Real Regional American Cuisine at Brick Ridge in Mt. Airy

The most overused words in American restaurants—well, aside from “Everything’s good on the menu here”—have to be “local” and “regional.” The terms are so overused, in fact, they’ve practically lost their ability to intrigue or surprise us.

Brick Ridge, a charmingly old-fashioned restaurant in Mt. Airy, takes a decidedly aggressive approach to the concept of regional cuisine: Every week owner Todd Bricken offers a handful of drinks, appetizers, and entrees devoted to a single U.S. state.

Two weeks ago, when I visited Brick Ridge, a former one-room schoolhouse, Bricken was featuring plates and spirits from New York state, including these fried hush puppies stuffed with sauerkraut and nubbins of corned beef. It was the restaurant’s take on the Reuben. Perhaps more conceptually interesting than tasty, I still admired Brick Ridge’s staunch pledge of allegiance to true regional American cuisine.

Bricken has been running through the states, week by week, ever since he opened Brick Ridge in 2000. “We’re on our eighth and about to start on our ninth cycle” of 50 state cuisines. The owner developed his love of regional food back when he was the chef of a women’s social club at Davidson College in North Carolina.

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