Relish: Big Red Cock is what's for dinner

By Siegfried Bilstein and Dan Nelson     2/17/11 6:00pm

We're pretty into President David Leebron and his Vision for the Second Century, so we went to eat at the Biosciences Research Collaborative last weekend. It was a poor choice. Dan swallowed something in a flask and had to be hospitalized, while Siegfried got lost in all of the empty office space. To cheer ourselves up, we grabbed a whole bunch of dudes and went to check out a different BRC, located in the Washington area, which was in the New York Times once, so it has to be cool. The BRC, which stands for Big Red Cock (ha!) is not a gay bar - it's a gastropub! Gastropub is one of the pretentious words you learn when you pretend to be a food critic for your school's paper, and it means "a place that serves really nice (expensive) burgers and fries and stuff." While the BRC is a great gastropub, it's comparable to similar restaurants in the area, and it wouldn't be our first choice among them in terms of food, although the service is by far the best we've had in Houston.Upon arriving, the host asked us if we had any reservations. Not expecting to need any, he told us we would probably have to wait about half an hour. Suddenly he said "Hold on a minute, let me see what I can do," and briefly disappeared. Before Siegfried could inform our party that we might have to wait, the host had managed to find a table for all six of us. We also had an extremely pleasant waitress, who was helpful, funny and knowledgeable.

If a place is dimly lit, odds are that it's pretty classy. Such is the case with the BRC. We sat at a large, polished, industrial aluminum table that we shared with another couple. That said, the fleur-de-lis patterned wallpaper combined with the antique-looking furniture and lots of wood trim give the place the feel of a classy farmhouse. Also, we have to mention the bathroom. The men's and women's restrooms share the same sink, and each stall is its own separate room.

We like beer. You, loyal readers, should know this by now. Fortunately, the Big Red Cock has an excellent beer list, featuring various beers with incredibly long names that you've never heard of. Despite serving "gourmet comfort food," the portions at the Big Red Cock are a little underwhelming. Our sketchy alumni friend had warned us in advance, but as invincible young college students we ignored his Cassandra-esque prophecy. At the end of the day, he ordered two entrees and was satisfied, while we only got one and were left a bit hungry.

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Since we were at the Big Red Cock, we ordered some Boudin Balls as appetizers. Boudin is some weird Cajun meat thing we don't really understand, but they were super savory and succulent. The balls were smothered in some house relish, which was refreshing and sweet. Unfortunately there were only three balls for the price of $7.75, when usually you can get at least six for ?that much.

Siegfried ordered the Pub Burger with fries. The burger was standard, although well crafted. The seasoned fries were a good addition, but there was nothing too distinct about the meal and considering the burger's small size, we could have spent the $11.50 elsewhere.

Dan got the open-face Roasted Brisket sandwich, which was really more of a pile of brisket, mushrooms, caramelized onions and gravy that happened to be stacked on top of a slice of bread. That said, the brisket was quite tender, and the gravy sauce and mushrooms were both excellent, making for a tasty little sandwich.

One of the Big Red Cock's specialties is their Mac and Cheese of the day, which was Baked Potato flavored when we stopped by. Our tall, Frisbee-obsessed friend was a little intimidated by his, as it came out fajita-style on a hot plate. Still, once those who ordered it dug in, they said it was delicious and full of carbs.

To conclude, everything about Big Red Cock is awesome except for the food, which is just good. That said, the Big Red Cock does strike us as a great date place, as the atmosphere and service are superb. Also, they have a pretty good happy hour (4-7 p.m. Mon-Fri) with $2 appetizers and $2 off pints. We'll probably be back, but not when we're focused on finding exceptional food.

Siegfried Bilstein and Dan Nelson are Wiess College seniors.

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