Field & Fire
Field and Fire was started by Ryan Sherman, a Cutthroat Kitchen winner, and the owner of the Ambassador of downtown Appleton. I got mad respect for any chef who enters Cutthroat Kitchen, let alone a winner. That is a tough competition that challenges your culinary creativity with ridiculous challenges and odd ingredients.
This is what immediately attracted us to the restaurant as both Lindsay and I have seen practically every episode of Cutthroat Kitchen. Looking at the menu online, brunch seemed more within our price range right now so we waited for Sunday to come along. Dressed in our Sunday medium, we headed west out of Appleton to Greenville.
In A Bite
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Hours: Mon-Sat 4pm-10pm; Sunday Brunch, 10am-2pm
Ambiance: Downtown bar with comfy, northeast beach house dining
Music: Chill Urban/Hip-hop
Service: Quick and friendly
Menu: https://fieldandfirekitchen.com/menu/
Price: $$-$$$
Foodstyle: Collective American & Pizza
What to order: Brunch – Burrito + Coffee = 17$
Go again?: Yes
The Full Plate
Atmosphere
Sandwiched between a Verizon store and a local wine store, the small twenty-foot front of F&F sticks out like a brick wall next to siding.
Upon entering around at around 10:30 am, all the seats were filled as dining space is limited. There are five seats available for the waitlist besides the bar. It’s that limbo moment of a restaurant where everyone is a waiter.
The chill hip hop beats welcomed post-churchgoers sipping mimosas and the tattooed hipsters chasing their bloody marys with mini high lifes alike.
The rustic wood look is right where I belong. I questioned why they had so many mirrors though. Like a lot of mirrors. They were high enough up so I didn’t have to watch myself eat my burrito, which is nice. But still, what.
Chairs were super comfy on all accounts. Lots of cush and none of the push.
Bathrooms were clean and fresh, featuring moose art. At least in the mens room. I am unaware of what the women’s bathroom holds. It’s a secret they will all carry to their graves.
One of the biggest things they advertise is F&F is an “open kitchen experience.” This means you get to watch the chefs prepare your food from the bar. We felt like this is awesome because it keeps the kitchen honest. Like how clean are you? What ingredients are you actually using? Did you just triple axle flip those pancakes? I’ve got eyes and I’m using em.
Service
There is no official hostess, but for such a small space I think it works. They see you waiting, they find you a seat. Our waitress told us it would be fifteen minute wait time and it was darn near close to that if not under. They offered us seats at the bar but we were in the mood for a sit down.
They didn’t check in too much, refilled drinks at the right time and brought the food much faster than I expected. So overall I was quite pleased.
Food
Here’s our order:
- Bottomless Coffee x2 – $6
- Burrito – $14
- Biscuits & Gravy (side) – $4
- French Toast – $12
- Bacon, a la carte – $5
Tasty. Local. Sustainable. Boom. Bang. Bong.
The coffee was from Acoca Roasters on College Ave. It was perfectly smooth and served with heavy cream as it should be.
Some people believe that pineapple doesn’t belong on pizza. I disagree with that. However, there is no question that pineapple belongs in burritos. There is a lovely balance of savory and sweet as the steak and pineapple are brought together with zhug. What is zhug, you say? It’s a Yemenite cilantro-parsley hot-sauce. But it hugs more than it punches. Thus, zhug.
This is a true Wisconsin biscuits and gravy. Split biscuit with sharp cheddar cheese smothered in cheddar gravy. Even a hearty Wisconsinite who can down a family size of Culver’s cheese curds alone like myself found this to be a bit too sharp and rich. The biscuit was perfect! But too much cheese. Wow, never thought I’d say that.
WE LIKE EM THICK. The bacon I mean. Nothing more to say about this. Perfect side to anything.
Lindsay’s perspective: As seen by this picture, this isn’t your classic French toast. While I felt that the portion was a bit small for the price, it was very tasty. The menu said the orange sauce had ancho chile in it, which worried me a bit because I am weak when it comes to spice, but I couldn’t taste it at all. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing in this situation. The cream on top was lovely. I did end up adding maple syrup because on its own, it was a bit dry. The bread should have been soaked a tad longer. As for the arugula, it doesn’t belong here, but because I’m a health nut who enjoys arugula in all forms, I ate it anyway.
Back to David: I was rather unimpressed with the plating. A pile of undressed arugula? Maybe this is just for brunch but I had higher expectations for plating from F&F.
Overall though, the flavors were all there and it was a fresh take on some classic brunch food. Field & Fire is definitely worth the trip out of town and we will be returning. We’d love to try the dinner course sometime.
P.S. Because it’s a bit difficult to find, the episode of Cutthroat Kitchen that Chef Sherman won is #166 S13E10 “He’s Just A Po’ Boy.”