Brick American Eatery, Save Your Money and go to Olive Garden

Let me start off by saying that I was kind of weary of the restaurant when we went.  $120 worth of food for 60 bucks Groupon seemed like a good deal but I have to say this place is definitely not worth the price of admission Groupon or not.  

We arrived at dinner about 7, which was just when their happy hour ended.  However our server was nice enough to put one more round of drinks in for us, which we all appreciated.  This was a nice gesture which I think all restaurant should follow, however with that our dinner went down hill.  For the remainder of the evening, the service was slow and no one came to refill our waters despite the dining room not being too crowded.

Our appetizers, muscles in white wine sauce, and cheeseburger spring rolls, were nothing special.  The muscles had almost no flavor even when you got to the sauce on the bottom, this could be good if you are looking for something light, but I personally prefer some heavier seasoning.  The spring rolls were fried to perfection and the arugula salad was well composed with the right amount of natural bitterness and vinaigrette, however the filling for the spring rolls was ground beef with cheese, that's it.  Some more seasoning here would again have been nice.  The red sauce was a spicy ketchup concoction which was OK but again nothing special. 

For our mains, we had 3 pasta dishes and the blackened salmon special.  My wife ordered the gnocchi in basil pesto sauce (green), and our friends ordered the gnocchi in vodka sauce and spaghetti and meatballs.  With the lack luster appetizer round my expectations were not very high and on that Brick definitely delivered.  I usually like my pesto to have a very strong basil taste but in this case i would not have guessed there was any basil in it unless someone told me.  The vodka sauce was just as bland, more tomatoey than any other flavor.

In addition the two different gnocchis had very different textures, my wife's being kind of doughy and my friend's being more firm.  I suspect that this is because they used one bag up and opened another for the second order.  Otherwise you'd expect two pasta dishes to have similar texture if they were cooked at the same time.  However we all agreed that for the price, they should have thrown in some protein or something, just eating a plate of pasta gets a little boring even if it is superb. Oh and the spaghetti and meatballs was good, but again nothing special that I would order again.

I think the only dish of the night that had some flavor was my entree, which was a blacken salmon severed over mashed potatoes infused with grilled peppers.  The fish was cooked nicely with a crispy skin on the bottom and a nice cajun spicy mix blackened, not too heavy, not too light.  The mashed potatoes it self was also very good.  The addition of the spicy grilled peppers gave it a slight kick which really livened up the plate.  the tomato salsa on top was also a great addition but I feel like a little more acidity to balance the starch would have worked better.  All in all though it was a well composed dish.

 We were too full after everything to get dessert but based on the meal itself I'd say I did not care to see the dessert menu and my companions agreed.  But before my final verdict there is something you should be aware of when you use a groupon.  And that is once the bill comes you better have a PHD mathematician at the table to figure out how much each person owes, seriously we must have spent at least 30 minutes just trying to do that, and at our table we had 2 business owners, an accountant, and an engineer:-)  In the end, from the undiscounted total of $174+tip-groupon deal+what we owe to the person who brought the groupon-drinks....(30 minutes later), each of us owe about $27/person for 5 people including tip, $34.80/person no tip, undiscounted.

This is a bargain you say, and I'd agree, but consider this: I could have had fried calamari $8.99+ herb grilled salmon $17.97 at Olive Garden for $26.95+$8 drink = $34.95, which I would argue is a far better value/taste because with Olive Garden you at least get bread sticks and soup or salad with your entree.  Or consider this, I could have had a pot of muscles and fries with a nice beer at Monks 3 blocks away for $18 bucks.

So, where are we then with Brick?  Well, with all the other great restaurants in town just a few blocks away.  I'd say this place is only worth visiting if you have a groupon and if you have no tastebuds.  This restaurant get a 6/10.  The inconsistent food, lack of flavor and overall unimaginativeness of the menu guarantees that this Brick will sink to the bottom in no time.

Lunch: Takumi

This is a quickie review of one of my favorite lunch spots in Wilmington, DE.  This is definitely worth you checking out if you like Chinese food.  But Bo you say, Takumi is a "Japanese sounding place".  Well your right, they do have a full sushi bar, but I have to say their Chinese food is much better for lunch.  having tried all the local spots for bento boxes, I can honestly say that for the price, you can get a bento box in other places, but I digress. 

