Louisville Magazine is Louisville's city magazine, covering Louisville people, lifestyles, politics, sports, restaurants, entertainment and homes. Includes a monthly calendar of events.
Issue link: https://loumag.epubxp.com/i/197412
THE SPREAD Brix Wine Bar By Josh Moss Photos by Chris Witzke Head through the liquor store and past, say, a free Jack Daniel's tasting. "We've got Tennessee Honey," says a woman in a Jack T-shirt pouring samples. Clark, the GM, says, "When you leave the restaurant, you can grab some ice and a six-pack." The entrance to Brix is an iron gate inside Liquor World. The wine bar keeps later hours than the liquor store, which means those in it for the long haul must exit to the parking lot through the door inside Brix that's otherwise kept locked. "It's a symbolic moment when the gate closes," Clark says. Currently hanging on Brix's brick walls: for-sale abstract paintings (one sort of looks like Kentucky, another like stampeding horses) by Robert F. Grimes, who's from Oldham County and is 79. "One of our regulars was like, 'Hey, man, my dad does art,'" Clark says. "That's how we heard about Bob." Gross, the owner of Brix, says, "It's a way to get neat, interesting pieces on the wall. And I don't have to go out and buy pictures." The wine list changes with the seasons. "During the colder months, people tend to go for bigger wines — darker fruit, more body, more structure," Clark says. "I call them comfort wines." Don't forget a shoe when you leave, like the woman described on the opposite page. N ail salon. Tanning salon. Twenty-four-hour gym. State Farm. Dry cleaner. Tese are among the tenants in a strip mall of LaGrange Road beyond the Gene Snyder. Also, Liquor World, which Steve Gross owns. He is a mechanical engineer by trade. Seven years ago, he decided to open a wine bar inside his liquor store. Why? "Eh," the 58-year-old says, "it just sounded fun." To get to Brix Wine Bar, you walk through Liquor World. An iron gate on your right serves as the door to the restaurant, which has the vibe of Jack's Lounge, the St. Matthews spot that was Gross' inspiration. Te Brixie Chicks are a group of longtime customers (missed opportunity: Chix). One regular shared a bottle of 1996 Palmes d'Or Champagne with the employees. On weekends, especially Friday nights, general manager Leslie Clark says, you will have to wait for a table, if you can get one at all. "No marketing. No advertising," she says. "We're like Cheers, but people don't tell their friends about us anymore because even our regulars can't get in. "Yeah, I wanted to ask you: With all the (expletive) going on in NuLu, how'd you decide to do something on us?" From the same word of mouth that made Brix crowded in the frst place. Te popular bison burger comes with hand-cut pommes frites fecked with Parmesan cheese and drizzled with white trufe oil. Rich pastas. Shrimp and grits. For brunch, three tacos (one bacon, one chorizo, one sausage) bulge with eggs, cabbage and mozzarella. Te steak-and-egg sandwich — with onions, spinach, tomatoes, banana peppers, provolone and bacon on Texas toast — is called "Brown Chicken Brown Cow." Say it fast. Bow chicka wow wow. "We run it pretty loose," Gross says. T.J. DeVault is the 30-year-old chef. He says, "I'm not an over-the-top kind of guy. Nothing real super-fancy." Let Clark translate: "You're not gonna look at anything on the menu and say, 'What the (expletive) is that?' But we make everything in-house, and we kill it. You don't expect that from a place across from a Valvoline." 12418 LaGrange Road 243-1120 Open Tuesday through Saturday beginning at 4 p.m. Brunch served Sunday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Reservations for groups of six or more. 11.13 LOUISVILLE MAGAZINE 131