Briquettes Steakhouse - Montlimar

Briquettes Steakhouse opened its doors in 2013. It took me years to give it a go and I have been kicking myself ever since.  I am a big supporter of local businesses and tend to avoid big chain restaurants when I can.  I thought Briquettes was one but lo and behold, it's not.  According to its Facebook page, it is locally owned and operated. From the food to the decor and the service, this place is top notch! 

Rotisserie chicken nachos $8.99

I can never resist an appetizer when I go out. My brother and I like nachos in particular so this rotisserie chicken nachos is right up our alley.  It is a plate of chips piled high with chicken, cheese sauce, jalapenos, black olives and salsa. there was supposed to be an avocado lime sauce on top but I couldn't taste it. The nachos came in at just $9 and I think it would be more than enough to serve as a meal for one. I liked that I had toppings left over when I got to the bottom on the plate instead of just nude chips. That in itself gets a double thumbs up!

During my first visit, I didn't know we get cheddar biscuits on the house. OMG. These were delicious. If I knew, I would not have ordered an appetizer. The biscuit was flaky and oh so flavorful. I would have asked for more but I decided I needed room for my actual meal.

Ribs with 2 sides $11.99

My brother could not decide what to get. Briquettes has a big menu, even for lunch. He settled on ribs with two sides. The sides were their steakhouse style mac and cheese and roasted red potatoes. The ribs were massive. I didn't have very much but I thought there was a good bite to the meat. It definitely not the fall off the rack but I don't think it's meant to be. I liked the barbecue sauce. It wasn't too sweet or too tangy. There was a good balance but nothing spectacular. The roasted potatoes were just roasted potatoes. Nothing really stuck out about it but that mac and cheese. It's so cheesy and flavorful. I particularly like the topping. It must have been bread crumbs and some Parmesan cheese because it gave it the saltiness it needed to really enhance everything.

Chopped Steak $11.99

The reason why I went to Briquettes was for the chopped steak. I was craving it bad that day and I didn't know who would have a decent one. I thought surely a steakhouse would have one. I was right. It's a nice big patty of meat smothered in a caramelized onion and mushroom gravy. My only gripe is the mashed potatoes I ordered to go with it was served on a separate plate. What's up with that? Everyone knows chopped steak and mashed potatoes go together. What else was I supposed to use to sop up all that delicious gravy? Instead, they put my sweet potato casserole on the same plate. Now that doesn't make any sense. The mashed potato was nice and fluffy. It really benefited from the slightly salty onion and mushroom gravy. The sweet potato casserole was just as it supposed to be. Delicious. I meant for it to be more of a dessert and it served its purpose.

I have gone back to Briquettes quite a few times since but unfortunately, can not track down the pictures. I thought I would touch on the lunch combos real quick though. It's a good selection for under $10.  I had the Briquettes pasta and Caesar salad. At first, I scoffed at the portion size but when I was done, I was stuffed. The pasta had everything you could possibly want. There was rotisserie chicken and concecuh sausage all in a creamy sauce. It's a very good deal.

One of my favorite steakhouses is temporarily closed due to a fire. I was extremely surprised to see many of the same faces at Briquettes. Needless to say, service was great. I liked the pacing of the food. The waitress was informative and attentive.

To check out Briquette's menu, click here.