 In the photos shown my friend and I had the pork belly with pickle (top) and the pork with garlic sauce (bottom).  The porkbelly was nice and tender with the fat falling apart as you tried to pick it up with your chopsticks.  The flavor was a well balanced combination of sweet and savory.  It is heavy but since there's not that many pieces, about 6 or so, you don't feel too bad for indulging.

The pork with garlic sauce was labeled to be spicy on the menu but it was fairly mild.  Compared to some of the other dishes they have that are also labeled as spicy I have to say be careful they are not all equally spicy.  The Chicken with Pepper for example is very spicy for most tastes.  The pork was nice and tender and the dish had a strong fruitiness and tartness that was very complementary of each other and the crisp celery and bamboo shoots.

At about $9.95/person before tip, this is a really good place for lunch if your in the Wilmington DE area.  Taste is great, price is reasonable, all in all I'd say i'd give this place a 8/10.  Till next time, eat well my friends.

Sweetwater Tavern

Hello folks,

I have a rule when it comes to dining.  And that rule is to never eat at a chain restaurant for dinner.  Now I know from my last week's review I did go to a Ruth Chris, which is technically a chain place but I think any reasonable person would not confuse a chain like Ruth Chris with say Applebees'.  OK disclaimer out of the way, let get to what makes this restaurant, Sweetwater tavern in falls church special.

In one word?  Free!! well my brother in law and family paid for it so it was free for me.  Other than that the food was very unremarkable.  Except... du du de dum, the wings.  They were so good in fact that I didn't even get to take a picture.  Not sure what was in the "puddle sauce" but the wings were juicy, and smoky, with just a little bit of spiciness to give it that kick that sent it out of the park.  My wife even remarked that they were the best wings she ever had, to which I agreed.  They were probably the best wings "she" ever had.  But all kidding aside, they managed to get the smoky, spicy goodness into the meat itself and not just on the skin which to me is the mark of a delicious wing.  Sorry no picture, seriously the wings flew off the plate before I could get my camera out.

Along with our wings we also had some bruschetta which were served with toasted garlic bread.  The bruschetta was very well seasoned with the right amount of vinegar and olive oil, a nice counter balance to the smoky richness of the wings.  Our drinks were also very tasty, with the mango martini being my favorite between the pomegranate margarita and their red sangria.

With our appetizers gone in a matter of seconds my somewhat cynical side was starting to let its guard down.  Mmm maybe I finally found a good american restaurant?  Maybe after all this time I've been too picky and let some real gems escape my attention?  Or maybe pigs can fly!!

My 12 ouch prime rib arrived barely above room temperature with no au ju or horse radish.  To me the horse radish I can forgive but the steak being cold is definitely a cardinal sin right up there with using the same sauce for an appetizer and an entree.  To be fair the stake was cook to medium like I ordered but without the right accompaniment it definitely suffered in my book.

The rest of our meal was well liked by the aforementioned brother in law and family.  My sister in law had the burger, and my mother in law had the fillet.  shown here.

They looked pretty good but I can't judge since I did not get to taste any.  But at least they look good:-)  My brother in law had the drunken ribeye and a loaded baked potato which he also enjoyed.  

I did get a taste of my wife's Jambalaya pasta which you can tell was not made in house, but the sauce was actually pretty good.  It had a nice spice level which I did not expect, not because I don't know what jambalaya is but rather because in this type of restaurant I expected it to be some what watered down.  So pasta dish was a win despite itself.

Over all the meal was satisfactory.  Aside from the somewhat minor flaws I found with my dish and the "non home made" pasta, I'd say it is a relatively good value for your dollar.  Our meal for a family of 5 was about $26/person before tip.  Would I go back there again?  Probably not, but the company and the 3 fire alarms definitely made it a memorable.  Yeah the fire alarm went off 3 times during the meal, and according to our server, someone kept "accidentally" pulling it in the basement.  Seriously?  3 times?  Eventually they just disabled the sound while the fire department went to check it out.

Anyway, I think I'd give this place a 6/10 based on the whole experience.  It's not a bad place per say but for 26/person I know I can get a better meal in many other places.  Ok folks till next time, keep eating well and remember, don't settle for less with it comes to what goes in your stomach.