The Bricks of Ybor

If you've seen any of my other reviews, you'll notice a common theme.  I think a lot of places deserve 3.5 stars.  They're better than mediocre, but not quite 4 star material.  While Bricks is in that category, I rounded up because I felt they deserved the benefit of the doubt.

My issue with Bricks was 2 fold.  One, I was convinced to go based on their special - pig on pig violence.  With a name like that, I have to try it.  However, while I expected some monstrously awesome pork thing, what I got was a Cuban sandwich with a bacon and something glaze/mustard.  5 stars for the name, 4 stars for getting bacon into a Cuban, but I thought the name was a bit deceiving.  That said, it was a delicious sandwich, not the best I've had (which is weird, because it should have been with the added bacon spread), but still good.

The second issue is that they were on the verge of revamping their menu, so they didn't reorder a lot of their liquors and therefore, none of the drinks we ordered were available.  My girlfriend and I were on our way to the Dave Matthews concert in Tampa, and they had a drink called Cortez the Killer (a song Dave has covered innumerable times), so of course, we had to have it.  But, nope, couldn't get it, or any of the other 3 drinks we tried to order.

We also asked if there were any drink specials, and the waiter knew of 1/2 price bottles of wine as their weekly Wednesday special, but didn't know about their regular daily happy hour special, which I only found out about at the end of our meal thanks to the poster in the mens room.  The server admitted to us it was only his second day, but when he went back to keep checking on the specials and the availability of our drink requests, you'd think this would have come up.

I want to give this place another shot.  I liked my pig on pig violence, and I had a soup with it that was great.  I just thought it would be something more.  The lack of server knowledge and the lack of available items on their menu would have brought it down for me to 3.5 stars, if it was available.  Since it wasn't, I'll round up and check it out again.  Hopefully, my next review will be shorter

My friend and I decided to stop in for lunch. We were not disappointed. The service was great, and the food was even better. I tried The Bird and The Pig, but without the bacon. It was amazing, the apple slices really add to the flavor. I will definitely be going back!

1st time @ The Bricks and will for sure be back. Had the Proper Grilled Cheese w/ bacon and a side of Asian Slaw. Wife had The Goodness Wrap w/ a side of mixed Greens. Washed it down with Jai Alai and my wife had a Mojito. Katie our server was  great and cute! Great hip place in Ybor that you have to check out!! It's their 3 year Anniversary is 7/27. Cool vibe with chill music and art from local artist I'm the wall and for sale. Kid friendly as well.