Birmingham Bites: Brick & Tin

Brick & Tin is one of those industrial-meets-rustic-with-local-ingredients concepts that actually doesn't come off as pretentious as a lot of them do these days.  We get it, everyone likes sourcing from local farmers.  Everyone likes exposed brick and reclaimed wood.  But these guys do it in a really non-presumptuous way, with legitimately yummy seasonal lunch options that don't go crazy and don't have too many choices.

For lunch there are 6 sandwiches, a few salads and a couple of soups to mix and match.  A great side option of deviled eggs with shaved country ham and some daily desserts I haven't stuck my fork in yet...

While I'm really missing their knock-out fall menu (butternut squash & prosciutto sammy?  Daily!) they have some fun options on the winter block right now.  My most recent lunch consisted of a gratin of white beans, Alabama collards with fennel, onions and root veg, and a cup of potato-fennel-leek soup.  My squash obsession of the fall has migrated to a fennel one apparently...

That perfectly crunchy gratin is going to be recreated in my kitchen, for sure!

The Tuscan panini is really great as well, but I suggest substituting the ciabatta for the bread.  And there's always the "B-ham Mi" if you're feeling froggy.