Hot Dish Review

While in Orlando, LC and I dined at a cozy spot on the main drag called Brick House Tavern and Tap. Flattering lighting and a modern rustic decor made it the perfect choice for a casual date night. We settled into a booth next to the fireplace.

Not sure how I missed the overt sexual innuendo on the menu during our visit, only discovering it while reviewing our choices for this post. Items like “three-way chicken wings” and “submissive baked potato soup” make me wonder who thought this was a good idea….and why. I also discovered that the restaurant is part of a chain, with 15 locations from Texas to Florida. I liked the place a whole lot more before I knew that bit of info.

Having eaten at Brick House a few weeks before on a business trip, LC knew I’d love the deviled eggs topped with crispy bacon and roasted jalapenos to start, so we ordered them along with a couple of drinks. That’s when we got the bad news: they were out of bacon. Checking out the entire menu, I noticed that many dishes contained bacon, from the mac ‘n’ cheese to the “bad boy chopped salad”. How the f*ck can you run out of bacon when your entire menu depends on it?

We ordered the deviled eggs anyway, which arrived unadorned, save for a sprinkling of cayenne. I guess without the bacon we wouldn’t want the jalapenos? LC asked our server to bring them. The eggs were good but disappointing without the bacon.

Like all taverns and taps, Brick House offers a large selection of specialty and import beers with twenty served on draught. Man-sized burgers and sandwiches compete with ladylike dishes like “zucchini curls” or the “good girl Caesar salad”.

As we often do, LC and I chose a few items to share. Silver dollar burger sliders were thick and juicy, topped with balsamic caramelized onions and gooey melted cheese. Soft buns were the final component that made these sliders exceptionally delicious.

If she ever was a brick house, she wouldn’t stay that way for long eating stuff like the “big onion stack”. LC demonstrated how it was one continuous piece of greasy, battered onion. I blotted them with my napkin to no avail. Did we stop eating them? No sir!

For a lighter dish we tried the “beefed up steak salad”. Grilled pieces of tenderloin were flavorful paired with grilled red onions. Although not listed, the salad was garnished with tomato wedges and candied walnuts. Creamy balsamic finished the fresh greens.

Desserts are called “happy endings”, of course. We were too full to indulge, but when we got back to our lovely resort we had worked up an appetite for “pleasure pie”.

Sorry, just couldn’t resist.

8440 International Drive, Orlando 407-355-0321