Brillobox

Reviews 3

NO

Noah Forman

Skip to the *** if you dont want the backstory. This happened two years ago. At the time, I was 30, and I had only been with one person romantically. I dated my first gf for a month before I worked up the courage to kiss her. I have crippling social anxiety. I graduated from college having had less than five conversations with staff or students. Ive never hit on a girl in my life. Thats who I am. I had the misfortune of attending a dance party at this establishment called "Operation Sappho." At the time, I had no idea what the nature of the event was. The woman who admitted us asked if we knew what it was about, but my friend, thinking she was talking about something else said "Yeah," so it wasnt explained. I thought it would be a good time to practice my social skills, so I went up to a girl who I recognized, and started some small talk. She was friendly enough, and as I walked away, she tapped me on the shoulder and pointed at her friend and said "You probably recognize her, too," which I did, but I just kinda nodded at her. Later in the night, I found myself behind this other girl in line for the bathroom. So, I decided to make up for brushing her off earlier by making polite conversation. It was like "Do you know so and so?" There were certainly no sexual or romantic overtones or undertones because I wasnt remotely interested in her like that. Out of nowhere, she asks me "Are you straight?" I am, so I answer "Yes." Shes like "Well, this is organized for gay people." Then, she went into the bathroom. The woman standing behind me informed me that whatever that other girl had said was a complete mischaracterization. Finally, I see these girls again. There are even more of them. Theres hardly anyone at the party, so I didnt have anything else to do but go try to talk to them. At that point, I had forgotten about what that other girl had said. Im thinking "Im friendly. They will respond in kind." So I go up to them start chatting. I have no idea what I was talking about, but certainly nothing sexual or romantic. Again, I had zero interest in any of them romantically. Even now, two years later, because of some personal stuff, Im still having a hard time being interested in anyone romantically. So, Im just small talking, and again, out of nowhere, one of the girls asks me if Im straight. At that point, I started feeling a little adversarial because what business is it of theirs what my sexuality is? Shouldnt they ask what my intentions are, instead of assuming what they are based on my sexuality, which they clearly dont understand. Then, they tell me that Im making their friend uncomfortable. Im not doing anything that is inherently disturbing. Its only in combination with my sexuality that what I was doing was able to make this girl uncomfortable. I felt like I was being used to make an example of. I said "I dont feel like anything Im doing could legitimately make someone uncomfortable, but if I am making you uncomfortable then youre free to walk away and I will leave you alone." Maybe I should have deescalated the situation by walking away, but I didnt. The next thing I know they are all screaming at me, telling me Im invading a gay space. Im just standing there telling them that Im not doing anything but standing there and they can just walk away at any time. More and more people start screaming at me. *** They get the owner who throws me out without asking any question about whats going on or what Im doing. He hands me off to the bouncer who also has no idea whats going on. He follows me down the stairs, threatening to "beat my ass" if I dont leave, not that I was trying not to. Once Im outside, he again threatens me with physical violence unless I cross the street in the opposite direction that Im going. I tell him that Im going the other direction, but he threatens me again. Dont go to Brillobox unless youre comfortable being thrown out and threatened physically without good reason.

EA

eatPGH

I go to Brillobox quite often. It’s close to my apartment. The jukebox is filled with good music. The draft and bottle beer selection is pretty great. And the food always hits the spot. Plus I get to watch guys in pants tighter than an 80′s glam rocker try and walk. It’s a win for everyone. Most often my Brillobox experience doesn’t include an entree. Mainly because its appetizers are so good. And if you go during happy hour most of my favorites are only $3. Such a deal. Last night I had a craving for its house salad. That’s weird I know. It’s just a house salad you’re thinking. Um, wrong. This is the best house salad in Pittsburgh (This whole post is going to be filled with bold statements, just wait). This salad has mixed greens, hearts of palm, thinly sliced broccoli, shaved gouda, tomatos, edamame, and walnuts. All that goodness is tossed in a white balsamic vinaigrette dressing that lightly coats each delicious morsel. And this salad is big enough to split with another person. If you know of another house salad with that many unusual (for Pittsburgh) ingredients for $8, let me know because I’ll buy you a beer. In addition to the salad I also got hummus, french fries, and a chorizo soft taco. I was hangry and in “eat or die” mode. The hummus at Brillobox is better than I’ve had at some Mediterranean restaurants. It creamy, flavorful, and drizzled with olive oil. It’s also accompanied with a variety of olives and pita bread. It’s a generous portion and they don’t skimp on the pita so load it up and jam your face. The pommes frites at Brillobox are mind blowingly good. I like to say the best fries in Pittsburgh. I’ll wait as you franticly tell me otherwise in the comment section. Ok, you’re back? These fries are served in a tall cone and accompanied by three dipping sauces: curry ketchup, spicy red pepper mayo, and garlic dijon aioli. The seasoning on the fries paired with the different condiments really set these fries apart from others for me. And I don’t even like condiments people! Last but not least I had the tempeh chorizo soft taco. At the time it was such a bummer. It weirdly tasted like soap and I just didn’t like the flavor at all. Then I realized it wasn’t actually chorizo. And I still didn’t like it. Sorry Brillobox and vegetarians. Real chorizo knocks the fake stuff out of the water. The toppings were great though. Avocado, radish, pencil-thin potato crisps, and a lettuce/cabbage mixture. I’ve had a lot of the other items off the dinner menu but I keep coming back to the appetizers time after time. Because big portions, big flavors, and fully bellies can’t be wrong.

A

A Private User

During our recent trip to Pittsburgh we decided to check out the Brillobox after reading about the Wednesday night Pub Quiz in the City Paper. We went for dinner before trivia and were really happy about the menu. Its not a vast menu but a few selections of dressed up pub food. I would recommend the skirt steak sandwich with the salad with ginger dressing -- it was really good! We liked the vibe of the place. The MC during Pub Quiz had the music a bit loud but I assumed it was to offset the sound of the band upstairs. Was worth the overall pricetag on the evening. This was our last stop in Pittsburgh and we were glad wed happened upon it. Wish we had something like it in Indy!

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