20 Brix, Cincinnati’s first and only true wine bar and restaurant. Come in and enjoy an appetizer or entrée paired with one of the 100 wines we pour daily. Featuring a wine bar, restaurant, and retail store, 20 Brix is a perfect combination for everyone.
Featuring an extensive beer selection
Stop in and taste our varieties
Kronenburg - Brooklyn brewery- Trappist Ale
Ft Collins Brewery- Rivertown Brewery - Southern tier Brewery
Reviews
Comfort Gourmet
Chicken & waffles. A Southern staple. You find it in Carolina & Georgia hometown diners. You might find it on a dirty downtown chicken joint menu. You won’t find it at Orchid’s, nor Boca, nor would Jean-Robert ever serve it. It’s not exactly gourmet restaurant fare. Or is it?
20 brix is a gourmet restaurant, they serve fine dining food that goes through hours (even days) of preparation. Fresh ingredients are strictly sourced, locally if possible at any cost. Precious plump meats and cheeses are Fed-Ex’d from far off lands. Chef’s strain and labor over every detail. Religiously reducing fine wine sauces, waking up way too early to bake beautiful breads & buns. It’s freakin’ live TV food porn behind the scenes here. Yet, while 20 brix’s menu changes with the seasons a short list of dishes remain constant. One, is chicken and waffles. “Tanglewood Chicken” to be exact.
At 20 brix it’s Tanglewood Farm’s chicken or nothing (a high quality poultry farm catering to only the most discerning chefs, budgets be damned). Chef Paul Barraco simply fries a trimmed rosemary & herb marinated Tanglewood bone-in breast in a ancient Southern batter. It cannot be cooked better, juicy & herb aromatic inside, crisp golden crust outside. It sits alongside a dynamic duo of aged cheddar-wild rice waffles (seasonal braised local greens accompany). Drizzle them both with the Chef’s Ohio honey apple butter syrup (with a kick of hot peppers), then sit back and savor this “classic roots meets modern ingenuity” perfection on a plate.
At $22 it can go toe to toe with any chef’s chicken dish in the city any day. Pasty faced caucasian foodies and big black grandma’s alike will sing the same praises in unison, it’s too damn good to not be on the menu. I’ve never ate a better piece of fried chicken. No stupid over the top truffle this or that tag lines in the description. Just great old meets new comfort food flavors packed in a portion that won’t leave you hungry on the way home. That doesn’t sound gourmet does it? It’s what gourmet truly means... “Better than you ever thought it could be”.
Comfort food on a gourmet menu? Damn right. Sure they do it all with signature Chef flair and labor intensive prep work, the kitchen infuses the flavors with intrigue, but they never steal from the original classic essence of the dishes. They still feel & taste as original comfort food, just with hints of haute that bring it into today’s competitive gourmet cuisine standards. Comfort gourmet, I like it.
What personifies comfort food more than Mac & Cheese? 20 brix offers “Crab Mac & Cheese Gratin” Take one bite of the creamy sauced rigatoni under the crispy bread crumbs and immediately you’re hit with the rich crab, yet it is an undertone flavor (except when you bite into a lump) against the smooth Fontina, aged cheddar, Gruyère and parmesan cheeses. The cheese sauce coats your tongue like buttered velvet, the confit tomatoes and scallions balance the richness and creaminess with a hint of bite and zest. Even with stylish tweaking, it still screams classic mac flavor. More so than many straight forward macs I’ve had even. $22 buys you a huge portion loaded in a big boat dish. Make no mistake, this mac is a mean entree. It might seem an unlikely entree choice but a worthwhile one for certain. At minimum get one for the table. The dinner conversation will sound like porn stars with all the oohs, umms, aahhhs and oh my gods. It gives mac & cheese new meaning.
Speaking of creamy... gaze at this “Grist Mill Polenta”. Wild mushroom ragout (Milford grown mushrooms no less), spring peas, marsala wine, garlic chips and Parmesan sum up the simple description, but comes far from summing up the flavor.
The ragout alone is a labor of love. Good Marsala Italian wine (obviously, it’s 20 brix), farmhouse butter, vegetable stock and rich morrel mushroom stock is watchfully reduced and consistently tasted until it hits it’s peak of richness and complexity. Perfectly cooked Louisiana Pride polenta shines with it’s beautiful silky butter flavor, still snappy spring peas add color and contrast. The sauté pan kissed local mushrooms poke out all plump & meaty through the ragout sauce. The deep dark red wine sauce wraps it all up with the warmth of an heirloom quilt. The ingredients all come together richly, creating a soul satisfying creamy creation out of classic polenta dish.
