Brix

[*Deborah*]

Last night, the Mooshes and Canucklehead joined me at Brix to try out their $35 DOV menu.

We were next to a table of 40? I didn't count, but a lot of suits.

The cocktail menu isn't available online, but I had something called a Prickley Pear, which included tequila and was soooo smooth. Yum! Moosh had an Asia da Cuba (sp?) which she let me sip: lychee aroma, so not to my taste, really, but also nice. Mr. Mouse had a 1516 on tap to start, aand Canucklehead had cranberry and soda.

We were kind of boring, and all had the same meal: to begin, Seven Spice Ahi Tuna on green bean and yam tempura with ginger soya reduction...the ginger soya reduction was like a beurre blanc, a little sweet, lovely with the beautifully seared tuna. Very flavourful plate, a lot of Mmmms going around the table.

For mains, we all chose the Porcini mushroom crusted venison scallopini with pecorino and fontina tagliatelli, tomato jam timbale, roast garlic demi glace and a cherry tomato spinach sauté. Wow! superfabulous venison. We deduced it might have been braised before it was flash fried, because it was unbelievably tender. The flavour was sweet and rich, almost like liver (in a good way! but I love liver), and the sauce was a nice counterpoint. The taglietelle were wonderful, I never would have thought that that little bit of tomato jam on top would add so much. A really successful dish, heartily recommended. We had the VQA pairing, the Mission Hill Estate SLC Syrah, a nice glass of wine.

For dessert, we had three orders of the Michel Cluizel chocolate mousse cake, and one order of the fruit sorbet. The mousse was milk chocolatey goodness, but a little bland for my dark chocolate-loving tastes. However, following a bite of the mousse with a sip of the Sumac Ridge Pipe...sublime! really really outstanding. Thank you Kurtis from Aurora for turning me on to that wine, I get it whenever I see it, and it is just perfection with chocolate. I strongly recommend trying that out.

David (ex-Fiction) took good care of us, and I'm starting to wonder if I really do eat out too much, recognizing service staff when they venture from one gig to the next

Thank you Brix, for a really excellent dinner. I have to go more often than I have been the past few years.

[gingerfreak]

Thanks for the review *Deborah* - now I'm really looking forward to dinner tonight! I was eyeing that venison dish so now am definitely going to order it. Also the heads up on the chocolate dessert. I really prefer dark chocolate too, so may go for the sorbet instead

[*Deborah*]

Oh, the sorbet was good, definitely,but I should clarify that the chocolate not only improves the wine, but the wine improves the chocolate.

I feel like an evangelist or something, but it makes a really startling difference. The two together are much greater than the sum of their parts, IMO. So don't let the milkiness make you say no if you're thinking of the pairing.

[gingerfreak]

So...my dinner at Brix. Wonderful!

We were a party of 10 (which due to a couple of last minute cancellations became a party of 8 - I don't know the offenders as they were friends of my friend) and due to scattered arrivals I didn't actually see a martini list. No matter, they made me a lovely straight-up martini.

Is water-throwing a growing trend amongst Vancouver servers? Is the rain finally making people wiggy? The first thing that happened was our server ended up spilling water on the table. Fortunately it was a minor accident and no one was injured , but given recent discussion here, I found it inordinately funny. My non-EG friends merely thought I'd lost my mind .

I think between all of us, most of the available DOV dishes were ordered. I went with the tomato-boccoccini salad, a favourite of mine, and loved that the tomatoes in this version were oven-dried and oh so flavourful. The tapenade and capers were excellent accompaniments. Others went for the spring rolls, artfully arranged in what my friend called "springroll jenga", and another got the seven-spice tuna and said it was amazing.

My main was the venison, which was everything *Deborah* described. The tang of the tomato jam really sent it over the top, and I REALLY appreciated the tagliatelle after having been subjected to the old Spaghetti Factory last week (what can I say - my friend was leaving the country and wanted his last meal in Canada there.... ) And as noted, the meat was incredibly tender. The salmon, chicken, and sablefish entrees (which I got to sample - very good) were all approved around the table as well. I went with a glass of the suggested wine pairing, the Mission Hill Estate Syrah, which complemented the meal very well.

On to dessert! Everyone who went with the $35 menu did so because of the chocolate mousse cake, while I did for the venison...and I opted for the sorbet. My friends were so sweet - my dessert came last and they all sat looking longingly at their cakes (and a few apple-walnut strudels), waiting for me to be served (awww... ). You know that's love. The presentation of the sorbet was beautiful and there was a moment of jealousy around the table until they dug in. Then they got over it. The cake was uniformly pronounced delicious, and I loved the sorbet - after the richness of the venison it was just the refreshment I wanted. Oh, and as it was my friend's birthday, the kitchen even put a little candle on her cake. Cute.

