The Bridge: Local Supporting Local

Last week I got to check out The Bridge Eatery & Bar and boy y'all are in for an earful about how much I LOVED this restaurant. It only took a couple days before I rounded up my roommates and friends and returned for more. And the best part was they loved it as much as me! We have already made a group decision to go back within the week for brunch.

This place has the most extensive and inclusive menu I've probably ever seen. They've got Mediterranean for the adventurous, but pizza and wings for the kids and those who want to stick in their comfort zone. They've got an extensive bourbon list and even a pretty awesome dessert menu.

Side note before we get into this bomb food, can we take a second to appreciate their adorable table setup? I love the cute flowers and the mini-mason jar salt and pepper shakers (that have 'S' and 'P' as the holes at the top, how cute). AND PAPER STRAWS Y'ALL, THIS PLACE CARES ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT!!!

Alright so moving on from how great it is that this place loves the environment, I was SO excited to hear that they love our local community just as much! The Bridge makes everything in house, from scratch every day, and they buy as much local food as they can for this. They even dressed their restaurant with plants from a local greenhouse. Y'all know I STAN for a local place that supports the local community right back! And even more than just buying local, they actually care about the local community and their customers. They provide halal meat for any of their Muslim customers, and always listen to what the community has to say about their menu and new items and such.

​But alright, on to the food:

Of course I had to follow proper order, so first things first I checked out one of their appetizers. I got a dip sampler called The Fab Five and yes it was ABSOLUTELY fab. From left to right, the dips here are: Saksuka, Tabule, Hummus, Babaganus, and Cacik. Their hummus was to die for. I brought some home and my roommates had devoured it in literal seconds (If y'all know me or my roommates, then you know which one commandeered that LOL). I'm usually a pretty play-it-safe person, so I didn't expect to really love any of the other dips except the hummus but WOW I made my roommates leave the Tabule and Saksuka for me because they were absolutely bomb. Didn't know I was a fan of eggplant until trying these dips but looks like I'm on the #eggplantAF train now!

​One of my other favorite things about this dish wasn't even the dips at all but the dip-ers. Provided for dipping are both chips and tortillas that are (as I may have said before (lol I'm pretty excited, gimme a break)) made in house from scratch and AMAZING. I was honestly upset when I ran out of chips but still had dip because I felt like the normal tortilla chips at my house just didn't cut it.

Next, I checked out the Lahmacun, which has both an appetizer and an entree size. This is a flatbread with a ground beef paste cooked onto it and toppings provided on the side for you to add as you want. I really loved this because it was so customizable. I also appreciated how light but still filling it was. The staff suggested adding toppings then folding to eat, and honestly it was the perfect little sandwich. I have to say though, I even liked it with AND without toppings just as a casual tear-and-eat.

And if you look in the back of the pictures, you see a perfect looking side salad. That's because all of their entrees come with a side salad with an amazing house dressing that I found to have the perfect level of a slight, light tangy-ness. I was pretty stoked about it honestly. (I'm a big salad fan LOL I know I'm weird)

I also tried out the Adana Kebap, a lamb appetizer The Bridge has. I'd never tried lamb before so they were super excited to see if I liked it and I can now say: y'all, I'm a fan. It had a little bit of a spice but definitely not too much, I can attest as someone who doesn't do super spicy. The light but creamy sauce provided on the side was so perfect to pair with the spice of the lamb too. I was really surprised at how much I loved the side as well. Burger Pilaf is a whole grain that's prepared the same as rice but slightly healthier, and honestly I felt a lot more filling than rice. I really liked it both when I ate it at the restaurant and when I reheated it for lunch the next day.

And of course, no meal is complete without dessert. I checked out The Bridge's Kunefe and I. am. hooked. This is a super simple but incredibly tasteful dish, made from shredded dough, cheese, and walnuts on top. They serve this fresh out of the oven so it's hot and the cheese is melted and WOW. There are honestly no words for how amazing this dish was. I literally couldn't stop eating it.
And I know y'all are thinking: what? cheese in a dessert? Because that's the same reaction my friends had when I recommended they order it our next time in. But it works SO WELL in this dish. The dish doesn't taste like cheese, rather it adds a savory to the sweet of the dish and it's so incredibly perfect. I could honestly go on for days about how much I loved this dessert.

As a college student myself, I can't not note how cool their college deal is. This restaurant is so genuine in just wanting to care for the local college community. They aren't trying to make a profit off these deals but rather just give the local students a good meal at an affordable price. And I'm honestly so incredibly happy about that.

All in all, visiting this restaurant was an amazing experience and I've already been taking friends back to show them this great place. Like I said before, I STAN a local business that supports and cares for the local community right back.

*This post was written on 4/2/2019 and moved here on the date above.