Risotto is a common haute restaurant menu item. I ordered 20 brix’s “Seasonal Risotto” simply because this super simple dish is a rare find in fine form.
I should have known better than to “test” the brix kitchen on such an elementary dish. But I couldn’t resist. It’s been so long since I’ve had first class risotto, after eating this I realized I have unknowingly lowered my standards over the years. It featured Pink Maine shrimp, spring peas, asparagus, carrot, spring onion, basil and mint pesto. No two rice kernels stuck together, a tablespoon or two of broth was near the bottom. Perfect texture and bright spring-like flavors were brought into sharp focus by the crisp peas, carrot cubes and spring onion. The broth bathed the rice beautifully with merely a hint of basil & mint. Notice the lack of cheese or creaminess here. It’s quite intentional and sets this simple risotto dish apart from the usual sticky overdone cheese versions I always see. The texture, flavor combination and sheer sunny spring-like brightness of the dish set a new bar in my book. I highly doubt any Cincy chef can top it, few could match it. At the $14 price tag, the few chefs in town that could compete, probably wouldn’t.
Granted, to most Americans polenta and risotto isn’t comfort food. Not all the brix menu is. Aside from their kicked up classic comfort food items you’ll find Crispy Skin Maple Leaf Farms Duck Breast, Planche Grilled Venison Loin, Pan Seared Day Boat Scallops, Roasted Scottish Salmon and Black Pearl Pork Loin Chops. They all sound more akin to modern haute cuisine (not to mention well worth a discovery). Among the comfort food dishes you don’t see at many fine dining restaurants is also... a burger.
Simply titled “20 Brix’s Burger” This thing is unique. The hunkin’ beef patty is a blend of prime Angus beef filet, ground Angus beef and slow roasted beef short ribs. You’ve never tasted anything like it. The beef “patty” is more like a slab of half filet mignon half short rib. There’s just barely enough ground Angus to hold it together. A rich smoky pot roast-grilled steak aroma greets you before your first bite.
Teeth sink easily through the daily in-house baked yeast roll bun, through the Kenny’s Tomme de Nena Cheese and straight down through to the magnificent meat slab. No ketchup or mayo here. No tediously tired “aged balsamic bullshit” or trying to be fancy mayo either. Rather, a terribly time consuming red wine, bacon and caramelized onion marmalade finishes off the flavors. It’s sweet, sour, rich and oh so bacon-y. A sweet bacon jam if you will. It highlights the flavor profile in surprising style. Perfectly fried Pommes Frites take up the space where you usually find some kind of frozen fry. All together it’s $15. That’s high you say! It’s a worthwhile experience I say! To put it into perspective, it’s just 4 bucks more than the cheapest Terry burger. Terry’s is cool for a “dive”, good burgers for sure, but the service/seating leaves much to be desired. This is gourmet fine dining, linen table cloths, courteous sommelier wine service and all the trimming. This is the kind of burger you would expect from a Thomas Keller or Gordon Ramsay restaurant.
Chef Paul shows culinary maturity with his fine food here. He maintains a superb balance between incorporating passion for the new, without over-doing anything in some exaggerated attempt to be progressive. That’s an all too common problem you see with competitive chef driven cuisine, especially here in our “savagely struggling to catch up” Cincy dining scene.
His classics stand out strong in their time honored roots & flavors. The artistry shines in the subtle manner he coaxes modern flair out of otherwise rock solid classic dishes. It’s a pro technique to be certain. Many local chefs are so desperate to impress us with their copies of cutting edge NY Chef cuisine and TV trends they end up serving us dishes so bastardized by over-zealous chefy-ness that the true essence of whatever the dish was is so lost in a sea of truffle oil and foie gras you can’t see the forest for the micro greens.
Wordy food reviews can be entertaining ( in this case hopefully at least appetizing anyway) but the fact is you’ll have to try it for yourself to see if you agree with me that 20 brix should be at the top of urbanspoon’s fine dining list (not to mention the local rag lists). Much of the credit is due to their culinary reserve rather than the usual all too common flights of fancy. This is food you know and love, but didn’t know you could love this much.
