Been hearing a lot about Browns Social House from friends and decided it was time to try it for myself….
We went to the 4th and Vine location for lunch on Sunday. We missed the 2pm cutoff for brunch, and the place was packed and very noisy. The restaurant is shaped like a box with little dimension aside from the booths and table arrangements. The waitress was nice but drink service was slow, water took ten minutes to arrive, drinks came even later. Wait time for food was acceptable.
I ordered the large Cowgirl salad with ginger tofu ( a chicken option is also available). The salad was $10, and the ginger tofu/chicken was an additional $4.
The apple-miso vinaigrette the salad was barely tossed in tasted delicious, but there could have been more of it. The salad boasted of candied walnuts, dates, soybeans, feta cheese, tomatoes and corn but hardly delivered on that either. When I found them, the candied walnuts and dates tasted great, and there was a noticeable amount of soybeans, however there was only one tomato, a micro sprinkling of feta cheese better suited for the small order, and corn? What corn?
To my surprise the tofu was served cold. It was bland and scarcely drizzled in a sauce which I assumed was the “ginger” element mentioned on the menu.
Was I satisfied after my meal? No, it lacked overall flavour and wasn’t filling enough as a stand alone meal, at least not with tofu. For the price you can find heartier options on their menu.
I might order the salad as a side or as a small portion (for $6). I think the lettuce to ingredients ratio on a smaller scale would be more proportionate, as all the good stuff was overpowered by the lettuce in the large salad.
My friends ordered the Classic Hot Wings with blue cheese dip for $10, and the Nachitos for $11. The taste was great for the wings, right amount of flavour and spice, and the dip was good too (even dipped my tofu in it to add flavor). The meat was crisp on the outside and juicy on the inside, however the wings were small (think bite size) and didn’t come with any veggies.
Nachitos were ordered with the buffalo chicken(spicy beef an option too). Tender white strips of chicken with a tangy spicy buffalo sauce served over mixed corn chips. The cheese sauce had a liquid texture, and was “more reminiscent of cheese wiz than cheddar”. Comes with four types of salsa.
VERDICT: Browns has cheap drinks and passable food. I would go back to take advantage of the $4 drink menu and possibly try some of their starters but it would take a lot for me to invest in another $15 meal.
