti with Pesto |
Although my friend was getting inclined towards the Spaghetti with Seafood, she chose the Pesto Pasta in the end with Spaghetti as her Pasta option (345/-). She asked for some extra capers to be added to it. The server willingly did so, and told that it would be charged extra.
Personally I felt that the Pesto pasta was the weakest link in our dinner. We had to wait for about 15 minutes to get the pasta, and when it came, my friend began immediately.
However, she claimed that the pesto was slightly more salty for her than she liked, and when mixed with the salty Parmesan cheese, it was slightly too salty for her liking.
The server, on hearing this, wanted to change the pasta and give us a new one. My friend, however, told him that it was easily fixed if she had a bit of lemon. A bowl of lemon slices came almost immediately, and everything was right in the world once again.
Ham Panini. |
In the end, our bill came to somewhere around 1500/- (including Vat, Service charge, which is about 30% of the total billing, and Service Tax). However, I have to say, this is one of the better places for Italian in the town, and worth giving a shot. I would also recommend the pizzas and the wild mushroom soup (which I had on a separate occasion), which are quite tasty.
Fire and Ice
41, Jawaharlal Nehru Road,Kanak Building,Ground Floor,
Near Russel Street, Kolkata
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0 Responses
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Agh you have no idea how many hate mails I have received from my friends over the last two days. 😀
All those delicious filled crusts are making me hungry. I'm craving Italian food right now! 😀
please do. you will not be sorry.
😀
I passed by this restaurant more often… never checked out.. now u tempt me to visit them… 😀
oh man oh man oh man!
I warned you, didn't I,that I would totally write about it? 😀
The pesto spaghetti was decidedly Not Good–would not recommend it. Most Cal restaurants make awful pastas–I always find the sauces too heavy handed and not light/delicate enough for my liking.
But OH MY GOD THE FARCITA!!!!! Reading this blog post from 12000 miles away is giving me food cravings like the kind that should be *outlawed*. OH MANNNN someone gimme farcittaaaaaa!!!!! And panu your luscious pictures aren't helping any, seriously. GAH.
What do you order?
In my opinion Fire and Ice is a classic Calcutta restaurant now. I love it and trust it as much as I like Mocambo. My orders at Fire and Ice are usually different, though.
Oh yes forgot about that :)..
I love their Long Island Ice Tea. One is enough to make me happy.
I loooove this place. Food is great and they make a mighty good Bloody Mary!