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More Off The Menu Off The Hook
How many readers know anything about downtown Milford’s 20 brix? Judging by the restaurant’s comment entries on our site, it’s a mixed bag of praise and mystery. Check out these latest entries.
Marco Polo “I have not yet ate at this place. The dish on the cover looks great though, lamb and potato risotto I think. Post a review if you’ve had it please, or about whatever you have ate there.”
Eastsider 4 Life “Someone give me a heads up on what this place is all about, I can’t find anything on them except the basics. PS GREAT SITE!!”
Tony Toadvine “The Chef, Paul Baracco, is a great local talent. He does a great job with higher end meals, as well as his pairing of wines. Definitely worth checking out.”
Beer Snob “One of the best places in all of Cincinnati, not just the east side. Great food, service, and wines. They also have an excellent beer selection.”
Dino “I wonder why I’ve never seen much on it? EV did an article with a sweet photo of lamb, other than that I don’t see anything anywhere. Wonder what the damages add up to for a dinner for two? What gives EV? If it’s that great lets see an in-depth article (with prices) you are always on the mark (almost always) but you’ve left us hanging on 20 brix. Why the mystery?”
Dino, thanks for your interest and let us say, we’re sorry. 20 brix has been a bit of a mystery and we have to accept some of the blame for that. We did feature a beautiful 20 brix lamb dish on our September 08’ cover. (The article was titled Owners Favorites).
Polly Campbell gave 20 brix 3 out stars in a short article (Dec. 07’). CincinnatiUSA.com gave it a brief 12 line compliment and other blog sites like tripadvisor.com have awarded a few stars as well. Most reviews rave about the wine list but no one has dished out the details on the menu and prices. So here you go Dino, we dedicate this article to you.
20 brix leaves the menu up to the Chef and he leaves it up to the seasons. Chef Paul Barraco (on right in top left photo with manager Clay Mitchell) strives to use only seasonal, locally grown products to give the diner the best he can offer. When locally unavailable, he sources from other states and tailors the menu accordingly. That takes extensive time and money.
Dino, if your looking for a buy one get one free coupon give it up. 20 brix is not cheap. It’s not intentionally expensive either. When your buying $20 a piece chickens verses the $3 ones other places buy, the menu price has to be higher.
What’s so special about a $20 chicken. That’s the only bird 20 brix uses to make the “Tanglewood Chicken”. “A crisp breast atop potato puree with flash braised greens, roasted heirloom tomato, black olive oil, Asiago croutons in a natural chicken au jus ($22).
Heirloom tomatoes can sell for $5 each and a bottle of black olive oil goes for more than a bottle of decent vodka. Add in the Tanglewood chicken at $21 or so each and you couldn’t cook this dish at home for $22.
Tanglewood Farms in North Carolina specializes in offering only the best in fine poultry. They can claim many attributes including, “all-natural, minimally processed, humanely raised in a clean, low-stress environment, grown naturally on small family farms, fed only wholesome grains without animal by-products, no antibiotics, artificial ingredients or chemical preservatives, no hormones or artificial growth promoters, hand selected and graded for superior quality, environmentally friendly farming and processing” (Whew!). Those aren’t the only reasons why 20 brix skips the sysco fryers and spends the big bucks on the Tanglewood variety, they also do it for the flavor. Chef’s swear by Tanglewoods product.
Costs come last on the list of criteria at 20 brix. Chef Paul uses many tedious and time consuming techniques that other restaurants would never consider. All are costly.
Take a glance at one of the chef’s off the menu specials. Dead center you see the “Crispy Skin Barrarmundi” A fresh, flaky, white saltwater fish slightly dusted and crisped. Served with local heirloom tomatoes two ways atop a warm lentil & citrus salad, Parmesan & celery root puree ($27). A rarely found piece of fish, paired with top quality produce and labor intensive accompaniments. If your a “tired of tuna” fish fan, this is a must have dish.
The menu’s gourmet quality seasonal staples make the perfect backdrop for the savory specials. For your first course consider the House made Ricotta bruschetta (above) Chef Paul starts this dish by making the fresh ricotta, grills fresh bruschetta, adds Roma tomatoes, Panchetta, gives it a brush of 18 year vintage balsamic vinegar and seats some fresh micro greens on top for color & balance. $6 seems cheap when you think about what goes into making it.
