Fine Bistro Cuisine is Brick Café Specialty

utumn leaves are falling and there’s a cool snap in the air. It’s the perfect time to seek comfort in the warmth of Brick Café. One of my personal favorites, Brick Café, with a menu that offers European-inspired dishes at reasonable prices, is a trip to a French bistro without the airfare. The dining room is furnished with rough-hewn tables, antique mirrors, brick walls and a tin ceiling, the design of its amiable owner, Adnan Krilic. Lace curtains on the French doors, fresh flowers and glowing candles lend warmth and coziness to this fabulous café that serves dinner each evening and a superb brunch on Saturdays and Sundays. The adjoining bar and lounge also has a very inviting atmosphere, as evidenced by the friendly crowd which gathers each evening to enjoy a variety of drinks and espresso to background music.

There is something for everyone at Brick Café, and the clientele matches the menu’s eclecticism. On one evening customers included families dining together, business people, artists and young couples, all enjoying their favorite dishes.

While perusing the menu, I spread their wonderful calamata olive tapenade onto wedges of crispy French bread, and ordered a bottle of wine from their list, which includes reasonably priced vintages from France, Italy and California. The staff is very friendly, polite and efficient and will describe in detail the many nightly specials offered.

One of the most popular appetizers is steamed mussels prepared in your choice of red or white wine sauce and herbs. The fragrant juices are especially delicious when soaked up with bread ($8.95). Onion soup gratinee served in an earthenware crock is a perfect rendition of the French classic. A beautiful platter of tuna carpaccio in citrus marinade, served with avocado sauce, is matched only by the unique flavor of octopus carpaccio sliced paper-thin and served with a mound of fennel salad ($8.95). Both dishes melt in your mouth. Flaky baccala (codfish) is served with hearty polenta. Indulge in escargots and soak up the heavenly butter and garlic sauce with the fresh bread ($7.95). Brick Salad combines hearts of palm, chickpeas, tomatoes, cucumbers and shaved Parmesan cheese, and is practically a meal in itself. Another wonderful salad joins red bliss potatoes with crisp green beans, sweet beets and goat cheese, making this one of their most popular items, and mine too.

One of Brick Café’s signature dishes is pan-roasted breast of duck. This succulent fowl, dressed with a sauce of oranges and green peppercorns, is rich in flavor and virtually free of any visible fat ($17.95). Orata, a white Mediterranean fish, is prepared with black olives and garlic sauce and comes from the oven flaky, moist and

succulent ($16.95). I enjoyed a special item, filet of striped bass with sun-dried tomatoes, hearts of palm and fresh basil, that was out of this world.

While grilled paillard of chicken with grilled vegetables is always on the menu, a special that evening featured chicken breast layered with prosciutto and sage in a light marsala sauce. Grilled New Zealand baby lamb will melt in your mouth and classic French style steak frites is a must have. All entrees come with fresh vegetables and fabulous mashed potatoes. For a light entrée, try the grilled calamari, marinated in lemon and olive oil and served on a bed of arugula and tomato salad.

The chef at Brick Café also prepares fresh pasta dishes to please even the fussiest eater. I love the delicate spinach ravioli with butter and sage sauce ($10.95). Pappardelle, or ribbon pasta, is tossed with chunks of fresh salmon and asparagus in a brandy cream sauce. Risotto and homemade cannelloni are great cold-weather dishes.

Desserts at Brick Café are also homemade and extra

special. White chocolate mousse cake is a three-inch-high cloud of fluffy white chocolate mousse. The dark chocolate soufflé is also fantastic. Profiteroles, tiny cream puffs, filled with ice cream or pastry cream, are drizzled with chocolate sauce. Of course, there’s the sublime

crème brulee, as well as perfect crepes suzette filled with fruit jam.

Weekend brunch at Brick Café is perfect for that special date or a get together with friends or family. Served Saturday and Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., brunch includes everything from a host of fluffy omelets to french toast to many of their regular dinner items, soups and salads. Don’t forget, the adjoining Brick Bar is a great place to have a drink and relax on the leather couches while listening to music or chatting over an espresso. The bar menu is now featuring elegant sandwiches such as beef carpaccio or pâté on freshly baked bread.

Brick Café is open seven days a week for dinner from 5 to 11 p.m. with weekend brunch on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dinner follows. Every visit is special at Brick Café, where classic European bistro fare and the cozy interior make for a memorable meal.

BRICK CAFE

30-95 33rd Street, Astoria • 718.267.2735

…where classic

European bistro fare

and the cozy interior

make for a

memorable meal