Brinkley's

Brinkley's opened this week in the old Bar Martignetti space, giving my neighborhood a much-needed casual dining spot. The windows have funky illustrations on the outside - a bicycle and a bear in a smoking jacket.


The interior does a good job of modernizing the pub, but the layout was a bit akward - the bar area was packed and overcrowding the front dining area, with the back area fairly empty and dotted with too few tables.


The menu looked great, and a couple friends and I sampled most of the small plates with glasses of the fantastic Wild Boar Doe from Shinn Estate, a blend of merlot/cabernet sauvignon/malbec/petit verdot/cabernet franc. The butter poached pheasant over ceasar salad was one of the best dishes - and the lightest - that we had. The trout over fennel, apple and celery slaw was less successful. Being partial to hot dogs, I ordered the Brinkley dog, a half pork/half beef dog with apples, leeks and cheddar. It was a delicious, grown-up version of a hot dog that I'll definitely be returning for. The creamy artichoke soup with parmesan and even creamier zucchini carbonara with bacon were both excellent and artery clogging. A side of cauliflower cheese was more or less a rich mac 'n' cheese with the cauliflower standing in for the macaroni. The other side we tried - Bubble & Squeak - is a mix of sausage, potatoes and cabbage and was a perfect pair with the Brinkley Dog.

For dessert, we tried the plum crumble with clotted cream. It was a sweet but not too heavy ending to a seriously heavy meal, although next time I'll be trying the fried mars bar or the pumpkin meringue pie.