The Brick House: Dining at the Manor

Wyckoff's Brick House Restaurant, built as a home by the Terhune family in 1851, has been an eatery since 1951, making it one of the oldest dining establishments in the area.

It was not, however, always a successful restaurant despite its location on busy Godwin Avenue, and the historic building was nearly torn down in the 1990s. Aldo Cascio, who also owns Aldo's in downtown Wyckoff, said he found some investors and bought the place in 1997 to save it from the wrecking ball.

The previous owners thought a new building would turn the operation into a success, but "cosmetic changes don't do much if the food's not right, and they would have destroyed a Wyckoff landmark," Cascio said.  "And I love Wyckoff."

In 2006, before the economy collapsed around us all, Cascio renovated the original structure and put on an addition, designed to fit in with the original Federal-style building. "It would be nice to be able to see the future," Cascio said. But, clearly, he has created one of "the" places to go in this part of Bergen County.

When we visited with two friends on a recent Wednesday night, the elegant dining room was nearly full, and as the temperature dropped outside, we were seated beside a fireplace, in my partner's favorite thing, chairs with arms. Private parties were going on in two small banquet rooms on the ground floor (there also is a second floor banquet hall), and the new bar was busy. 

The holidays, Cascio said, are helping. And as the economy recovers, we expect the Brick House will be crowded, and reservations a must. It is not an inexpensive place, but it is not the priciest we've ever visited either, and our friends raved about some parties they had held there for 12 people.

My partner, the wine expert, pronounced the list good. And we kept costs down by ordering a Beringer Chardonnay at $26 a bottle, only double what you would pay for it retail when most wines are marked up three or four times their retail price. And it is a good wine. Since we knew we would be going through two bottles, we were pleased to find some reasonable options below $40.

We started with salads—spinach, Caesar's and a plate of mozzarella, red peppers and eggplant. All the dishes were generous. If I had to choose again, I'd pick the mozzarella that a friend ordered.

The same friend and I, who both like our meat medium well, decided to share the night's "Surf and Turf," special which was the night's most expensive item at $54.95. It included a generous piece of filet and a lobster tail filled with crab meat and two claws. We couldn't finish it. (And this was an entrée designed for one.)

The menu put together by executive chef John Marsano features a "Temperature Table" for the meat, with six or seven different options for cooking. They included one called "Pittsburgh," which was described as charred on the outside but bloody on the inside. I wish every place had a "Temperature Table." Ours came just the way we like it.  

Another friend ( a smart woman) chose one of the night's specials as a main course—two tiers of seafood with oysters, clams, lobster tails and shrimp. My partner, who can never resist stone crab claws, ordered that appetizer as his main course.

Nobody was disappointed. The "Surf and Turf" came with crispy French fries, and we ordered an extra plate for the table, along with green beans that came in a light tomato and onion sauce.  (Sides are extra, usually $.7.95.)

And stuffed or not, we still ordered a tartufo and a "berry twist" to share for dessert. The Brick House's Irish coffee is great and generous, but hard to drink because it comes in a glass brandy snifter and can be too hot to handle.

The only other drawback is that we were forced to turn our car over to a valet, which my partner never likes to do. The parking lot is large enough  at the Brick House to allow both self and valet parking on a wee night. When we were there, however, orange cones were being used to deter self-parking.

Food: Good

Service:  Excellent

Entrée Price Range: $22-$36

Atmosphere: Elegant

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