Eats

Brunch Done Right

by Elizabeth Rose

Brick & Spoon aims to fill a void in south Lafayette with a highly anticipated brunch menu for the masses.

Brick & Spoon aims to fill a void in south Lafayette with a highly anticipated brunch menu for the masses. By Elizabeth Rose

Friday, March 1, 2013

Brick & Spoon, Lafayette's soon-to-be newest brunch spot, has a menu chock full of both unique and classic breakfast and lunch dishes that owners Ryan Trahan and Bryan Jewell hope to begin serving in the next couple of months.

The restaurant, which boasts "a morning ritual that's anything but routine," according to the owners, is in the former Fatty J's Pizza Joint at 3524 Kaliste Saloom Road, and the interior is undergoing quite the transformation. The 1,500-square-foot restaurant will hold about 100 seats, including 48 for patio dining. The owners also designed the menu to be "as creative as possible," says Trahan. "We want people to like what we do. We don't want to be something that you can find anywhere. We want it to be unique to us."

The menu is already on the Brick & Spoon Facebook page, and some of the standout items include breakfast tacos made with fried wonton shells and filled with chorizo, avocado, egg, Monterrey cheese, sour cream and salsa, or the Perky Omelet with fresh pear, blue cheese crumbles, prosciutto, lemon juice and arugula. The restaurant also offers a Korean BBQ Benedict with poached egg and cilantro for breakfast or in a panini for lunch. Classic crepes with fresh fruit, frittatas and omelets also abound. Macaroni and cheese is not something most people tend to eat for breakfast, but who's to say a pasta treat stuffed with smoked tasso, shrimp, crab and cheese won't complement a Bloody Mary perfectly?

For lunch, there are the "samiches" that are served with rosemary sea salt potato chips or Parmesan truffle fries. The Grown-Up Grilled Cheese comes with sourdough, fried egg, pecan-smoked bacon and, of course, cheeses, and the shrimp and tarragon panini is grilled shrimp, romaine hearts, tomato, avocado, caramelized onions and tarragon caper mayo. For those looking for something lighter, there are a half dozen salad choices that are way beyond the classic chef variety and are instead filled with steak, arugula, pistachios, avocados, pesto vinaigrette, prosciutto and mint - though not all together.

Along with brunch comes those morning libations, and Brick & Spoon will have no shortage. The drink menu is full of infused Irish coffees, mimosa flights, and Big Spoon Bloody Marys with a choice of 50 different items to fill the concoction, including seafood, vegetables, cheeses, eggs and 10 to 12 different kinds of vodka, including some infusions with cucumber, bacon and others.

"What we're talking about is your personality in a glass," says Jewell. To accompany brunch on Sundays will be live music, and musicians who are interested in playing can contact Trahan at [email protected].

"We're trying to bring the old Louisiana style feel of everything combined with the new, modern look of the breakfast scene. Something a little more lively than your normal breakfast, brunch and lunch," says Trahan. "We want it to be a place where you can come with your colleagues or your friends and also come with your family, have a few drinks and enjoy a nice brunch. We want people to feel comfortable but also be inspired by what we do."