So..thumbs up the Brix, in terms of food and service. It was my first time there and I will definitely be returning. Thanks!!

[Mooshmouse]

Et puis, les photos.

Last night, the Mooshes and Canucklehead joined me at Brix to try out their $35 DOV menu...

We were kind of boring, and all had the same meal: to begin, Seven Spice Ahi Tuna on green bean and yam tempura with ginger soya reduction...the ginger soya reduction was like a beurre blanc, a little sweet, lovely with the beautifully seared tuna. Very flavourful plate, a lot of Mmmms going around the table.

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Perfectly seared tuna, not overly crusted. Dipping sauce was outstanding, light yet very soft and round mouthfeel.

For mains, we all chose the Porcini mushroom crusted venison scallopini with pecorino and fontina tagliatelli, tomato jam timbale, roast garlic demi glace and a cherry tomato spinach sauté. Wow! superfabulous venison. We deduced it might have been braised before it was flash fried, because it was unbelievably tender. The flavour was sweet and rich, almost like liver (in a good way! but I love liver), and the sauce was a nice counterpoint. The taglietelle were wonderful, I never would have thought that that little bit of tomato jam on top would add so much. A really successful dish, heartily recommended. We had the VQA pairing, the Mission Hill Estate SLC Syrah, a nice glass of wine.

←

Venison was beautifully spiced, exquisitely flavourful. Brilliantly paired with the SLC Syrah.

For dessert, we had three orders of the Michel Cluizel chocolate mousse cake, and one order of the fruit sorbet. The mousse was milk chocolatey goodness, but a little bland for my dark chocolate-loving tastes. However, following a bite of the mousse with a sip of the Sumac Ridge Pipe...sublime!

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Will agree with Deborah that the Sumac Ridge Pipe really elevated the taste of the chocolate mousse cake; it really needed that extra something to give it much-needed fullness and richness. And I'm with gingerfreak on the sorbet... a lovely, refreshing end to a delicious, well-paced meal. 10 points for service. Thanks again, David.

[snacky_cat]

Mr Cat, Mamacat and myself are going to hit Brix this Friday night. I think we're all going for the $25 menu, as the salmon really is done VERY well there. We will, of course, report back.

[gingerfreak]

Mooshmouse, thanks for the lovely photos - one of these days I'll make the leap into the 21st century and actually get myself a digital camera

[Mooshmouse]

My friends were so sweet - my dessert came last and they all sat looking longingly at their cakes (and a few apple-walnut strudels), waiting for me to be served (awww... ).  You know that's love.

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Melanie, question for you that I forgot to ask earlier. What were the reviews on the apple-walnut strudels? I'm an apple pie/strudel girl at heart, and I was very curious about that dessert.

[gingerfreak]

My friends were so sweet - my dessert came last and they all sat looking longingly at their cakes (and a few apple-walnut strudels), waiting for me to be served (awww... ).  You know that's love.

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Melanie, question for you that I forgot to ask earlier. What were the reviews on the apple-walnut strudels? I'm an apple pie/strudel girl at heart, and I was very curious about that dessert.

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Alas, I seem to have failed in my egullet duties (self-flagellation begins now ) ... the strudels happened to be at the other end of the table so I didn't get much in the way of opinion beyond "they're good". I can say that the portions looked fairly large and they were eaten with great gusto. Perhaps someone in the cat family will be able to elaborate later?

[mamacat]

Snacky-cat, Mr. Cat and I visited Brix on Friday night. The restaurant was full but we did not have to wait for our table. We all did the $25 menu, two of us starting with spring rolls and one with salad. The spring rolls were delicious...four of them with 3 dipping sauces. Snacky said her salad was also very good. We all opted for the salmon which arrived on a bed of potatoes with green beans mixed with red peppers on the side. Snacky and I opted for the sorbet dessert (one scoop of pear, one of raspberry...both very refreshing) while Mr. Cat had the strudel. He was pretty full by the time dessert rolled around but finished it anyway because it was too good not to. I had a flight of Sauvignon blanc wines with my meal while Snacky & Mr. Cat opted for a half litre of one of the Sauvignon blancs. All in all it was a very good meal even if a little bland after the brilliant flavour blendings we have become used to at Senhor Roosters. The service was friendly and attentive which was surprising considering how busy the restaurant was and we certainly did not feel rushed. Our waitress did, however, forget to include some of the wine and a martini on our bill but this was quickly corrected when we pointed that out to her. I'm looking forward to trying the patio at Brix come summertime...it looks like a great spot to relax in the evening.