Brick and Brine — Restaurant in Kalamazoo

Brick and brine is right. We felt that the overarching theme of our meal was “salty”. First, we ordered the meatballs and the steak tartare. The meatballs and the grilled focaccia that came with them were good and the steak tartare was awesome. Best part of our experience. The caesar salad was very yummy and I am pretty critical of my caesar dressings. Would get that again, and I felt it was a pretty sizable salad for the price at this type of place. After the appetizers came out, the salad and soup took quite a bit of time to arrive. But they were a little busy so I’ll give them that. My friend ordered the lobster bisque and it was a bit oily and sooooo salty. And I’m usually a lobster bisque fan. He sent it back. We were asked if we had picked a dessert before we had received our entrees. Then the entrees that we ordered were the duck and the tofu. The best part of the tofu dish was the grilled pineapple and the pickled veggies. The tofu itself tasted only of soy sauce, very one-note and too salty without a foil of sweet once we ran out of pineapple. I didn’t pick up any of the ginger that was supposedly in the marinade and it was disappointing. My friend thought the duck was lacking seasoning other than salt, still thought it was too salty, and didn’t finish it. I did and I liked it, the risotto toned down whatever salt level he didn’t enjoy but I usually like a salty meal, especially my meat, and I enjoyed the carrots and purée under them as well as the asparagus in the duck dish even though they were cold by the time I tried them. The carrots were a little underdone for my taste in the thicker parts up at the top but the ends were perfect. The dessert was amazing, the butterscotch banana budino with the hot, crispy fresh donuts was also a highlight of the meal. Our server was very nice but we were lacking water some of the time and it was a titch slow, but we’re chatterboxes so that’s not a big deal for us. Just needed more water because of the salt level. For the price, the entrees being our least favorite and most expensive parts of the meal was disappointing. We are always very excited to try our new places we hope can rival our favorites, Rustica, Dog & the Bank, and Elysium. This was a bit of a miss for us, and we said we would only go back to have apps and dessert or to try a steak dish and those sides. I almost ordered steak but my boyfriend wanted tofu. The steaks and sides looked delish delivered to the tables near us. To me, the tofu dish was the weakest point other than the soup we sent back. And we don’t do that. Hoping it was just an off night because the other reviews...

ALMOST BUM FIGHTS LIVE AS A VIEW!

The server is good. Nothing in this review is her fault.

Drinks. I wish I knew what the cocktails were that my gf ordered for us. One had habanero sauce or such, and the other had floating cranberries. They were the worst drinks I have ever experienced in my 39 years on earth. Cranberry one tasted just like your Grandma's old pack of potpourri. I can't even describe the other. We requested Shirley temples for the kids and were given Sprite with Cranberry sauce! What in the world?!? It was visibly purple, not red, and no cherries. Our drinks were not touched more than once for everyone to ponder the taste or enjoyed by any means. Although, thankfully, our children have underdeveloped taste buds and drank theirs

Food. Filets were okayish, but not $70 Ala carte delicious. And we have been to many good places to know the difference. Ruth Chris, Flemings, Hyde Park, London Chop House, etc. How do you ruin bread? We had to ask to be served some, then when it came, it had the oddest taste. As well as the butter. It's like they feel compelled to put a spin on everything, but it's just gross. We did enjoy the Brussel Sprouts. The vinegatte dressing tasted very odd as well. Salmon was the best dish at the table.

Atmosphere. We were seated by the back corner that was all windows. Our view the entire time was of the local homeless tweaking out on drugs and acting bizarrely on lawn in front. And I mean in direct view. It seems to be their home? It was complete with a near fight as well amongst their group, but the leader appeared to grab whatever the fight was about and they went back to laying all over the public courtyard. Classic addict behavior in full view of the kids. About 15ish of them. Women in no bras, all of them walking sideways and yelling. Not really appetizing while eating an almost $650 meal with tip.

In full.. this establishment needs to put up curtains (server said it was all day every day with the addicts) or at least have the common sense not to sit people (especially children) in direct view of it when the restaurant is empty.

I would never recommend this place or go here again. Very subpar food. Costco steaks are better imo. We did not complain or ask for any comps and tipped well. We are all ex restaurant staff and just noted to never return. Fully honest review to warn others.

To the restaurant.. No need to autoreply the same as you do to every other negative review. " You pride yourself on quality food" "you're sorry you missed the mark" "please contact blah blah at support and try us again" 😉. We get it. We get it. Take the...

Getting right to it. Service was excellent, the highlight of our dinner. We went with friends and were hoping that the experience would be memorable, but instead it was a real let down. The apps were very good. We ordered meatballs and the feta spread. Great flavors in both of the apps and the meatballs were served hot, so far so good. I ordered the wedge salad, which it turns out wasn’t a wedge at all. The flavors were there, but the lettuce was semi chopped and not close to what I was expecting. News flash, its called a wedge for a reason. My wife’s caesar was passable but not her favorite. Entre’s is where the wheels came off. I ordered the lamb ragu, my ordered the salmon, another friend ordered the truffle mushroom pasta and our other friend ordered the chicken. I’ll start with the ragu. The pasta tasted like it had been sitting in hot water for hours. It was way over-cooked and the sauce brought me to thoughts of Chef Boy-ar-dee. Tasteless, watery, way over-priced. The salmon was good. Firm but not over-cooked and nice flavors. (We all wished we had ordered the salmon). I should also mention that we ordered a side of brussel sprouts that were done perfectly. Very tasty. The mushroom pasta suffered from the same short-comings as the lamb ragu; over cooked pasta and seriously lacking in any sort of real flavor. Both were huge disappointments. The chicken was dry and was barely warm when it reached the table. We also had some dessert drinks. One good, one not so good. I recommend the choco banana - but stay clear of the Bonita Applebaum, the worst thing I’ve paid to drink in years. Overall, the excellent service we received saved the experience from a one star. When a restaurant charges the premium prices that Brick and Brine charges every segment of the experience should be on point, from drinks to appetizers, salads, entrees, to desserts. We have dined here several times, and we have never had the complete experience with them. The entrees were so disappointing that I finally feel compelled to write this review. Maybe they should just stick to grilling. Their steaks are usually pretty decent. I think for the money, there are many other restaurants in the area that have had a great experience with. I think we are...