This was a great dinner. It's a location that apparently has had several restaurants, with Brix + Brine having been open only a month or so. We had a nice setting, with the entire outdoor dining area under a huge umbrella-type fixture. The place was well appointed with flowers and bushes, and it is set at the rear of a building that fronts the street, making it quite relaxing. Our waiter was happy and pleasant without fail, every time he interacted with us.
I asked if they had a sparkling water, San Pellegrino or Voss or Perrier. They didn't but our waiter immediately suggested two club sodas (with limes) - which he kept filled throughout the meal.
The wife ordered a market salad (baby greens, seasonal vegetables, red wine vinaigrette, sunflower seeds). It included four tomato wedges and a nice mound of sprouts. Pretty good, basic salad. I started with the seafood chowder (lobster, shrimp, mussel, clam, bacon, potato, cream, tarragon). Good stuff - nice hunks of the seafood, especially the lobster, and a rich 'n savory flavor.
For our entrees, she ordered the pan seared salmon (6 oz Atlantic salmon, cool asparagus + cucumber gazpacho crab salad, grilled colossal shrimp, avocado vinaigrette), while I went with the Tuesday night special of fish (halibut) + chips.
When the salmon came out, it looked pretty small, but turned out to be quite a meal. On top were some light greens with a genuinely large grilled shrimp on top of the salmon. I got to eat the shrimp, which was tender-not rubbery-and had a light smoky flavor. The salmon itself was flaky, and sat on a generous gazpacho/crab salad bed. That bottom layer was the surprise star to me. I helped eat it, and it was a really intriguing mixture of the chilled crab, cucumber, asparagus, and avocado ingredients. Who'd have thought it all melded so well in such a disparate dish with the heated salmon and shrimp. I really enjoyed savoring its flavor. Too bad my wife insisted on eating the majority of it.
I expected my fish + chips to be just a standard, ordinary plate. And the fries (chips) under the fish was fairly standard. They still were quite good - being a seasoned variety. The dish also came with a small side of tasty slaw, and a nice little tub of tangy tartar sauce. But the fish was really unexpected. It was a heap of breaded cubes of fish that were easily picked up and dipped or just eaten. Inside the breading was this incredibly moist, but not soggy fish. I don't know how they managed to have that crispy coating while keeping the fish moist and hot throughout the inside. Good job!
No room for dessert. While the meal didn't appear overly large, we both left satisfied and full. read more