Brick & Fire

Dinner: 10/10/10

I tried to eat here last week but was told that since we didn't have a reservation we couldn't get in. Really? In Eureka? Okay, so I made a reservation for the following week with the determination that if this place really is this 'hot' that I was going to work my way around the menu and see what the fuss was about.

I was impressed with the wine list that featured lots of Italian varietals, and decent bottles in the $20 range, and everything available by the glass. The bread basket had three types of bread, each made in-house that morning. I recall a 3-seed bread (poppy, sunflower and pumpkin), a heavier barley style, and one with sweet onion and cumin. The olive oil was really fruity and a great accompaniment - but I didn't eat too much bread because I didn't want to ruin my appetite for what was to follow.

We started with the roasted oysters and the mushroom cobbler. Both were excellent, prepared and seasoned well, and very tasty. Also not too large, which is a good thing because I hate getting filled up on the appetizer so I can't finish the entree. For dinner I ordered one of the rotating dishes, the organic pork chop served with stewed apples, a gorgonzola sauce, and steak fries with homemade ketchup. Geoff ordered one of the regular items, the brick-fire game hen with a fig/wine sauce and rice pilaf. We split a side of kale and red peppers (you have to order vegetables separately, no veggies come with the entrees).

The pork was perfectly cooked, the sauce was not too rich or salty, and the apples rounded the whole dish. I thought the fries were good - but not necessary and would have prefered the potatoes cooked another way, garlic-smashed maybe? We both agree the game hen was the BEST we'd ever had. The server said it was one of the best things on the menu, and for the price (under $20) this was a bargain considering the care in the sauce and the preparation. Neither of us liked the kale and peppers because they had a sour aftertaste - this was the only thing that did not work at all. If I could get a do-over, I would have gone with the roasted cauliflower.

We split a creme brulee, lightly flavored with orange and vanilla, and garnished with a slice of strawberry, a blackberry, and a green leaf that I assumed was mint, but after careful inspection (and finally asking the server who asked the chef) turned out to be fresh oregano leaf from their herb garden. They chose too deep a dish for the brulee which made the top of the custard get too hot during torching. The crust was perfect, but some of the custard was runny. We still ate the whole thing in under 5 minutes - I really like creme brulee!

Now the really, really picky stuff. The plating was unimaginitive. I tried to take a picture of one dish and everything just looked brown. Brown hen, brown pilaf, brown sauce, on a plain white dish, served on a white tablecoth. The interior is really beautiful and the sound level was lively, but we could still hear each other without raising our voices. The restaurant was warm because of the wood-burning ovens - something the server said right up front with a nod suggesting I take off my wrap (which I did).

We had a $25 bottle of wine, two starters, two entrees and one dessert, for $97. Pricy for Eureka, but the same meal in San Francisco would run at least $50 more. There was a family across from us - parents in University sweatshirts with a toddler, and they were all just spliting a pizza and a salad. Again, I love the range of offerings, and can see stopping by after work to sit at the counter with a draft microbrew and some pizza, as well as going back for special occasions.

I am batting a thousand so far, and am glad that I started this project. Next up, Folie Douce on the 19th.