Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Chewing on Brick + Mortar

Checking out replacement to Gordon Ramsay's hellish disappointment

The last time I was in the space currently housing Brick + Mortar (820 Fifth Avenue, Downtown), I was cringing as I watched the episode of FOX’s Hotel Hell where superstar chef Gordon Ramsay ripped the owners of The Keating Hotel and its restaurant, The MerK Bistro, a new one. After decimating The MerK and its staff, he attempted to build the eatery up, revamping the menu and instituting operational changes, but shortly after the episode aired, the owners sold the restaurant to Broseph’s Restaurant Group, who promptly moved in with a new concept for a laid back eatery serving minimally upscale takes on en vogue dining staples.

I stayed away early on, both to give Brick + Mortar’s staff time to get their feet and, honestly, because I was sick of all the drama surrounding the site. Last week, friends of mine who reside downtown said they’d been in and really enjoyed the food, and suggested we have dinner there. With a couple of months behind them, it seemed the perfect opportunity to give them a look and a taste, so we walked down Fifth and hunkered down for a Friday night meal in the Gaslamp.

The menu reads like so many these days—pizzas, mussels, beet salad, charcuterie and cheese plates, plus numerous protein-starch-veg entrées. Nearly all of them are standard, but given some freshness courtesy of a non-standard ingredient or ethnic influence. While it would be nice to see more variance, both here and at other restaurants, particularly those in the Gaslamp, for the most part, the entries on the evening’s bill sounded good enough that figuring out what to order was pleasantly challenging. In the end, we decided to go with two pizzas (one of my dining companions deemed them outstanding, and I trust her) and some sharable starters.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/dec/30/37634/

We started with corn fritters and a salad of goat cheese and beets. The salad had good flavors and minimal fuss. Tender beets were given some countering crunch by thin and pretty watermelon radish rounds. Unfortunately, the accompanying leafy greens were most unusually served whole on thick stems that made it very difficult to eat and far too fibrous for anybody, save maybe the Easter Bunny, to enjoy. The fritters on the other hand, were outstanding. Golden on the outside, warm and slightly doughy (in a good way) on the inside, they hit the spot on a chilly winter evening and were given additional comfort appeal thanks to a mole-spiced beef short rib ragout.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/dec/30/37633/

We were also pleased on the pizza front. The dough straddles the line between thin and thick, has nice crunch, but enough doughiness that one avoids feeling like they’re dining on sauce shellacked water crackers. Both of our pies—one topped with Indian murgh makhani chicken and raita (cucumber studded herbed yogurt), the other a lamb merguez sausage pizza with Manchego cheese, roasted eggplant and peppers—were tastefully sauced and topped. I’d expected the merguez to be a hands-down favorite, and it was extremely flavorful and quite nice, but the subtly spiced chicken and contrasting coolness of the raita inspired me to hog way too much of that variety.

In the end, I was pretty impressed. I won’t run back, but it’s nice to have something reliable in one of the most peril-ridden clusters of eateries in the city, and Brick + Mortar is worlds better than The MerK ever was.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

20 Best Online Casinos USA For Real Money (2024 List)

USA Online Casinos: Top 20 Online Casino Sites of 2024
Next Article

San Diego Reader 2024 Music & Arts Issue

Favorite fakers: Baby Bushka, Fleetwood Max, Electric Waste Band, Oceans, Geezer – plus upcoming tribute schedule

The last time I was in the space currently housing Brick + Mortar (820 Fifth Avenue, Downtown), I was cringing as I watched the episode of FOX’s Hotel Hell where superstar chef Gordon Ramsay ripped the owners of The Keating Hotel and its restaurant, The MerK Bistro, a new one. After decimating The MerK and its staff, he attempted to build the eatery up, revamping the menu and instituting operational changes, but shortly after the episode aired, the owners sold the restaurant to Broseph’s Restaurant Group, who promptly moved in with a new concept for a laid back eatery serving minimally upscale takes on en vogue dining staples.

I stayed away early on, both to give Brick + Mortar’s staff time to get their feet and, honestly, because I was sick of all the drama surrounding the site. Last week, friends of mine who reside downtown said they’d been in and really enjoyed the food, and suggested we have dinner there. With a couple of months behind them, it seemed the perfect opportunity to give them a look and a taste, so we walked down Fifth and hunkered down for a Friday night meal in the Gaslamp.

The menu reads like so many these days—pizzas, mussels, beet salad, charcuterie and cheese plates, plus numerous protein-starch-veg entrées. Nearly all of them are standard, but given some freshness courtesy of a non-standard ingredient or ethnic influence. While it would be nice to see more variance, both here and at other restaurants, particularly those in the Gaslamp, for the most part, the entries on the evening’s bill sounded good enough that figuring out what to order was pleasantly challenging. In the end, we decided to go with two pizzas (one of my dining companions deemed them outstanding, and I trust her) and some sharable starters.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/dec/30/37634/

We started with corn fritters and a salad of goat cheese and beets. The salad had good flavors and minimal fuss. Tender beets were given some countering crunch by thin and pretty watermelon radish rounds. Unfortunately, the accompanying leafy greens were most unusually served whole on thick stems that made it very difficult to eat and far too fibrous for anybody, save maybe the Easter Bunny, to enjoy. The fritters on the other hand, were outstanding. Golden on the outside, warm and slightly doughy (in a good way) on the inside, they hit the spot on a chilly winter evening and were given additional comfort appeal thanks to a mole-spiced beef short rib ragout.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/dec/30/37633/

We were also pleased on the pizza front. The dough straddles the line between thin and thick, has nice crunch, but enough doughiness that one avoids feeling like they’re dining on sauce shellacked water crackers. Both of our pies—one topped with Indian murgh makhani chicken and raita (cucumber studded herbed yogurt), the other a lamb merguez sausage pizza with Manchego cheese, roasted eggplant and peppers—were tastefully sauced and topped. I’d expected the merguez to be a hands-down favorite, and it was extremely flavorful and quite nice, but the subtly spiced chicken and contrasting coolness of the raita inspired me to hog way too much of that variety.

In the end, I was pretty impressed. I won’t run back, but it’s nice to have something reliable in one of the most peril-ridden clusters of eateries in the city, and Brick + Mortar is worlds better than The MerK ever was.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.