Adding a Spark to Restaurants

Nothing makes a dining experience better than a wood burning fire. Quaint country inns have known this secret for centuries. The high-end restaurant scene has been counting on wood grills to add depth of flavor to their dishes triggering taste, smell and sight! Now, these  restaurants have started to bank on the allure of flickering flames and cozy seating areas by providing outside fire pits to waiting guests and al fresco dining areas.

Welcomed Waiting

Fire pits have been a recent accessory for the Austin restaurant scene. Everyone has been buzzing about the new happy hour spots with the awesome atmosphere and firepits. Most of the restaurants have wait staff there to take a cocktail order, encouraging guests to relax while sipping a favorite beverage while waiting for a table.

Backyard Feel

Most wood burning grills are inside the restaurant where chefs and food prep take place. Don’t keep your outside diners by keeping all the wonderful wood burning experience behind closed doors. If food items are smoked, roasted, or grilled inside,  the outside diners can enjoy their wood fired meal within the glow of a fire pit. When dining outside, fire pits are the perfect way to capture the cozy, comforting feel of a fire on the patio.

As the temperature starts to dip, fire pits are the perfect way to keep extending restaurant seating on the patio. Instead of moving all the tables inside the restaurant in early fall or keeping tables inside in early spring, the addition of a fire pit can keep the outside dining experience alive and well earlier and longer. For restaurants in milder climates like ours here in Texas, fire pits can become lasting fixtures, permanently extending customer seating to the patio.

Restaurant fire pits in either an outdoor waiting or dining area, ensure the customer experience by purchasing the best firewood for the best burning fire possible. Don’t force diners to sit by a smoky, inconsistent fire. Make sure to use the right wood to ensure the fire starts quickly, burns efficiently and cleaner. The right wood to use is seasoned hardwoods.

Why Hardwoods?

All wood is fundamentally the same. What determines whether or not is will make the best firewood has to do with density and moisture. Hardwoods like oak, hickory, pecan and mesquite species have the high energy per cord and more heat than softer woods like pine, spruce and poplar woods. How hot the wood gets and the length or burntime are essential, but the most important consideration whether the firewood is dry enough to burn.

Did I Buy the Right Firewood?

Most wood burning enthusiasts know that “green wood” (aka freshly chopped wood) is the least desirable firewood to burn. It takes longer to get started and tends to hiss and produce excessive smoke. Why? Before the wood can burn the remaining moisture in the wood has to burn off, essentially drying out the wood so it can burn.

Below is a list of signs to look out for when determining if wood is dry enough for a roaring fire:

• There are cracks or “checks” in the ends of the logs
• Wood has changed color from  white/cream to grey/yellow
• When you strike two pieces together, they sound hollow (“green wood” sounds solid and dull)
• Dry wood weighs significantly less than “green wood”

Chopping and drying wood out properly before it is burned as firewood is key. However, the best seasoned wood is already available for purchase as firewood.

Woodchuck Delivery Has the Best Restaurant Fire Pit Wood

Don’t allow customers to be smoked out when sitting next to your outdoor fire pit, use the best fire pit wood from Woodchuck Delivery. Our quality seasoned firewood will give off tons of heat so patrons of your restaurant will stay nice and toasty even if the temperature drops. Order online or call us for delivery 512.387.7270.