If I say the words “Sports Bar” there are most likely a specific set of images that will pop into your head.
You’ll probably envision a lot of TVs, simultaneously broadcasting every sports channel and event known to man. You will most likely think of a dark room, maybe a bit dingy, with a well-stocked bar and a multitude of beers on tap.
Then you’ll think about the menu. Yes, even that is pretty standard. Sports bar fare is almost always the same, isn’t it? Chicken wings, burgers, fries, onion rings, maybe a fried pickle if they’re feeling adventurous, all an afterthought meant only to be an understudy to the stars of the show — those beers and those sports.
That is what most of us think of when we imagine a Sports Bar. But there’s a new Sports Bar in Frisco that’s working very hard to break through this stigma and change that image. Forever.
Fire & Ice Fusion, the dream venture of Srikanth Nelapatlaand and his cousin Vishwarath Reddy, requires you to take everything you think you know about the basic Sports Bar and throw it out the window.
The moment you walk into Frisco’s newest sports bar, you immediately know that it’s different. It feels like a light and airy restaurant, complete with an incredibly decorative bar and a dining room filled with high tops, booths, and everything in between. It’s the opposite of dark and dingy, with natural light streaming in through the multiple floor to ceiling windows and modern and upbeat decor.
The only thing that might clue you in to the fact that it is a sports bar is the plethora of large screen TV’s broadcasting every sports event imaginable. That’s where the comparison begins and ends.
But the real difference can be felt the moment you glance at the menu created by Sri and Vish. They’re both avid foodies, it takes just a few minutes in their presence to see this… Their desire to serve food that rises far above typical bar fare is apparent when you talk to them and when you take a peek at their incredible offerings.
They’ve traveled the world, experienced Michelin Starred chefs and dined at some of the most exclusive restaurants in the world.
These guys know good food.
When they created Fire & Ice, the vision centered almost completely around the idea that incredible food doesn’t need to be exclusive to one “kind” of restaurant or even, as it turns out, one country’s cuisines. They wanted to bring worldwide cuisine to the sports bar concept and completely break down the artificial food borders we create when we label our restaurants one thing or another.
Thus the fusion concept.
On the Fire & Ice menu, you’ll find food from every cuisine, unexpected item after unexpected item. So you can swap out the battered and fried onion rings you’d get as an appetizer at a regular Sports Bar for an incredibly spicy and complex Singapore Chicken, a dish that keeps you coming back for more and more and more. It’s the definition of crave-worthy food.
Or, you can banish the ubiquitous chicken finger meal and replace it with a Kebab Platter practically screaming with the flavors of the Mediterranean, with a delicately creamy cashew-based chicken breast from Saudi Arabia and a sweetly spicy chicken thigh from Dubai. The flavors of this platter make you forget all about your basic sports bar food, and that’s their goal — to elevate you and excite you, and keep you coming back for more.
My favorite type of food is the type that you eat one day and then can’t stop thinking about the next. I wanted that for Fire & Ice and knew that it was what would set us apart, to create food that keeps you coming back for more.
— Srikanth Nelapatlaand, Fire & Ice Fusion
The best part of this endeavor, though, is that they didn’t forget about sports bar food completely. They honor the classics with their menu, serving the quintessentially (and incredibly well-executed) All-American Burger and the time-honored favorite from our friends across the pond, Fish & Chips.
All of these “sports bar regulars” are situated directly beside surprising fare like a sushi platter or a completely authentic Italian Margherita Pizza. It’s a fun and inventive menu, varied enough to allow large groups with different palates to please everyone or families with small children to hit the right notes for picky eaters and adventurous ones.
It’s a place for everyone, and that’s how they want it.
This is not without its challenges, of course. As with most foodies, Sri and Vish not only want an adventurous menu, they want food done right. They spared no expense in finding the perfect recipes, traveling the world (yes, you read that right) to find the perfect recipes. Sri says,
We traveled as a group around the world to talk to the chefs we felt were making the best dishes. Nothing is free in the world so we paid them for the best recipes to use in our restaurant, and this is how we gathered the recipes we use.
They also train their kitchen staff expertly, making sure that they’re able to create a perfect sushi platter and then turn around and execute a perfect Afghani Chicken. They’re perfectionists and it hasn’t been easy, but the result? It’s so worth it.
You can taste it with every bite.
Sri and Vish have big hearts on fire for food and for people. They didn’t plan on opening at the very start of the pandemic, that was out of their hands. But they’re doing everything they can to meet you, Frisco, and capture your hearts.
These are hard-working guys with an incredible passion for what they’re doing.
There are plans in the works to open up multiple Fire & Ice locations, some as mirror images of the original and others, more exclusive versions for those who appreciate a higher-end experience.
At Frisco’s location, though, the work is not done. They’ll continue to expand the menu, one cuisine at a time, and have plans to continually update the interior and evolve as they grow and learn more about Frisco and what we need.
They aren’t happy unless you walk out completely satisfied. Your experience makes all of the hard work of this passion project worth it to them.
Our goal is to give the taste and presentation of the future to the world and we plan on starting that right here in Frisco.
So the next time you want to catch a game with the boys (or girls) or even if you just want to eat out with the family but are tired of Chicken Finger-only joints, take a quick trip to Fire & Ice. Sri will be sure to welcome you and invite you to the culinary adventure as he works hard to expand your palate with amazing food and expand your mind way beyond the typical Sports Bar ideal.
WEBSITE | PHONE
fireandicefusion.com | 214-872-1994
LOCATION
2550 Preston Road
Frisco, TX 75034
