Wildfire - Eden Prairie, MN

My boyfriend's brother and his girlfriend live down in Shakopee, and we decided to meet in the middle for dinner a few nights ago. We landed on Wildfire at the Eden Prairie mall. A little bit of an odd choice for St. Patrick's Day, and for a younger group of people in general, but Mary had been there before and said the food was really good. I got there a little early and sat in the bar while I was waiting. I liked the cocktail lounge, it's dark mood lighting and the comfy leather chairs. The bartender was an older guy, as were the majority of the clientele for that matter. This is definitely a spot for business drinks or a date night for 40-somethings.

Our table wasn't in the main dining room, but in a little side room close to the hostess stand. We were seated next to a table of about 10 senior citizens. I guess in general I felt way too young to be at this steak and chops restaurant. Their wine by the glass choices were pretty good, actually. I had a Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc which I'm not sure I've ever seen as a choice by the glass.

We shared a goat cheese appetizer which was pretty tasty, and the bread they brought was really soft and yummy. When the waitress took our order, I asked for her recommendation on either the small or large size chopped salad and without hesitation she said the small. Mary ordered the filet trio and Scott the roasted chicken. When the food arrived, holy mother you should have seen this "small" salad! It was massive. Very good, the dressing was a citrus vinagrette, but I felt like I ate two heads of lettuce without making any kind of apparent dent in the portion.

So we're done with dinner and all of a sudden the waitress came over with a little chocolate cake with a candle in it. "Did someone say it was their birthday?!" she said. We all looked at each other and started to laugh. "Uh, no?" So we got to share a free flourless chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream. I'm not a cake fan, but this thing was actually really good. A nice, and rich, way to end the meal.

All in all, if you need to find a nice place to take your parents (or grandparents for that matter) Wildfire would be a good choice. The food wasn't a disappointment, but the atmosphere wasn't ideal for a young group of wippersnappers, but at least we left with good food in our bellies.