I’m sure you remember when Maribelle’s was down on Eastern Avenue / Riverside Drive. Then it moved out to where Hugo’s used to be in Oakley catty corner across the street from Crossroads. Where it’s much better.
And now open in Maribelle’s old space is the BrewRiver GastroPub. A very happening and hopping place of a Friday evening. Friend Pat, who is so smart about beer, seemed like just the right person to go with. And we were both free. So off we went.
When the place was Maribelle’s, I knew there was an upstairs, but I seemed always to be there when the garden was open, so I never made it up. Tonite, the bar was packed and noisy (with a fair number of folk our age), and so we were ushered up the steps. To a fairly open space, much quieter, and where we were by decades the oldest folks.
Pleasant atmosphere – we were by the window. Good liquids menu and a helpful server. Interesting food menu, several vegetarian choices. Pat got the mussels – the small dish, which was plenty. I got the salad, which included goat cheese. Very nice, and lightly dressed.
Then I got the truffle fries (the Senate’s are better) and the root vegetable entree. Which was quite good. But mostly barley, and just a few root veggies, in terms of quantity and number. All cut into chunks, of course, but totaling one medium carrot, 1/3 of a turnip and half a beet. Plus some sauteed spinach. It was nice – but I would have definitely switched the proportions. That’s one of the reasons I really dislike pasta at restaurants. Three pounds of pasta, three pieces of broccoli.
It’s close, it’s convenient, prices are reasonable. I’ll be back when the garden opens in the spring! : >