Quick Thoughts – Park Bruges and Meat and Potatoes

Here are some quickie thoughts on recent restaurant visits:

Park Bruges (5801 Bryant Street – Highland Park):

Ben and I had Sunday brunch here about a month ago. This is a sister restaurant to the popular Point Brugge in Point Breeze.

For brunch, I had a lovely butternut squash and goat cheese frittata and Ben had an Italian breakfast sandwich. Service was friendly (although we did wait awhile for the food) and the space is really bright and lovely. This would be a great place to catch up with family or friends. This is a spot that is much more polished than a diner but not prententious or unapproachable or anything like that. Also, as I am a huge fan of moules and frites, I would like to return for dinner and try those dishes. A solid addition to Bryant Street and Highland Park.

Meat and Potatoes (649 Penn Ave – Cultural District – Downtown):

Ben and I joined another couple for dinner here on Light Up Night. As I had read about service issues in several reviews, I was a little concerned about what we might encounter on Light up Night, a sure-to-busy evening. Meat and Potatoes bills itself as a gastropub. The menu is small but predictabley very meat heavy.

I was pleased to find we had no service issues. Drink orders were promptly taken. My wine was served in a jelly jar type glass – not sure how I feel about that but I rolled with the gastropub-ish theme. The bar here is beautiful. I would gladly return here for a drink before any downtown event. They had an interesting and unique cocktail list. The bar was all light marble and black accents and pretty bottles. Casual but sexy.

For dinner, I ordered the tacos. They were quite tasty. Deliciously tender brisket meat and salty/sweet/spicy accompaniments. The order came with 3 well stuffed tacos. Two others at the table went for sandwiches and the other got the fish and chips. We also ordered the poutine (fries topped with gravy and cheese curds) as an appetizer. This was a ton of heavy/borderline greasy food – portion sizes were large. While everything tasted really good, I think we all left feeling weighed down and parched. I admit my insistence on briskly hiking up to my Steel Building office minutes after signing for the bill may have added to this feeling. But what better way is there to view the fireworks?

Not sure I would rush back to Meat and Potatoes. To be fair, this is mostly due to my veggie leaning tendencies. However, although everyone liked their meals but no one seemed overly wowed.

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