Brick Pizzeria & Ristorante — Restaurant in Franklin

Went to Brick for the first time last night. There were six of us and none of us had been there prior. The atmosphere was warm and inviting, yet still had an open air feel without being one large room. Lighting was mostly good with exception to one side of our table. We joked about it being daytime on one side and night on the other. I think there was a plant or some other décor that hung in front of the light. Not a tragedy and certainly does not deserve a reduction in stars because I happened to sit down at the only chair I could see in the entire room that was actually in shadow. We found it funny. Good thing cell phones come with flashlights now!

Service was outSTANding! Maria was our server and she was very attentive without hovering. She answered all our questions and went for assistance when she wasn't sure of an answer. We can be a needy group sometimes. She was very sweet and very accommodating. In addition to Maria, we also received visits from the manager Stan who was so very thorough in his descriptions and recommendations, and assisted Maria with bringing out all our food. They definitely made it an enjoyable evening for us out in the bitter cold.

Now the food. I cannot say enough about just how delicious the food was. All but two people ordered completely different dishes, and two ordered dessert. First thing is they don't have a first course or side salad. All their salads are entrees in themselves, so one of my friends and I split the Wedge Salad so we could have our first course but not eat too much before our mains. In our group we had Chicken Parmesan (x2), Pizza, Calzone, Chef's Choice Ravioli (which last night was Burgundy Glazed Beef Ravioli in a Creamy Mushroom Sauce), and I had the Braised Short Rib. Everyone absolutely LOVED their choices. The braised short ribs with garlic mashed potatoes and spinach was just divine. The meat just melted in my mouth. The mash was so smooth without being over-whipped, and the flavor was just...

Brick seems to have a bit of an identity crisis. Walking in, the signage lends itself to a casual, goofy, kid type atmosphere. However, when walking in the waitstaff is all dressed in black, Sinatra type music is playing and the menu is written in an upscale way.

Looking behind the bar, there are two brick ovens (think Anodyne’s pizza oven) which got me excited about what would come out of them.

Waitstaff was fast, but we were there when it was less than half full. Drinks were ok, but my Paloma was more margarita sweet than the citrusy flavor profile it should be, so wondering if bar staff really knows the difference.

We ordered two pizzas and that’s where the identity crisis continued. The brick ovens alongside how the menu was written for the margherita pizza and funghi had our mouths watering. But, much to our disappointment, both pizzas were short of even rudimentary. The red sauce tasted as if it were pulled from a Ragu jar at Pick n Save with little seasoning and overwhelming canned tomato flavor. The dough was essentially flavorless, and even though coming out of those brick ovens, were floppy and chewy with little crisp to the under carriage. The margherita pizza didn’t seem to have fresh mozzarella nor did it have more than 3 or so limp pieces of basil. The funghi (mushroom and pepperoni pizza) had tasteless white button mushrooms, very few sprinkled about, along with large pepperoni that would simply slide off. I was imagining some sort of portabella, sautéed cremini or even seasoned button mushrooms. But no, just plain button sparsely sprinkled on.

Overall, the pizza was underwhelming despite the cost, a well written menu and the fuel to get a good pizza from those amazing looking ovens. Unfortunately, for the metallic tomato tasting sauce alone, I would not return. We had high hopes for a great pizza place at the Ballpark Commons, but for now this is a miss and a pass. Hopefully with some refinement they can...

Wanted this to be a great experience. So I’m going to be kind. Service was very awkward. Two tables seated in the entire restaurant at 7:15. The server was prompt but her comments confirmed our feeling about why such a beautiful place was empty.

$7 for a bottle of Miller. That is allot of money for a local domestic beer. Had the overall experience been better, that cost would not be as noticeable.

Appetizer = Meatballs were quite good, they were accompanied by a lively tomato sauce that was delicious and bright and non acidic. The focaccia pieces served in precut slices (Pizza dough) was almost raw. What should have been a great side to soak up the sauce was a gummy, bland, under seasoned wad of dough.

Pizza = With great ovens a great pizza should emerge. However, the pizza was wet in the middle. We were told it sat there while the kitchen was waiting for the chicken parmigiana. Our toppings slid right off. The server promptly offered another pizza that would take less time so we ordered the four cheese pizza which was brought out in several minutes. That pizza was definitely better but quite average in taste. The dough itself, specifically the crust was quite good, however the overall bake time for a fully topped pizza in the oven seems to need much work to perfect a better pie.

Chicken Parm was satisfactory. It was served with pasta and a tasty red sauce. The chicken breast would have been much better had it been pounded out instead of a thick slab which requires extra cook time.

Unfortunately we will not return. I wish them better days ahead as they figure out there challenges. It is...