Critic's Review
I needed to stay close today, so I decided to see how Foxy Brown was holding up. I'd been in twice when they first opened, but I hadn't been in for a while. One good thing is that there is free parking; the stores next to it are still empty so there's plenty of parking in the rear.
If you're on foot you might go through the front door, where there's a couch and a big logo on the wall.
The place is less chaotic than before; they seem to be down to 2 people in the FOH during lunch. Previously there was a mysterious woman in the middle of the room and a lot of servers running around.
As with all of Elliot Wolf's restaurants, they have a bunch of specials and they don't tell you how much they cost. They had a blackened Corvina that sounded good; I asked the price which was $19. I'd asked for an iced tea with extra lemon and expected to get their water service, but water was never offered and when I mentioned it the question was ignored. I didn't see anyone else with the water service, so maybe they've dumped it.
The music is a bit too loud and ambitious; clearly intended for a younger crowd, which is interesting considering that there was no-one under 40 in the place.
The food came out fairly quickly.
It wasn't quite what I expected, which is what happens when you rely on a server's description. This was really a fish salad; or a salad with fish. Arugula, grape tomatoes, red onions and some hearts of palm. There was a hash brown thing that tasted a bit like a potato pancake on the bottom. Kind of an interesting dish that I never would have ordered if I knew what it was, but something different, and a decent portion.
Service was amateurish; aside from my question about water going unanswered, I had to point out an empty tea and it took way too long to place my initial order.
Foxy Brown has maintained its pricing, with burgers up $1. since opening. My opinion is about the same as previously; competent food that costs $2-3 more than it should. Lunch shouldn't cost $25 at a place like this on a back street.
Brunch 5/6/12
I stopped in for Brunch; they're only open for Brunch on Sunday and they serve it until 4pm. I seated myself and waited for a server.
One thing I don't particularly like about the place is that there are more servers than there are places for them to stand. The women who hangs out in the middle of the room is strange. And there's a lot of people coming in and out and hugging right in front of the table.
There are a lot of good choices on the menu; in fact I had difficulty deciding. The english bangers (sausages) sounded good, but instead I went for the Short Rib Benedict. The entrees are all ala-carte, so their prices aren't as good as you'd initially think; had to pay an extra $2. for toast.
I'd ordered coffee, which is served in a big cup. It's also very good coffee. The eggs came out about a half cup of coffee later.
The toast was served dry and sort of stuffed onto the plate; I asked for some butter and a separate plate.The eggs are served with a side of fruit; I don't mix fruit with protein, it would have been nice if I could have opted for some potatoes instead. The menu says that this comes with "chimicurri hollandaise", which I couldn't quite fathom; but this was really just regular hollandaise. It had chives or green onion, but it paired very well with the short rib. This would be a 5 star dish if executed properly, but one of the eggs was soft boiled and the other was cooked hard.
I enjoyed it regardless. I didn't eat the fruit; so I had the shortrib benedict, toast, and 2 big cups of coffee and it came to $20, which is about the same as you'd pay at any high end restaurant. No bargain, but enough interesting menu items so that locals could come here often without getting bored.
Review 3/27/12
You know the building. For years, downtown residents drove by the building with the name, "Biagio's" hand painted on the front; wondering if it would ever open. Owner Richard Alteri finally obtained a license in December, but ran out of money before he could open. He sold the Business to Elliot Wolf, who also owns Coconuts and G&B Oyster Bar.
I have to admit; Foxy Brown surprised me. A friend who lives nearby has been waiting forever for this place to open, but I never gave it a second thought. From the outside, it looks like a little dump. Who's going to go there, I thought, the Waverley Crowd? Nobody knew anything about the previous owner, and newbies in this town have just opened up 1 bad restaurant after another.jump-->
With Wolf at the helm, I expected the food to be pretty good. The first surprise was the parking in the back. It's a pretty good sized lot. The buildings next door aren't rented, so the entire lot can be used for Foxy Brown.
They also have a small patio with 2 tables. Too hot during the day, but it might be ok at night; or if you bring a dog. When I walked inside, it was a lot nicer than I expected. And bigger. With a bar in the middle of the room, it feels no different than the lounge area of a regular sized restaurant.
There's also a decent mix of music, with Marry You, Somebody Told Me and Like I Love You among the tunes I recognized. They have one menu for lunch and dinner, with the only changeup being the dreaded "fish of the day". Quite a change from the 20 or so specials they have everyday at Coconuts.
I looked at the menu for quite a while and I almost bit on the hanger steak, but I ended up going with the Patty Melt, adding a side of cole slaw. Some good ole comfort food. I got a sparkling water; they have the VERO system here so you can get unlimited water for $3.50; considering some places charge $5 for a 12oz Sole it's a heckuva deal. The sandwich came out in short order.
It was a nice looking plate. It wasn't a very big burger, maybe 6oz. I had to ask for ketchup and salt it. It was pretty good, but not as gooey good as some I've had. To me, a good patty melt is an oozing grilled cheese sandwich with a burger in it; this was more the assembled kind, or maybe it was made on a dry press rather than grilled in butter, and I think the bread was cut too thick. The cole slaw was well-made, not over-marinated and a good portion. I had to salt and pepper it.
They have quite a few servers in the place, and there were different people asking me if I needed something as they passed by, which is a good thing.
When I got the check, they hadn't charged me for the cole slaw. Their menu doesn't say that anything comes with a side; it would be pretty unusual to serve a burger or sandwich with no side. I usually don't question it when I think I might have been undercharged, so I let it go.
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