My girlfriend and I were out on a restaurant crawl, celebrating my very belated birthday, upon her insistence. She very generously treated me, declaring I had no say in the matter. The original plan was to go to Kobe for some live action Teppanyaki, like we did last year; but the idea of a crawl would be more fun. Three stops for triple the fun, and more cost effective overall. More bang for the same buck.
Our second stop, was Brix and Mortar restaurant, which I am already well familiar with. Today they were hosting a private wedding reception, so we had to enter through the Yaletown entrance. This, however, was a first for me. I didn’t even know they had this space.
We were seated under a neon love sign that tinted everything blue and gave us an immediate view of their backlit box shelf bar.
We started off with a pitcher of sangria. Rosé Sangria with St Remy Signature, Cointreau, Apricot Liqueur, Raspberry Rosé Syrup, Guava, Lemon, Soda, Orange Twist, Mint, and a Red Wine Float.
We were both intrigued by their twist of using guava juice, and finishing it off with a red wine float. It served us about four glasses total, two each, poured tableside and finished with a spill of red wine as promised. It was a very lovely glass. Fresh and fruity, while still giving you the nuance of wine. We both enjoyed it other than the hassle with the ice. It had us drinking much slower, trying to avoid all of it.
However, I would not learn my lesson with the ice, as my next cocktail was a Spritz and I had the same nuisance of having to avoid the ice. Then not being able to drink fast enough before the ice melted, I felt I was constantly playing catch-up with my cocktail. I chose this for its described savoury flavor, but found it more sour than anything. An interesting profile, but not something I would gravitate towards again, nor do they find it all the complementary to the classic French cuisine that we were having.
My guest got her coffee martini here. Their take on an espresso martini. The Totally Bananas was a mix of Flor de Cana 12 year, Frangelico, Wray & Nephew Rum, Banana Syrup, Espresso Shot, and Banana Bergamot Bitters. Although banana was in both the title and the description, we did not see the follow-through. At least it was still tasty coffee-forward cocktail with a satisfying mouth-feel to end on.
For food we decided to order more unique plates, starting off with the pate. Chicken Liver a parfait with grainy mustard, house pickles, seasonal jam, and crostini. What looked like a small scoop was actually plenty for two. Smeared over a crunchy crostini alongside a lovely pineapple compote and some sweet pickled jalapeños. We didn’t use the grainy mustard as all three of the latter were so welled paired as is. This was an even balance of salty, sweet, and spicy.
We followed this with an an entrée of Yarrow Meadows Duck Breast. Jamaican Jerk spiced duck with a Kohlrabi remoulade, whipped coconut yam, and spiced peach jam. This was perfectly prepared with a zesty rub. The duck meat was juicy, sweetened with fragrant fruit. This was a dish enjoyable for any and all duck lovers.
At this point we were full, but as per my friend’s plan, we had to press forward on to our third stop.
We began to wrap things up, and my friend was sad to hear that outside of ordering a dessert and them adding a candle onto it, they had nothing to offer anyone celebrating their birthday. She provided her feedback to the manager, given the reputation of the restaurant. He pointed out that they cannot financially sustain such as incentive as they see birthdays daily and multiples throughout the day.
Brix & Mortar
1138 Homer St, Vancouver BC V6B 2X6
+1 (604) 915-9463
brixandmortar.ca
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