Review No. 192: Brick and Forge Taproom
1010 Main Street
(501) 329-6262
The Situation
He Said: Brick and Forge has the feel of a popular chain restaurant, but it is in fact locally owned and created. There are only two locations: this one in Conway and another in Killeen, Texas. Not sure what the connection is there, but they advertise themselves as “handcrafted and locally born.” They’ve been in the site of what used to be in pre-pandemic days the “Old Chicago Pizza” place since August of 2020, and although we’ve been here a couple of times before, we hadn’t reviewed the place. For one thing, they have always been so crowded that we didn’t figure they needed our review to get customers in the door. For another, last time we were here we had our 8-year-old twin grandsons with us, so it was an unusual situation. The kids did like it though. Anyway, this time we went at an odd time, like around 3 in the afternoon on a Monday, so it was not so very crowded this time.
She Said: Yes, I rewarded myself for finishing a task I’d been procrastinating with a “linner” at Brick and Forge, and I was motivated to get there in mid- to late-afternoon just because I woke up hungry for one dish in particular… as you’ll see.
Ambience:
He Said: As mentioned earlier, when we’d been here before it was always pretty crowded and thus also noisy. Not my favorite kind of vibe. It was a bit mellower with less of a crowd, but with the many booths and tables, the dark wood all about, and the large screen television sets hanging all about, it feels like what it is—a large sports bar.
She Said: Yes, a social place. It was a great place to take the boys because we don’t have to worry too much about “inside voices” here. But there are definitely times I’m in the mood for a large, but cozy, sports bar like Brick and Forge. And that day, knocking off early after a big task was finished was one of those times.
Drinks:
He Said: This place is essentially a large pub/sports bar, and that always makes me feel like a beer is due me. That being off limits to my pancreas, I discovered they did have Heineken 0.0, which, if you haven’t tried it, tastes exactly like Heineken only without the alcohol. So unless you’re actually trying to get drunk—and no judgment there—this is absolutely just as good. So that’s what I had.
She Said: I wasn’t trying to get drunk, but I did want to enjoy cocktail hour. I was a bit disappointed that they don’t offer an Aperol spritz. (I know, I know, it’s more of a beer place, but I had just listened to the Stuff You Should Know episode about Amaro, and Aperol is a type of Amaro, I learned, and then I just really wanted an Aperol spritz!) I didn’t see any sparkling wines, either, so I went with a pinot grigio, that turned out to be nice enough to have a second glass of.
Food
He Said: Let me just say first that this is a very large menu—lots of choices appropriate to an American sports bar, but with a lot of individualized twists. We knew, having been here earlier, that the Italian Pepperoni Rolls were a hot item, and so we got an order to share as an appetizer. These things are amazing. When you hear “pizza rolls” you probably are thinking of those frozen bits you pop in the oven for a snack. Forget that image. These are BIG, and they are truly rolls, shaped something like cinnamon rolls and really tasting like pizza with all the right cheese and seasoning. You get six of them, and I believe we could have made a full meal just of those and come away satisfied.
But that was only the starter. I decided to order what they called their forged crispy chicken sandwich. It wasn’t forged in the sense of phony, but in the sense of held to the fire. It was one big honking slab of chicken breast with a crispy breaded crust on a hamburger-sized bun with slices of pickles and a creamy spicy sauce. Let me tell you, this chicken was twice as big as the bun, and stuck out so far on both sides that I was actually full before I ever got to the bun. When I did get there, the chicken was even better with the pickles and sauce, though I should say that the sauce, which contained horseradish, was a little hot for my tastes, but not bad at all. I could barely eat half the bun, since I’d already filled up on pizza rolls and the excess chicken.
I was also filling up on the one side I was allowed with the order: the Sea Salt Caramel Fries. These cost extra because they’re a kind of “Deluxe” side order, but Lord have mercy, they’re definitely worth it. These are sweet potato fries drenched in caramel with sea salt, and they are basically a potato candy. You could get addicted to these things. Once again, I could have made an entire meal out of them.
So here’s what we learn from this, boys and girls: First, Brick and Forge gives you enough food for three people with every order. And second: if you don’t order the Italian Pepperoni Rolls and/or the Sea Salt Caramel Fries, you’re making a big mistake.
She Said: Yes, I woke up thinking of the pepperoni rolls, and I had already plugged them into my calorie counter for the day before I ate anything else because there was no way I was going there without applying some of those to my face. I had two, you had two, and we brought two home to enjoy the next night. They are, as you said, a savory roll, with all the pizza fabulousness folded in.
I had planned to have a Caesar salad with chicken (because I didn’t see a shrimp option, which is my preferred added protein to a salad), but once I was there, sipping my vino, practically “high” from the pepperoni rolls, I just didn’t want a salad, so I chose the catfish street tacos. Like your chicken sandwich, Ruud, the catfish from these soft tortilla tacos is a bit bigger than its food “container.” This dish comes with three large tacos, with nicely breaded catfish filets and coleslaw. I thought they were delicious enough to join the pepperoni rolls in the to-go boxes, and we each had one for dinner on Taco Tuesday at home the next night.
Service
He Said: Our server was good humored, polite, helpful, prompt, gave us the time we needed and got our food in a timely fashion, and checked back with us periodically to make sure all was well. She was excellent.
She Said: Yes, we liked her very much. She was patient with my drinks-order (low-key?) drama, and took very good care of us with our courses and drinks.
What We Got and What We Paid: One order of Italian Pepperoni Rolls, one order of Catfish Tacos, two glasses of Pinot Grigio, one Forged Crispy Chicken sandwich with a deluxe side order of Sea Salt Caramel Fries, and one bottle of Heineken 0.0, all for $66.98 before tip. Of course, after boxing a lot of stuff up, we did get two full meals out of this. So…cheap at half the price?
Elapsed Time from Our Arrival to Food Arrival: We arrived at 2:34 p.m. our drinks came at 2:45 p.m., our appetizers came at 3 p.m., and our entrees came to our table at 3:07 p.m.
Rating:
He Said: If you don’t mind a sometimes crowded and noisy bar, you will get some really good food here—and plenty of it.
She Said: I’ll always come back for the pepperoni rolls, but everything we’ve had here has hit its mark.
Is Brick and Forge good at what it’s good for? Yes! If you’re in the mood for pubby sports bar with a wide variety of food offerings that hit the spot, Brick and Forge is for you!