Mal’s birthday celebration started on the eve of his actual birthday with dinner and drinks at Fire & Ice surrounded by 11 of his closest friends. The meal was reminiscent of high school— mostly because 9 out of the 11 friends graduated from the same school as Mal and me. It was also particularly reminiscent because Mal and I celebrated my 18th birthday at Fire & Ice back in 1998. I’ve only visited the restaurant one other time and it was with Mal, so it always reminds me of him.
Dining at Fire & Ice is an experience! You start by heading to the “market” to grab a bowl and fill it up with your favorite ingredients– from pasta and veggies to meat and fish to various seasonings like garlic and cilantro. Basically, you can get as creative as you like (or not) with your food selections.
The veggie selections depend on the day, but there was a whole slew to chose from: roasted eggplant, summer squash, red onions, green peppers, jalapeño peppers, water chestnuts, broccoli, snow peas, tomatoes, black olives, roasted red and yellow peppers, mushrooms, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, zucchini and more. I loved the variety and selected almost one of everything!
The meat and seafood selections change daily, too, Again, there was a wide range of choices: Sirloin, Chicken Breast, Salmon, Calamari, Sausage, Hamburger, Tofu and more.
After selecting your ingredients, you head to the sauce station where you can mix and match flavors.
Of course, I went for the HEAT! 😉
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I selected Zesty Orange Ginger sauce for my first bowl of goodies.
Next, you take your ingredients and sauce to the “Grill Chef,” who turns your selections into a delicious meal in just a few minutes.
Back at our table, there were warm tortillas and rice waiting for us, so I enjoyed my meal wrapped up.
With dinner, I had a glass of Chardonnay. (It wasn’t very good– I finished about 3/4 of the glass.)
My first plate didn’t fill me, so I went back for seconds!
Since it was Mal’s birthday, we made sure to order a special birthday dessert complete with fun-loving, boisterous singing!
I ended up eating about half of Mal’s dessert! 😳
Mal didn’t seem to mind. In typical guy fashion, he ate 2 bites and was satisfied.
After dinner at Fire & Ice, the group went out for a couple of beers to continue the celebration.
Happy birthday, Mal! 
