Eating Local: Brickside Cafe, Deli & Pizzeria

With the greatest of apologies to Zoey's Pizza in Marion, but I have found my new favorite pizza place and it goes by the name of Brickside. Located in a fancy new strip mall in Hiawatha, Brickside is the ONLY brick oven pizzeria in the Cedar Rapids/Hiawatha/Marion area.

Brick. Oven. Pizza.

That means it's got an incredibly crisp and flavorful crust, not too bready and absolutely delicious. On my first trip there I had one of their 13 specialty pizzas, the Black and Bleu. The olive oil crust was topped with bacon, bleu cheese crumbles, beef, tomatoes and lettuce. On my most recent trip I tried the BBQ Chicken with BBQ sauce, chicken and plenty of cheese. Both were equally delicious and worth returning to Hiawatha for.

If none of the 13 specialty pizzas tempt you, you can certainly build your own pizza, with your choice of 22 topping and 6 sauces,  for a total of a kajillion and a half combinations.

Not hungry for pizza? Well it's not called a "Cafe, Deli & Pizzeria" for nothing. Sandwiches are available on 8 kinds of bread, 3 kinds of wraps and about 42 different meats, cheese, toppings and spreads.

Looking for a unique and filling sandwich? They have 5 specialty sandwiches too, including a meatloaf sandwich with potatoes, gravy, cheese and onions on cibatta bread.

Is it too early in the morning to think about pizza or sandwiches? Doesn't matter, Brickside has you covered with coffee of all kinds, breakfast pizza, breakfast burritos, muffins, yogurt parfait, bagels & scones.

Is this a food mecca, you ask? Maybe. That depends if you like your mecca with a large array of desserts and serving wine, beer and both fountain Coke & Pepsi. Is Brickside trying to cover all the bases? Yes, but not to their detriment. The variety in their menu serves only to please their customers of any age and not to disguise the ability to do any one thing really well. They do everything well, including their staff. While young, they didn't bat an eye when we came in 30 minutes before closing demanding pizza. Nary an eye was rolled, in fact, we witnessed a well oiled machine at work, first in making and serving our food then attending to pre-closing duties.

Now, don't expect a cozy or quaint candle-lit place perfect for a first date. Brickside, as I said, is in a new strip mall and has tall ceiling with the industrial elements exposed. The tables and chairs might be more suitable for dining al fresco but the booths are plenty and they also offer a separate part room that can hold you plus 25 of your friends!

Brickside Cafe, Deli & Pizzeria is located at1705 Boyson Road in Hiawatha, Iowa.



I was too excited to eat that I forgot to take a "before" picture.



Bagel Topped Chicken Pie - A Recipe!

I have found another Hy-Vee Seasons Magazine recipe that I can safely and easily modify into a fairly simple dinner. Their Cobblestone Chicken Pie, featuring sourdough bread as topping, may not be the most healthy recipe but it is tasty, and very suitable for a cozy winter meal. The original recipe serves 6 but it was very easily halved into serving 3 (or 2 hungry people) Here's how I made it, with a few tweaks and shortcuts. Also, please note that the photos show me making the 3 serving version of the recipe!



Chicken Pie (serves 6)


First of all, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Preheating is important. Don't skip this step. Then, assemble your ingredients. This may or may not require a trip to the grocery store plus some prep work. Some of the cooking is time sensitive so you don't want to be prepping while stuff is scorching on the burner. Also, a helpful sous chef is a welcome addition.

• 4 tbs Olive oil, divided into 2tbs portions
• 2 c. sliced mushrooms. Try not to use canned, it's worth it.
• 1 c. celery, sliced
• 1 c. carrots, diced
• 1/3 c. flour
• 1/2 tsp. each of dried rosemary, salt & pepper
• 2 c. chicken broth, divided into 15 oz. and 1 oz portions
• 3/4 c. half & half
• 3 c. cooked and diced chicken breast (pre-cooked is fine but not canned)
• 1/2 c. frozen peas
• 1/2 c. shredded Parmesan cheese (not the canned Kraft stuff, seriously)
• 2 Thomas Bagel Thins, plain, whole wheat or everything flavor

Heat 2tbs of the olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet.
Add the mushrooms, celery and carrots, cooking until tender, about 15 minutes. As you can see, I like to chop the sliced mushrooms up a bit. If you don't like one of the veggies, substitute and add another. I just used what I had on hand (the original recipe calls for leeks and I don't even know if I like leeks!)

To the tender veggies add the flour, rosemary, salt and pepper. The veggies will become all coated and maybe even look a little gummy. Don't worry, just keep stirring it, allowing it to cook for about 1 minute.

Add 15 ounces of the chicken broth and the half & half. Stir and cook until it has thickened, about 3 - 5 minutes. Make sure that you're still on MEDIUM heat and haven't secretly turned up the burner. You can't rush perfection!

Add the diced chicken, frozen peas and remaining 1 ounce of broth. I don't know why the delayed addition of the broth but it really made a difference when I "forgot" to add it one time. Also, I used store bought, pre-cooked fajita chicken which I diced up myself. I would not suggest using canned chicken. You could even use shredded rotisserie chicken if you like. I don't know why the peas are frozen when the rest of the veggies are fresh, that's just the way it goes.

Spoon the mixture into a 2 quart baking dish. No need to grease it.
In a small bowl mix the cubed bagels with the remaining 2 tbs of olive oil and the Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle over the chicken mixture.

Bake for about 30 minutes. Hopefully, when it's done you'll want to eat it. After all, you did go though all that work.

I'd love to find a way to lighten up this recipe a little without losing too much flavor. If anyone knows of a good yogurt or milk substitution for the half and half please let me know!