It was our second visit to Brick & Tin, and like the first one, it did not disappoint. We often go in for lunch as meals tend to be more affordable, and the crowd was there, as usual, but winding down because it was after 1 p.m.
This is an “order at the counter” establishment, then you take a number, take a seat and they serve you at your table. We checked out the “specials” on the blackboard by the register and placed our order.
Visiting Brick & Tin in Mountain Brook Village
Today, my order was a Sesame Chicken Bowl, and wow — it was not what I was expecting. This is considered one of their “plate” selections, and it was the best sesame chicken I have ever had — sweet, smoky, tender and cooked to perfection, placed over a bed of rice noodles and sushi rice. On the side was a generous serving of edamame, cashews and broccoli and of course, extra savory teriyaki sauce. DELICIOUS!
Farro Salad
My husband chose the farro salad — as I often say, he is the adventurous one. It was delicious, as well, with sweet potatoes, dried cranberries, kale, pecans and an interesting sorghum-sherry vinaigrette. He paired it with a cup of their homemade mushroom soup, which I had to sample. It was thick and creamy and rich — it will be something I will order in the future.
Chocolate Bread Pudding
We drank water and brought these large glass water bottles to you so that you could refill yourselves, and it was particularly nice. We decided we needed a dessert, and we shared a chocolate bread pudding. I’m glad we shared because it was huge! Needless to say, after we polished it off, we were a little bit uncomfortable but extremely satisfied.
Previous Visit
On our last trip, I had the bluebird salad, a romaine, spinach, frisee, all-natural fried chicken, bacon avocado, cherry tomatoes, bleu cheese dressing, and champagne vinaigrette salad. It was quite good, and David’s sauteed salmon with Farro cauliflower puree, sweet potatoes, dried cranberries, kale, almonds and sorghum-sherry vinaigrette. So good!
Brick & Tin Bakery
One of the other cool things about Brick & Tin is their bakery in the back. If you love their breads like we do, you can pick up a delicious loaf and take it home. Our last loaf didn’t last more than a couple of days! Bread is made fresh daily (see the website for details and varieties) and cookies, too, as well as other desserts and pastries. Sometimes you can smell it baking. Bread includes Pain De Mie Loaf, Pain De Mie Flats, Focaccia, Challah, Honey Oat Wheat Loaf and Wheat Five Grain Loaf. In addition to cookies, you can also buy whole, homemade pies, flourless chocolate cookies, cupcakes vegan almost butter, French macarons, brownies and blondies, and of course, that delicious chocolate bread pudding we had.
More Menu
Other great items on the menu include paninis: brisket, holiday ham, chick & tin and turkey Reuben sandwiches, as well as an interesting collard green melt I must try next time. Choose a panini side of a classic or simple salad,farro salad, winter citrus, fruit cup, mushroom soup, cauliflower & coconut soup on Mac and cheese. In addition to the panini choices with a side, you can also pair one of these side salads with a soup for a meal.
Small Plates
“Small plates” include a crispy Brussels salad with flash-fried Brussels sprouts, as well as a pimento cheese plate served on fresh baked focaccia. Other regular plates include pork and greens and a Thai vegetable curry bowl.
Kid Food
If you are dining with children, Brick & Tin has a cute kids’ menu with fun activities on the back like find a word, word search and tic tac toe while they wait. They get to pick an entree from among turkey and cheese, grilled cheese, chicken tenders, Mac ’n’ choose and PB & J, and all entrees come with a side of fruit. Drinks are milk or lemonade, and dessert includes their great cookies, brownies, blondies or bread pudding.
Birmingham Farm to Table
Something especially interesting about the food at Brick & Tin is that they use local foods from local farmers. A visit to their website, https://brickandtin.com/mountain-brook-brick-and-tin-about-our-farmers will give you a great read all about where the food you are eating comes from.
According to their website, the folks at Brick & Tin believe people should KNOW where their food comes from, and they have carefully sourced their ingredients from purveyors as close to home as possible.
Brick & Tin Birmingham
“We also believe that it is important for people to enjoy food that is free of hormones, chemicals or other additives,” they say on their website. “Meats prepared here are humanely raised in pastures and free-roaming ranges.”
We love the restaurant and will return whenever we can get over to Mountain Brook. There is also a downtown location, as well. Check out www.brickandtin.com.
