"FOR A GENERIC RESTAURANT, IT'S PRETTY GOOD"
Location: 1479 Robson St, Vancouver
Telephone: 604-696-9335
Website: BROWNS SOCIAL HOUSE
A lot of people talk about "Box Stores" stealing business and originality from the little mom & pop shops around town, well the same can be said for "Box Restaurants" especially in Vancouver. In a city filled with generic siblings like EARLS, MILESTONES and CACTUS CLUB comes the latest youngster to join in on the fun, BROWNS SOCIAL HOUSE.
Now what separates this joint from all the others? Not much. Cool design, top-heavy waitresses in tight clothes, burgers, salads, steaks and drink specials. In fact, Browns has a smaller menu and much more of a casual low key atmosphere. For a generic restaurant, it's pretty good.
It was a quiet Thursday when Lesley and I walked in for lunch and we were seated immediately. BROWNS has a few unique appies that are worth trying like the Pulled Pork Nachos and the Lobster Wings but I opted for the Hot Wings because as you may have guessed, that's how I roll. Now for regular Hot Wings, these were pretty damn good, crispy, juicy and spicy but the best part? Real Blue Cheese in the Blue Cheese Dip, trust me, it makes a difference.
For mains, Lesley went with the Blackened Chicken Cowboy Salad while I went with the Blackened Fish Sandwich (as you can see BROWNS likes their food blackened). The Salad is always a crowd pleaser filled with corn, walnuts, dates and feta and it didn't disappoint this time. As for the Fish Sandwich, awesome. A nice-sized sized piece of blackened cod housed in a big bun chock full of coleslaw. It was served with a generous portion of yam fries and chipotle mayo. This is a great sammich and I will definitely order it again.
All in all, BROWNS SOCIAL HOUSE will not break the mold of Vancouver Box Restaurants but the food was good, the service was prompt and the price was right ($43 for 2 drinks, wings and the 2 mains). But if you want a change of locale and a few different options on you menu, then give Browns a try.As a side note, a few Sundays ago we went to the BROWNS in Kits on Sunday where they had a Pizza/Caesar Deal. Pizzas were $8 and Caesars were $4... you do the math... good times.
RATING: 6/10 FULL BELLIES
1 comment:
I definitely understand your comparison of Browns with "big box syndrome". I recently visited my parents out in Richmond and I made a pit stop at a Sip's Wine Store at Ironwood Plaza - a generic strip mall off Hwy 99. And there it was in all its newly-opened glory: Brown's. However, I'd rather see a Brown's open up than another Boston Pizza or god forbid, a Kelsey's!
I love to hate Brown's, but the food's reliably good (at least in my experience). I have only ever visited their Yaletown location.
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