ah, the brick store. Who in the intown- Decatur area has not been there? Apparently is it also a popular spot for tourists, judging from my facebook (college) friend from MS that came to Atlanta to go see the Braves, drink at Brick Store and eat at Watershed. Anyway, two Thursday nights ago a friend and I decided to go there after we attended the visitation for a friend that was killed. Needless to say we were hungry and we needed some comfort food. First of all it was about 7:30 or so (Thursday) and there was a wait for a table. Those bad economic times sure don't seem to be effecting The Brick Store. We easily found a seat at the bar (odd) and ordered some drinks. After a while, when it seems our wait for a table was endless, I convinced my friend to order at the bar.
We don't need a menu, we came in for one thing... the Brick Burger. Yes, the burger is good and consistent time after time... save one thing... THAT BUN! for years the burger was served on a Challah bun that always seemed to be too much bread, especially in the middle, where the twist of the Challah puffed up. I swear they used to grill/ toast these buns back in the good ole days, but i guess with volume that ended or perhaps i am just dreaming of a nice buttery toasted bun. It just doesn't seem right to have a hot burger, with hot melted cheese, and sometimes even those wonderfully gooey hot carmalized onions, with a cold bun. But that is how they roll.
Several months or so ago (time gets away from me) they switched buns! YEA!!! The first few tries with these buns were ok. They has some sesame seeds on top and seemed to be a better consistency than the Challah bread. But, the bun fails again. As we were eating our burgers, both my friend Liz and I were picking off the bread on our burger. We laughed when we both noticed the bread graveyard on our plates. We were not doing this for any sort of carb counting ridiculousness. We did this because the bun sucked. It had to have been at least a day old, as it was slightly stale. This is fine for bread pudding, but not on my burger. It was also cold and there was WAY too much bread for the burger. Again, i love me some bread... i would choose some buttery cheesy or garlicky bread over chocolate any day, BUT i order a burger for the burger not the bread.
I realize now that finding the perfect bun must be difficult. You have to find one that stands up to the meat (I also hate it when the bottom of my bun has become nothing but a wet sponge before i can finish eating it), while choosing one that does not overwhelm the burger. I, for one, prefer a nice buttery grilled bun. The grilling not only gives the bun some flavor it also helps the bun stand up to the burger. Hell, if Zaxby's can grill all their buns, surely the Brick Store can.
So, we finished our meat, but left a bun graveyard on the plate. Will the kitchen notice when all these 1/2 eaten buns come back? Who knows... Will they try another form of bread? Doubt it, they sure are not hurting for money. The Brick Store has become one of those eating establishments that is a destination. Even if the food sucks you will go back again and again with the hopes it will be better. Why? The beer is good, the atmosphere is good, the people watching is excellent and even if the bun sucks the meat and chips (fries) were great.
So Brick Store... find a bun that stands up to your burger... and try a little grill or toasting action and see how that works.
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