Back on the Wagon at Brix

After a long vacation of mid-day beers on the beach, wine with late night dinners and not-so-much time in the gym, Steve and I decided we'd try not drinking any alcohol for the 2 weeks.   It's a cleansing of sorts, which has proven really difficult.  We were at Cactus with friends the other day ("no, no margarita for me, thank you") and then dinner at a friends house ("really.  I'm serious, it's true.  I'm not having a glass of wine") and then even my sister's bachelorette party-photo right- ("Are you kidding?  I'm not dancing on stage!!  I am stone sober! But I WILL drive you home").  Despite the constant social opportunities to imbibe, we've generally been impressed with the greater ease at which we can get out of bed in the morning.   And now there's only one layer of bags under our eyes instead of a whole set. 

We were lucky enough to attend an opening party at Brix last night, the new wine bar in Juanita Village (11822 98th Ave NE).  And it was at this event that we decided to make an exception.  How could you not have a glass of wine at a wine bar?  We convinced ourselves that would be rude, and graciously accepted a delicious glass of Red Splendor.  The place has a nice hip vibe to it with 99 bottles of wine on the wall behind the bar which is the nucleus of the restaurant.   Lots of great local PNW wines on the menu- the flights looked fabulous.  There's a private room with a plasma tv and chunky wood table off to the side.  All of the food was excellent, as we would expect, since the menu was put together by Tom Black, previously of Barking Frog (photo left, Dave Zimmerman one of the owners, with Tom).  We got to sample the scallops, perfectly seared with a sweet flavor, and also the Roasted Chicken Flatbread w/ mozzarella and basil pesto which was delicious.  Kudos to the executive chef, Craig Stout (photo rt w/ Steve). The warm chocolate brownie was to die for--you can't beat chocolate w/ red wine.  I may not fit into that bridesmaid dress this weekend, but I have to say it was worth it!

Brix opens to the general public for dinner starting THIS Friday Sept 14th from 6-11pm.  Be the first to drop by and check it out.   The menu looks amazing and ranges from $7 appetizers up to $16 entrees.  We think this will be a great addition to the Juanita area- swing on by and let us know what you think!   ~Janis

Comments

[Vince Armfield]

Jan,

I don't know if you remember me commenting last year with you about our church hosting a block party in Norkirk? We're at it again and would like to extend an open invite to anyone in the neighborhood to join us on Saturday, 6 Oct 07 between 11:30 am and 5:00 pm. We're having free food, live music (NW University's Synergy jazz ensemble) and fun stuff for kids (painting pumpkins, face painting and games). Anyone is welcome to come. Its our way of saying we appreciate our neighborhood. Thanks and keep up the great articles for the weblog! Vince

[Keith]

Thank you for posting information about Brix Wine Cafe. We currently open at 4PM Tuesday - Sunday and will be open for lunch in a few weeks. My business partner (Dave) and I are having a lot of fun, and really enjoy being part of the same community we live in.

Our website: www.brixwinecafe.com will have menus posted soon!

Please stop in for glass of wine or some great food. Our Executive Chef, Craig Stout has really impressed us all.

Thanks - Keith

[Karin]

So disappointed in this place. I waited with much anticipation for it to open- I thought finally a nice place to go in Juanita and bonus that it is right around the corner from my house. Hopefully, they are still working out the kinks, but I won't hold my breath. The food was bad (no flavor, no imagination- just overall no good) and the wait staff had no idea how to give advice on the wine they serve. Considering that this is a wine bar, I expected the staff to be knowledgable. I may give this another chance, but it will be awhile before I go back. I do hope that the owners can turn this around as I do believe that Juanita needs a place with this type of vibe- just a new menu, different chef (or maybe just a new menu would fix it) and more knowledgable wait staff.

[Sarah]

LOVED Brix! Went there for dinner Saturday night and enjoyed the great atmosphere and delicious food! Split a salad with beets, goat cheese & toasted hazelnuts followed by a great burger with blue cheese and caramelized onions. Service was top notch and made us feel right at home. We will be back :)

[Emily]

We love Brix. We've probably been there 5 times since it opened. The scallop appetizer rocks and the steak is excellent and really well priced at $21. We've never had poor service or anything that didn't meet our expectations in the food department, nor do you get any weird looks if you don't order wine (we often pop in just for the food even if we're not in a drinking mood). The wine list is small, but reasonably priced and diverse.