Fire Artisan Pizza Spokane

RestaurantsSpokane

So, Fire has opened its Spokane location, and we'll be damned if we could notice much of a difference from the Coeur d'Alene spot. We've heard reports of less than stellar lunches early on, and some have complained about the prices, but that aside... Our experience did not differ from the Coeur d'Alene spot. At all.

We mean that in a quite literal sense too. The interiors in the two spots are nigh identical -- that's a good thing, by the way -- as is the food. The latter might not be quite up there with the likes of Veraci or South Perry, but it's definitely good enough to make Fire downtown's best pizza spot. (Granted, that doesn't take too much, though Europa is pretty decent too.)

The pies here are a bit different than what you may be used to, particularly from what we usually see in Spokane. The crust is more flatbread like, with a fluffy inside and crispy outside. ("Flatbread" is kind of a misnomer in that sense, but you get the point.)

The toppings on our "Gordy" all felt fresh, and were also a bit out of the ordinary. Dates on pizza might seem different, but it worked well, especially with how it was complimented by a tangy balsamic reduction. The gorgonzola/mozzarella cheese mixture also held up pretty well, though a bit more gorgonzola wouldn't have hurt. They didn't drown the pizza in cheese, which is good, but had just enough to provided a good backbone for the other toppings.

There's a good selection of appetizers to pick from too. The "Market Tour Sampler" is a charcuterie plate which, while not bad, does not stack up to what we're used to from Sante. It also is a bit expensive at $14. Next time we'd probably look toward one of the other options, like the "Cured Olives". These were also included in the charcuterie plate, and were not too bad.

Finally, while the selection isn't bad, the beer is served way too cold. Way. Too. Cold. I really hope this will change.

Overall, though, we like Fire. The Coeur d'Alene location has been pretty consistent as far as quality goes, and we hope that'll be the case here too. Give them a shot, they deserve that at the very least.