Bruxie Comes to Irvine - CLOSED

Bruxie

14376 Culver Dr.

Irvine, CA 92604

Bruxie is a real feel-good story. I'd like to say that I have been with them since the beginning, but that would be a lie. I was late jumping on the Bruxie bandwagon. My first visit was in January 2012, two years after they opened their first location in Old Towne Orange, across from Chapman University. I wrote in that review that I had considered myself a sham of a food blogger because I had not made it to Bruxie before that time. I am now happy to say that I have gone to Bruxie, made numerous return trips, and have been to three of their six locations. You can now add another location to that list because Bruxie just opened another spot, this time anchoring in Irvine.

For the two people unfamiliar with Bruxie, it is a sandwich restaurant, but they use a version of an authentic Belgian waffle instead of bland old bread. The waffle is light and crisp but not sweet. They offer about eighteen different sandwiches, some savory and some sweet. They also have a few specials that are rotated routinely throughout the week. This Irvine outpost is now their sixth location, and of course, the next question is where will number seven be? Of course, I asked Dean Simon, Managing Partner of Bruxie, but he was very tight-lipped about it, only saying, "I don't want to announce anything until it is final."  That is for the best. Why get people's hopes up when plans can suddenly change. If I had to guess, and this is a guess, based on where they are spread out now, they open in either Long Beach/Seal Beach or down in South OC, maybe Laguna Beach/Dana Point. Time will tell if I am right or totally wrong.

For now, we have Bruxie number six, which just opened. They are located in quite a busy shopping center. I had never been to this shopping center at the corner of Walnut and Culver, which features a Mitsuwa Marketplace, an Elephant Bar, and a Habit Burger. Bruxie is smack dab in the middle of the center, next to the First Bank. We were invited to their friends and family event the day before they opened to the public. Every employee we encountered was looking forward to the next day when they could start sharing their great food with the people of Irvine. As always, I was very excited to have this opportunity to get my hands on their great sandwiches. So, after walking through the door, we made a beeline for the registers, placed our orders, and waited for our food to be brought to our table.

While we waited for our food, I took a few shots of the interior of Bruxie. As with all Bruxie locations, they offer inside and outside seating. The roll-up doors, so popular in the RSM location, are also present in Irvine and lend to an open, airy atmosphere here. The high ceiling also contributes to this as well. The colors of the Belgian flag, red, yellow, and black, are well represented on the restaurant's walls, just as they are in their logo. Speaking of their logo, if you want to wear their name around town, Bruxie has plenty of shirts, hats, and other apparel to purchase.

The best part about eating with a group of food bloggers is that they always take plenty of pictures of their food before digging in and are always very gracious about others taking pictures of their food. These plates were brought out to the tables surrounding us. The Irish Nachos and Hot Pastrami Bruxie belonged to Tom from Tom's Foodie Blog, while the always charming Shelby from OC Mom Blog had the Smoked Salmon Lox and Dill Cream Cheese Bruxie. One of my favorite food bloggers, Suki, from Eat Suki Eat went for one of the specials offered at this event, the Country Sausage and Egg Bruxie. This one puts the Egg McMuffin to shame.

On this visit to Bruxie, I took this opportunity to try something I had never had here before, the Buttermilk Fried Chicken and Waffle Bruxie. This large, thinly pounded chicken was joined on the waffle with chili honey and cider slaw. You can also get their 100 percent pure maple syrup to accompany your sandwich for an additional dollar charge. I took full advantage of this. The chicken was well cooked, tender, and spiced very well. The chili honey had a good flavor, while the slaw provided some nice texture. The waffle was light, with a slight crunch to it. It did an admirable job keeping the giant chicken and the other sandwich contents together. Predictably, Bruxie does not serve french fries, but it offers waffle-cut fries. These were good but lacked the greasiness I had expected. An excellent solid fry.

Every time we come to Bruxie, it almost becomes automatic that Katie will get the same thing: the Albacore Tuna Melt. This one comes with cheddar cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes. Katie's always over the moon after eating this. She might have even more reason to get excited over this Bruxie in the future. Dean told us a secret: They will change their tuna very soon, and he seemed very enthusiastic about the new tuna they will carry here. He did not want to give too much away, but we could tell that this sandwich would be even better than it is now. Katie will definitely be first in line to try the new tuna. We will keep you posted when it is set to debut.

I like ice cream but rarely get shakes when we go out. They fill me up too much and take valuable space away from my eating. I might have to make an exception when we go to Bruxie. Bruxie does not use ice cream to make their shakes. They use fresh frozen custard from Wisconsin. The result is a softer but richer version of this dairy treat. We tried their limited-time shake special, the Blueberry Shake. Drinking this shake took me back to eating those frozen blueberry Eggo waffles when I was a kid. The blueberries here were fresh and vibrant and really packed a flavorful punch. This shake really had all of us at Bruxie buzzing.

My food and hockey friend, Rich, wanted to split the Bruxie Burger with me, and who was I to say no to this great burger. At Bruxie, they use an Angus beef patty and top it with cheddar cheese, tomato, lettuce, pickles, and mayo. I have had this burger several times, and it is cooked to a perfect medium every time. The beef is so tender; they don't overdress the burger, and I do not miss the absence of bacon on this burger. Not often I can say that. I'm glad we split this burger so I could save enough room for some of the sweet Bruxies on their way.

Some might argue that the sweet Bruxies are the best, and who am I to argue such a valid point. I have been on a real peanut butter kick lately, almost all my life, so we started with the PB and J. Bruxie uses all-natural peanut butter, and then you can choose between grape or strawberry preserves. Everyone knows strawberry is the best, so we went with that. This was unlike any peanut butter and jelly sandwich I had in grade school. The PB and J went very well with the waffle. This is a classic, but my favorite sweet Bruxie is the Nutella and Bananas with Sweet Cream. There are not too many words to describe this fabulous dessert. The bananas were very fresh, Nutella is always good, and the addition of the sweet cream binds everything together. Lightly dusted with powdered sugar, this is the sweet Bruxie to get here.

With my final bites of the Nutella and Banana Bruxie leaving my plate, it was time for us to end this visit to Bruxie. It was another great experience at Bruxie, and I am sure this location will also be very successful. When the doors opened the next day, there was a line around the building, but the line kept moving, and the wait was only fifteen minutes. I'm happy Bruxie has expanded to another part of OC, and I look forward to seeing what's in store for them.

We thank everyone at Bruxie for this excellent opportunity to attend their friends and family event. It was awesome seeing the passion that everyone connected with Bruxie has for their food and customer service. Everyone was so upbeat that you could not leave Bruxie in a bad mood. We would also like to thank one of the best PR people in the business, the great Mona Shah-Anderson, for the invite to experience Bruxie Irvine. Thanks for thinking of us, Mona, and we look forward to seeing you again soon.

For more information about Bruxie and to find the location closest to you, go to their website here: http://bruxie.com/