Jack & Mike's Brickhouse - Brick, NJ

A Friday night dining experience in a strange town can be quite frightening.  We stopped at a chain and were greeted then told, "It's about an hour and a half wait. Is that ok?"  Umm, do a lot of people say yes?  We simply drove a little further and came upon Jack and Mike's Brickhouse Bar and Grille.  I had been having enjoyable success in selecting meals during our mini-vacation while the Mr. was not having great luck.  The tide was about to turn.



We were seated quickly and met our server, Justin.  I had been enjoying a cocktail with dinner on our get away so I did order a Pina Colada.  A soda for the Mr.

We placed our food orders once our drinks arrived and were then brought this lovely, warm, braided bread with a garlic butter.

Next out of the kitchen was my soup.  Let's play a game.  Guess the type of soup from the photo...

Before I answer, it does seem to us the bar does a fairly decent business.  We can hear a bit of commotion. Some of it sounds like fun, but some of it has a negative vibe. Justin returns with a smile to check on us and admits he's staying out of the kitchen. Perhaps that is where the ruckus is coming from? Back to the soup. Did you figure it out yet?  New England Clam Chowder. Nope, didn't taste like it either. It's not that it was a bad soup, but if I were blindfolded I never would have guessed clams nor chowder. Celery was an upfront taste.

I let the Mr. chose the appetizer.  Stuffed mushrooms.  They contained a lot of breading, but were pretty good.

Time for the main event.  Here are our plates:

The above platter-like rectangular plate was the Mr.'s shrimp stuffed with crabmeat, potato croquettes and mixed veggies (he didn't touch).

For me, the same mixed veggies which were actually pretty good, a cafeteria style scoop of naked mashed potatoes and I ordered a broiled seafood platter.  A few shrimp, scallops, a white fish (maybe cod?) and a huge crab cake.

The Mr. was quite happy.

For dessert, Justin brought over a sample platter of the available desserts.  I selected the one he was not sure what it was and ordered it to go.  When I returned from the ladies room, it was on our table in the traditional Styrofoam to-go box.  Let's play the game again.  What do you think it is?

Justin had guessed carrot cake cheese cake.  Nope.  Key lime pie.

The bar was quite full when we left and more cars were arriving. Maybe it's more of a hamburger/pub grub establishment?  We brought home a full container of left-overs as well as the dessert. We drove back to the campground which was filled with people enjoying campfires and adult beverages.  The campers air conditioner was welcome and our mini-vacation would end in the morning.  We rode our bikes for 4 miles, swam, gambled, beached, and had a blast being Fed Well.