Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Been There, Brunched That: Brick House Cafe

This past Saturday was New Years Eve, which meant that restaurants, cafes and convenience stores everywhere were a gamble with their opening hours. Some places made sure to post on their Twitter, add a note to their website, or at least put a sign on their door. Farmerbrown's Little Skillet was not one of these places.  

We set out that morning with a game plan: order a boatload of biscuits & gravy (with scrambled eggs), chicken & waffles, and breakfast po' boys bring the booty home and enjoy with some homemade mimosas in a glorious, gluttonous New Years Eve brunch at home. Upon discovering it was closed, we were devastated but not about to give up on brunch, so we headed across the street to Brick House Cafe.

Brick House has the appeal of your best friend's lumberjack Canadian cousin: it's got big portions, a manly outdoorsy feel, and the American dollar goes a long way here. Seriously, the place is all about quantity -- the heaping piles of anything you order mean that even your best friend's lumberjack Canadian cousin isn't likely to clean his plate. I happen to have a soft spot for Brick House, probably because while the brunch menu is absolutely mediocre, the place is full of kitschy charm and it knows its strengths.

Nothing you order at Brick House is bad, but in the back of your mind you also know that you could find a more delicious version of the same dish somewhere else. The focaccia my smoked salmon benedict was piled on top of was a bit stale, yet still couldn't stand up to the innocuously unflavored hollandaise sauce. But the plentiful smoked salmon, which is house caught and smoked, makes up for those short comings. The toast served with my friend's Cowboy combo clearly came out of a bag, the cheddar sprinkled haphazardly on top of his scrambled eggs wasn't melted, but none of that seemed too bad given that he was served at least 4 eggs (not the 2 the menu claims), thick slabs of bacon and the total for his meal was $8.

The best part about Brick House? It's fun. The daily quiz question gives you a chance to get 25¢ off your coffee (debating the answer took over the conversation at our table though we got it wrong). You can be a bit loud, but the place isn't too overwhelming and noisy. Oh, and the mimosas are $3. 

Though I would suggest visiting for dinner instead of brunch, but don't miss out on the Brick House if you're around AT&T park.

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