Firefly!

Finally got out to Firefly (4288 24th St, btwn Douglass and Diamond) last night with my family (my parents were in town). I've been wanting to go here for a while since I read the menu online, and it looked delicious. Helps that my sister is a big fan. I was not disappointed - my food was super-yummy and I was very happy. My sister got the prix fixe menu ($35 for any appetizer, entree and dessert Monday-Thursday, which is a reasonably good deal that saves you maybe $4-8) and for her appetizer, ordered us brussel sprouts in parmesan-ruggiano and truffle oil. That was delicious - I think the truffle oil made all the difference, though the parmesan helped as well. The brussel sprouts were roasted to be slightly crispy and they were just about the best I've ever had. For the entree, I got the duck breast with spaetzel, braised red cabbage, and blood oranges and it was one of the best duck breasts I've had - tender and really, really tasty, down to the last bite. Everyone with me ordered a different entree, so I got to try a bite of each. My dad's goat leg brochette I found less than inspiring - the last goat I had was the super tender stuff in Jamaica, while this stuff was a bit more tough and not quite as flavorful (though the mashed yams it came with were very sweet and tasty). My mom's pan roasted striped bass wasn't what I expected either - a flatter, drier piece with a crispy skin-on top that was reasonably tasty but not the moist thick slab I've been used to getting with bass (she was initially disappointed but after she dug into it more, said the fish was actually quite moist and good). My bf's grilled rare tombo tuna I think I would have liked a lot better if I liked olives (it comes with a picholine olive & meyer lemon salsa) but the fish itself was nice and rare and good. My sister's beef short ribs were my next favorite after my duck - super-tender and tasty (my bf thought it tasted too much like wine, so clearly we have different tastes when it comes to short ribs). It is possible I was as happy as I was because I ordered well (my tastes of my mom and dad's dishes were less than inspiring) but it's also possible I would have liked the other dishes more if I had had more than one bite. For dessert, I got the warm chocolate cashew tart with vietnamese coffee ice cream which was like a very chocolatey molten cake with very strong coffee ice cream - gooey and yummy and delicious. My sister got an interesting lime with coconut cream parfait with pieces of grapefruit and oranges in it which was tastily tart and sweet. My bf got I think an almond sherbert and blood orange?? sorbet with honey citrus madelines which was fine, but not the one to eat third, b/c relative to the first two, it was quite bland. I think it was good by itself, but hard to tell after the intense sweet chocolate taste of my dessert and the tart sweet taste of my sister's.

I liked the ambiance too, since it was nice in a very casual way, and the server was friendly and helpful. Just wish the restaurant wasn't so far out!

For the record, the flattest way from SOMA to Firefly is to do Mission to 15th to Valencia to 22nd to Chatanooga to 24th. The last two blocks from Castro to Douglass are distinctly uphill, though not as bad as taking Diamond from Elizabeth to like 22nd! On the other hand, taking Diamond from 22nd to 18th was a lot of downhill zoom!