We were in Burlington for the weekend, Christmas shopping and bought gift certificates for Fire and Ice restaurant in Middlebury, VT. 45 minutes drive one way from where we were staying.

We arrived about 7:30, and was promptly seated.

We arrived at our booth, and the table was dirty, food on bench and bits and pieces of the last customer's meal on the table.....not a good sign already!

We did not wait long for our waitress. She seem tired and harried even though the restaurant was empty a few groups scattered around. (it was Saturday night around 2000).

She brought us water, left the menu and came back about 15 minutes later.

She suggested the soup, which by the way was very good. Vegetable puree, mixed with curry and coconut! Yum. We ordered the soup, wine, and our main meal.

The soup came, it was not very hot, but lukewarm. None the less it was good.

We waited an additional 20 minutes for our meals. We ordered their signature dish Steak Rockport medium with a baked potato as a side and the Roast Prime rib- Middlebury cut medium rare with twice baked potato as a side. According to our waitress these were two of their specialties.

Both meals arrived at the same time, both meals were cold. The prime rib tasted only of sage, it was dried up and cold. The twice baked potato was piping hot and was nicely seasoned. I sent the Prime Rib back to have her microwave it. Even then, it came back warm. She said she did not want to dry it up.....in my opinion that would have made it taste better!! On a positive note it was medium rare. They got something right with this dish.

The Steak Rockport was tasteless and chewy. Of course it was cold as well, and, they opted to serve it rare. perhaps they had just cut it off the cow, hence the reason it was cold! The potato was cold and tasteless.

After the waitress brought my plate back, one of the owners came by and asked how the food was, and I said it was just ok, after all, We did get pretty much what we ordered. We never asked for our food to be tasty and hot.....Why should we have expected that????????

In fairness they did give us a 10% discount on our meal. This helped with the cost of gas to get there and back to our hotel in Burlington, VT a 1 hour drive each way.

About 3 hours later my partner got quite sick in her stomach. As this was the only place we ate, we can only surmise that it was due to the food at this restaurant.



Summary:

cold tasteless food
dirty tables and floor
lack luster service

I do not suggest anyone to eat at this place.

Want to feel like part of a family? This is the place to go. Great Staff, Great Food, Great Decor! #1 Place to go in Addison County

We were not impressed with the food. The bread at the salad bar was at least 2 days old (I make my own bread, so I know how to tell the age of bread). We always count on bread being fresh and irresistable...we let them throw out all the bread minus our first taste. My husbands beef was supposed to have a reduction sauce. It must have come out of a jar (not the beef, but the sauce), because a true reduction sauce would not have that consistency. Our waitress was lovely and cheerful. The place was a bit too cluttered and dirty for my taste. Too pricey for what they gave us.

Fire & Ice has an interesting decor of historic local and regional memorabilia, including a huge boat in the salad area. Lots of small dining rooms afford privacy. Amazing salad bar with shrimp and sushi, also soup at lunch (Friday and Saturday only). Good food but somewhat pricey. God local beer. Well worth the visit.

the restaurant where we were staying wasn't open on Monday sooo we decided to try fire and ice. The place has all sorts of Vermont memorables (moose heads) etc as well as marlins and other fish hanging around. I did the salad bar all you can eat shrimp included. It all was goood..