Below is another interesting dish. It makes a nice starter as well. The Summer Blues Salad (below). It consists of candied Brie atop a spiced crouton resting on arugula, blueberries & strawberries, dressed in raspberry vinaigrette ($7).
So Dino, lets say you ordered one and your dinner date ordered the other, your up to $13 so far. Now for the entree course. For one thing one of you should definitely order the Pan Roasted Tanglewood Farms Chicken ($22). If your a steak fan add on the Steak Frites (center) a sweet hand cut sirloin steak served with a baby arugula salad and real French frites (fries). These fries are fresh cut potatoes, blanched off, cooled then flash fried again to achieve that perfect balance of crisp outside and light & airy inside. The French invented these to be cooked this way. America butchered them into the horrible fry we see in most restaurants today. Anthony Bourdain swears they are one of his favorite all time menu items at his place in New York. You’ll pay Tony $45 for this dish, at 20 brix it’s $25. Now your at $60 and you’ll need drinks and possibly dessert. At 20 brix the skies the limit with the wine but lets just say you budget another $20 for alcohol drinks and dessert. Grand total, $80 for two starters, two signature entree items, a glass from the bar and a dessert. Not bad considering this is about as expensive as it gets at 20 brix (without uncorking one of the best bottles).
If that’s more than you bargained for don’t freak out just yet Dino, you can get a much cheaper 20 brix experience. For instance their signature pizzas are all made with the same uncompromising quality and they run just $10-$12. That’s like Pizza Hut prices! There are other great dishes to pair with that pizza too. How about the “Local Tomato and Smoky Pepper Soup” (above) heirloom tomatoes and roasted Piquin peppers, Old Bay Crostine, lots of lump crab meat and Rouille, ($7). That would make a nice addition to a “Pizza Barraco” It’s more of that afore mentioned house made ricotta, caramelized onions, baby arugula, and roasted garlic oil ($12). 20 brix can even pour you a perfect wine to pair with them. You could get all three for around $20. Your dinner date might opt for a Southern style Shrimp & Grits for their entree. It’s a low country Cajun dish with fresh wild shrimp, braised shredded pork belly and jalapenos. Slow simmered in a Louisiana Pride grist meal polenta with aged cheddar ($25). Spicy, rich & creamy, a very unique find north of the Mason Dixon Line. One pizza, one starter, one shrimp & grits and your at $45. What you spend on drinks is up to you. $45 for a quality Chef created dinner is a deal. You’ll pay that per person at any of Ruby’s joints. You’ll even pay that for many commercial chain joints and they’re serving you boxed frozen food! Most anywhere in Hyde Park is going to set you back at least $30-50 per person. So, 20 brix is actually almost value priced for this level of menu quality & service.
The daily menu is pretty special in itself. With entrees selections like: Grilled Fontina and Prosciutto Stuffed Pork Chop ($26). Grilled Lamb Loin ($27). House specialties: Pan Seared Jumbo Day Boat Scallops ($27). Risotto Frutti de Mer, (Creamy Arborio Rice, Day Boat Calamari, Lump Crab Meat, Wild Shrimp, Spiced Tomato Lemon Parsley Crumble) ($28). Grilled Scottish Wild Salmon ($24) and Royal Malta Crab Cakes ($26).
Smaller Plates (for sharing or appetizers): Calamari Fritta ($8). Conversation Platter Selected Cheeses and Olives with an Assortment of Artisan Breads, Fresh Fruit, Cured Meats, small $8/ large $13. The popular Duck “Poppers” (below) ($11). 20 Brix Crab Cake (beautiful) ($13).
Try it Dino, that’s the only way your going to know if you love it, regardless of any review. All we can say is 20 brix spares no effort in pursuit of quality.
If your on a budget stop in for lunch. The lunch menu is priced under $15 most items are $7-10. Same ingredients and quality, just at cheaper lunch pricing.
There you have it Dino, we hope your at least curious enough to give it a try. If not, we failed at our attempt to explain away some of the mystery behind 20 brix. If you do give it a try, leave us a new comment and share your review. It’s worth every bit as much to us as anyone else’s is including Polly’s.
He does a great job with higher end meals, as well
as his pairing of wines. Definitely worth checking out.