The Place
If other steakhouses offer Japanese sensibilities, Westwood Fire & Smoke is pure Americana. Heartland favorites find loving, slow-cooked preparation in this little sanctuary of blonde wood and sand-colored stone just north of MixC mall. The second of its name, it expands from Hong Kong to the new money across the border. It’s a wise choice. Hi-Tech Park is already teeming with families and couples, expat and Chinese, seeking out succulent meals to meet rising expectations.
The Food
On our visit, the menu celebrated both beef prime rib and pork, with all the standard stateside sides: field green salad, soup, roasted veggies and mashed potatoes that are pure comfort food. Breaking from the Australian Wagyu trend, Fire & Smoke serves only USDA-certified American meats. It’s a bold choice – especially in this time of looming sanctions – but it’s justified.
On our visit, the prime rib (RMB388/8 oz, RMB688/16 oz, RMB988/32 oz) was generous, dense and rich with an herb crust that brought a welcome pinch of salt to the slow-cooked beef. The process delivers meat that is infinitely more tender than the “medium well” typical in China. Fire-roasted zucchini and homestyle mashed potatoes were simply perfect.
The savory-sweet pork chop was even better, though on the typical menu the grain-fed pork is limited to slow-roasted spareribs (RMB268). Let us pray cooler heads prevail in the Twitter trade wars and we’re not priced out of these excellent cuts of meat.
The Vibe
From the wild eagle, moose and grizzly bear to the civilized Golden Gate Bridge and Empire State Building, the iconography like the food is pure Americana. Westwood Fire & Smoke is a reminder of its earlier meaning, when the culture was welcoming and simply delicious. With the finest New World ingredients and careful preparation, this is a place where steak can, in the words of the First Lady, “Be best.”
Price: RMB350-750
Who’s going: lovers of America’s livestock, home cooking and way of life
Good for: beef prime rib, pork and wine
Nearest metro: Hi-Tech Park (Exit A), 6 minutes
See listing for Westwood Fire & Smoke.
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