Bric in Soho (Tampa)--anyone been in yet?

[Miss E]

Drove by the old Strings n' Rings (and a couple of other dear departeds before that), and saw people inside what is now called Bric. Turns out a veteran of Roy's and a Tampa native is behind it. Here's a link to an article about it:
http://www.tampabay.com/news/business...
Anyone been in yet?

[UptownKevin]

Looks like Bric is done. There was never anyone in there and I never did hear a lot of buzz. It's a shame, since I know the guy probably put his heart and soul (and money) into the place. Bad idea for a location, though.

They're opening a tea place inside. Can't recall the name of it, but it is happening fast. Already a window display and a "Coming Soon" sign.

-Kevin

[Miss E]

That location is cursed, and yet there's no shortage of dreamers giving it yet another try. Sorry, Bric; good luck, tea place.

[askdrtodd]

Well in all fairness they didn't advertise worth a damn, at least put up a good website, have a grand opening party, have a soft opening party for well connected south tampanians to make them feel all special, get Brian to come review it, etc.

[UptownKevin]

Have to agree with you Todd. Never really heard a buzz about the place and the branding and marketing were poorly done. Tough to tell exactly what the name was (the logo looked like a 101) and didn't describe the restaurant at all.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, The Refinery has done a great job with marketing and helping people understand the vision and feel of the restaurant.

It's a good study in "Opening a Restaurant 101" and the sole reason why so many fail quickly.

-Kevin

[askdrtodd]

Kev- Refinery is an excellent example of what to do correctly when opening a restaurant. Creative food, a new concept to the area, reasonable prices, friendly to all clientele, a changing menu, facebook page, simple yet effective website, etc etc.

I love that place.

[austinjh]

well yeah, but the refinery already had a horde of people waiting to love it. that restaurant gained buzz so quickly and broadly just for being hip, smart, and in seminole heights. i had a lot of people bring it up to me in the first couple months of its opening, which in itself is strange, because word typically moves slowly in tampa regarding good new restaurants. unless you read and post about local food on a website, that is. a lot of my friends are pretty young and don't get very nerdy or committed about local restaurants, so it said a lot that all of them were buzzing about the refinery

[andy huse]

who knows, the Bric story may have ended differeently if it played out in seminole heights. soho is practically saturated. Seminole Heights is hungry for more.

[andy huse]

strange--- i liked the concept, the idea of updating local food classics, but i never heard anyone gush about it who had been there. i meant to go and never did.

Todd, you mention the lack of promotion--- so true. The name and spelling were bad.

[askdrtodd]

Agreed. It seems in the restaurant world the path to failure is paved with the best of intentions, and cemented by the poorest of implementation. Poppa always said that Proper Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance, and he was a smarter man than I.

[CFishman]

I guess I am nobody. The truth is that the meals that I had there were inconsistent and the last one did not compel me to return. Too bad, because the first time I ate there I really liked the food.

[askdrtodd]

No way! You're totally somebody in my book amigo :)

[andy huse]

aww, cheer up, Eyeore. I don't reacall you gushing about it, and that's what i wrote. anyhow, rare for a good restaurant to be missed by most of us.

[CFishman]

You gotta give it to the restaurateurs. Those people work so hard and take so much risk, all to keep us fat. Man, am I glad that my passion is eating and not cooking.

[andy huse]

I'm very interested in the concept. It is certainly more promising than the name. all i could think of is pizza and chicken under a brick.

[askdrtodd]

haha me too. isn't there a bric in jacksonville?

[CFishman]

I had dinner tonight at Bric and really enjoyed it. We started off with the blue crab enchillado and a fried chicken appetizer. The enchillado was crab in a tomato sauce with romano cheese in a small pot. It was served with small pieces of toasted bread. This was a very good dish, simple but lots of flavor. The fried chicken was two legs and two thighs and slaw. Crispy, salty, juicy, what's not to like about that. The appetizers are generously portioned so two of these for two people was more than sufficient. Entrees were crispy bay scallops and fish of the day in salsa verde. My wife ordered the scallops but was surprised that they came out fried so those went to me. Fried they were but perfectly so. They were sitting in a very nice horseradish sauce. Also on the plate were candied cashews and grilled mushrooms. They were both good but not particularly complementary to the scallops in my mind. The fish entree was snapper- two thick pieces cooked well with some pleasant char. I liked the salsa verde. There was also a deviled crab and a small salad on the plate. I didn't get to the salad but the crab was meaty and spicy. I will leave it to Andy to decide whether they are doing these right. I have to admit they all taste similar to me. I did hear the chef talking to the table behind me about Brocato's, so that should give him some cred. For dessert we went for the the chocolate duncan hines cake. It tasted exactly like it should have which was interesting and not. I guess it is obligatory on Howard that there would be a TV on in the restaurant but I could have done without it. That's really the only negative thing that I have to say. Good place. I look forward to going back.

[joan]

Wow! Sounds good - but a fried chicken appetizer consisting of four pieces plus coleslaw??? That is just whacky!

[askdrtodd]

I wanna know! I've driven by a few times.

[Old E.]

Interesting. I knew something was going on there, but had no idea what.