My first Passover dinner experience

I've been meaning to try Firefly for the past 3 years, but was never quite made it there, for many reasons. So tonight must have been my lucky night, I was able to secure a table for 8:30PM at the last minute. I had heard many good things about Firefly and so my expectations were a little high when I arrived at the door. Above the main entrance sat a very large metal firefly sculpture with a blinking electric bulb affixed to its body. Quirky, but interesting. We were shown to a small table overlooking the main entrance, with a good view of the kitchen and the diners in the adjacent dining area. Kind of romantic, but I was there for the food, not romance.

This being Easter week, Firefly presented a special Passover menu featuring a number of traditional Jewish dishes, and some Californian fare. I have to admit this was the first time I've had a Passover meal, so this in itself was an adventure for me. I ordered gefilte fish with a two colored horseradish sauce, which was essentially cold fish dumpling meat served with a side of horseradish. Not how I would usually eat fish dumpling, but the flavor was very well balanced and delicious despite being cold. Perhaps a warm version of this would have tasted much better, over broth, but that's just the Cantonese in me talking. My main course was the beef brisket over sweet potato mash and warm gravy. The beef brisket melted in my mouth, and the sweet potato mash was an excellent complement as was the gravy. For dessert, I ordered the grapefruit sorbet with honey mousse and sliced fruit. The sorbet was very refreshing, not too sour or sweet, and the honey mousse was light as whipped cream with a delicate honey flavor. I can see why Firefly has remained so popular throughout the years, with amazing homestyle dishes that are affordable and very good value for money.
Firefly is located at 4288 24th St. San Francisco, CA 94114. Tel: (415) 821-7652