Brickside Food & Drink: Look Beyond the Booze | Washingtonian

Comments () | Published April 30, 2013

Brickside Food & Drink

Address: 4866 Cordell Ave., Bethesda, MD 20814

Phone: 301-312-6160

Neighborhood: Bethesda/Glen Echo

Opening Hours: Open daily for dinner.

Price Details: Starters $3.95 to $14.95, entr?es $8.95 to $20.95.

?Vote Against Prohibition,? reads a faux-faded sign on the ruddy brick wall at Brickside Food & Drink, downtown Bethesda?s latest hangout. And though that issue is relevant only in the history books, most of the twentysomething crowd on a recent weeknight was enthusiastically showing its love of the hard stuff?swilling rye-spiked punches in Mason jars and, at happy hour, $10 buckets of Miller Lite. But as the bar was packed three-deep, the dining room?s cozy leather booths stayed mostly empty.

That?s too bad because hidden among the usual sports-bar fare?a tangy-creamy spinach-and-artichoke dip, chicken fingers and wings?are some unexpected gems. Chicken ?pops? translate to hefty, sweetly glazed drumsticks with a cucumber-yogurt dipping sauce. They?re a nice starter, as are fried wedges of soft polenta with blue cheese. A slightly spicy tomato broth makes a restrained portion of mussels worth ordering, and it?s even better as it soaks into garlic toast.

There are misses to watch out for: Overcooked cauliflower with garlicky tahini sauce was a mushy, white-on-white mess. A sauceless pizza arrived on a good, lightly charred crust but was bogged down by gluey, flavorless Armenian string cheese. And a thinly pounded, breaded pork chop emerged bland and tough from the fryer.

When it comes to bigger plates, it?s no surprise pastas are a draw. Andrea Pace?chef/owner of the ambitious Italian dining room Villa Mozart in Fairfax?is co-owner of Brickside. His orecchiette with sausage and broccolini is straightforward and satisfying, while linguine is twirled around shrimp and slicked with a lovely tomato-brandy sauce. It might seem odd that they share space with racks of barbecue ribs, but no matter?those are pretty tasty, too.

No doubt the Mason-jar cocktails will keep flowing, but the kitchen deserves some attention.

Tangy-sweet chicken ?pops? are paired with a cooling yogurt sauce. Photograph by Scott Suchman.

Orecchiette pasta with sausage and spicy tomato sauce. Photograph by Scott Suchman.

This article appears in the May 2013 issue of The Washingtonian.

Source: http://www.washingtonian.com/restaurantreviews/brickside-food-drink-look-beyond-the-booze.php

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