Usually when you think about Fire + Ice Back Bay, the phrases, “tourist trap” or “kiddie central” may come to mind, but they have worked very hard to change that by adding a much more adult feel to their 1st floor bar by having a concept overhaul complete with name change, underFire.
Right off the hostess area the newly designed space beckons an adult atmosphere. The long bar on opening had primarily female bartenders which were expertly crafting drinks that look almost as good as they taste. I loved the garnishes that gave each drink distinction and most had some type of muddling going on, so you can surely count a drink as a full serving of fruits and vegetables. I know I did.
The most popular drink of the night was the Strawberry Basil Margarita. It was fresh and super tasty.
Though the Strawberry Basil Margarita was the clear winner of the night, the Fire Bowl (Absolut Pear, Absolut Peach, Absolut Mandarin with orange liquetur and cranberry juice) came in a close second. People were ordering them on their own, but I would highly recommend sharing as they are massive.
The underFire Gin Blossom (Tanqueray Tart Gin with St. Germaine Elderflower Liqueur, simple syrup muddled with fresh cucumber and lemon) wasn’t my favorite of the night. It seemed like they went a bit overboard with the garnishes, but if you are into cucumber, lemon and gin, this might just be the drink for you.
My absolute favorite drink of the night was the Pepino Diablo (Cazadores Blanco Tequila, jalepeño, cucumber, lime, and simple syrup). This drink packs a punch at the beginning with jalepeño, but then cools off when the cucumber kicks in. You get fire and ice in one punch (see what I did there? ;)).
Each table was garnished with their Chips and Guac which is made in house and was very good. I pretty much stalked all the tables to keep eating it.
We also were served more food as the event got more crowded. Pork seemed to be the meat of the evening as what kept coming around were roasted pork tacos which was a version of their menu item Carnitas and BLT Sliders made with pork belly; both of which had people breaking their vows not to eat pork. The portion sizes were healthy enough that could either be shared or not depending on whether you were hungry or “hangry”.
What we didn’t get to try, but I know will be a popular item are their Build Your Own Burger. With these burgers, you can get the customization as you would at their habachi grill upstairs as you get to pick out your meat (veggie burgers are included) cheese, sauce and toppings either fire – like ale battered onion rings or ice – like pico de gallo.
Amidst the sometimes pretentious bars surrounding it, underFire is just what Back Bay needs; a place where you can get reasonably priced high quality drinks and eats. I’ll certainly be back.
Thanks for the invite Chris!