Stumble It!When I grew up in Astoria, there weren't many options for dining out; Greek diners, Greek restaurants and Greek takeout was about it. OK, so I may be exaggerating slightly, but believe me it was nothing like it is now. Astoria has become a hotspot for new restaurants (and good ones I might add) and has even become a surging spot for nightlife. I have been to quite a few notable restaurants in the area, and there is one I always passed by but never tried: Brick Cafe on 33rd Street.
The outside is just so charming - with it's bright yellow stucco walls, red awning and outdoor seating, it looks like a nice spot for a casual date or even brunch with your parents. Inside, the decor is what I would call antique-chic. Wood paneled floors, stained-glass windows, antique moldings, and chandeliers hang from the ceiling. Quaint indeed, but I still wasn't sure what the food was going to be like. Brick Cafe = brick oven pizza? Not really. There wasn't even that much brick inside, only one exposed brick wall which is mostly covered by a gargantuan mirror.
As we sat down at our table which was "reserved" for two (I called a few hours prior to make a reservation - on a Saturday night), the hostess brought us a wine list, but no food menus. I have no problem with wine, but I wanted to check out the menu since I still had no idea what I was getting into. Five minutes pass, finally I flagged down the waiter and asked for some menus - he was very polite about it. Brick Cafe's menu sounds amazing, it's a mix of Italian and French fare. Among the appetizers are goat cheese with potatoes, string beans and beet salad; tuna Nicoise salad; homemade pate; escargot; asparagus wrapped with smoked salmon, mascarpone cheese and caviar; and the appetizer we decided on was smoked mozzarella, prosciutto and sundried tomatoes with olive oil.
As we waited for out waitress to arrive (she still hadn't shown and it was going on ten minutes), finally one of the busboys brought us some bread and olive tapenade made from Kalamata olives. This was one of my first times in a restaurant where I had decided on a drink, appetizer, and main course all before the first appearance of our waitress. So finally she shows up, tells us the specials and we placed our orders right there. I wasn't taking any chances with her disappearing again. I ordered the pasta special, which was "fresh" rigatoni in a veal-tomato ragu, and my date ordered chicken rollatini stuffed with prosciutto, fontina cheese, and shiitake mushrooms in a light tomato sauce.
When the appetizer arrived, it looked very pretty. Bright red sundried tomatoes on top of creamy white smoked mozzarella, with pink prosciutto and green basil chiffonade. A light drizzling of olive oil and sea salt brought the flavors out, and it was very good. The pieces of mozzarella should have been a little thinner, because when I bit into all three, all I could taste was the cheese. And sundried tomatoes and prosciutto are strong flavors, so it was a little surprising, but it was still quite good. Now the entrees came, and well, I was beyond disappointed. There is NO way this rigatoni was fresh, it tasted like undercooked box pasta. Any pasta that has been made fresh would be soft, if anything. This rigatoni almost had a crunch to it because it was so undercooked. The veal ragu was delicious though, which made it even more upsetting. I was tempted to say to them, "excuse me, but could you scrape this sauce off and throw the pasta back in some boiling water for a few minutes?" But alas, I did not. I tasted the chicken rollatini which was actually very good, it had a nice balance of flavors and the sauce on top was almost like a tomato-gravy. I sopped up all the sauce I could with my bread, but avoided most of the pasta.
Fortunately, there was room for dessert. The waitress suggested a chocolate layer cake, but she had also recommended the pasta special so I declined. I went with my gut, which was begging for crepes filled with Nutella. I happen to love Nutella, I think it is such an underrated product; it's chocolate and hazelnut spread! Who wouldn't like that? Well my mom doesnt but she's insane. Anyway, these crepes were perfect, totally made up for the undercooked pasta (well almost). Golden brown and warm, with Nutella oozing out from the sides and powdered sugar on top. I was in chocolate heaven.
Aside from the subpar service and undercooked pasta, Brick Cafe had some solid dishes and I know many friends who love it. Next time, I'm going to go with my gut on the pasta and order the spinach ravioli in brown butter and sage..mmm. So if you go, just don't listen to the waitstaff - if they ever show up to take your order.
Brick Cafe
30-95 33rd street, Astoria NY 11102
