BRICK FIRE AND BRUNCH

The year 2020 is upon us, and like most others, I can’t help but think, “This is it, this is our year!!” And with that strong mentality in mind I knew that our first Brunch with Aloha event of the year had to be something really unique and fun!

Well, I think that a pizza themed, bistro-esque, courtyard brunch at Brick Fire and Tavern in the heart of China Town in Honolulu, HI definitely hit the unique marker! And just read on to see if we covered the fun! :)

*Spoiler Alert* There was fun!

THE SPOT

Sometimes I find that in my desire to find the right words, it can be best to go to the source. So directly from their site, who can say it better but Brick Fire Tavern:

At the heart of every bite of Brick Fire Tavern pizza is our MVP - our oven. Designed and built by famed third-generation oven-builder Stefano Ferrara, the oven was commissioned in Naples, Italy, and handmade specifically for our restaurant. The smoldering embers of local kiawe wood heat the oven to 900 degrees F, which means our Napoletana pizzas are perfectly cooked in only 90 seconds – complete with rustic crusts, melted toppings, and smoky flavors fired into every bite.

Brick Fire Tavern is a unique gem on Oahu and is the only Vera Pizza Napoletana (VPN) certified on Oahu. Basically what that means is that they craft True Neopolitan Pizza (Vera Pizza Napoletana). From the dough, to the sauce, to the mozzarella, it is all legit!!

While BFT was our host, the courtyard was graciously loaned to our group by Encore Saloon and it was perfect! Exposed brick and colorful murals combined with rustic wooden benches and live foliage creates this edgy little oasis in the middle of China Town!

With space for about 25 guests utilizing the on-site tables as well as a stand alone mimosa & bloody-mary station, dessert bar, small lounge, AND photo backdrop, the location was the perfect fit for our group!

THE DESSERTS

I was so dang excited for this event! The main reason being, we had a little contest prior that was right up my alley! We asked all of our followers to input their suggestions for our next cake flavor. I then chose my top 3 (also the top 3 I thought that I could make successfully!) and had our audience vote for their favorite. The winner then received a discounted ticket to this event! Their flavor was also guaranteed to be featured at our next brunch!

The top 3 flavors ended up being

Lemon Cake with Lemon Curd Filling & Marscapone Frosting
Mimosa Cake- Orange Cake with Champagne Buttercream and Orange Drizzle
Honey Cake with Lavender Frosting

The winner was the lemon cake so I made that one as well as the mimosa cake! Our Third option was a chocolate cake with coffee buttercream to round out all the citrus options!

The lemon cake was by far one of my favorite cakes to date! Both in design and flavor! I based the design on an Italian tile cake I saw from NIKOS CAKES that I just fell in love with! I adjusted the design a bit to carve and paint directly in/on the buttercream frosting and just loved how it turned out!

THE DECOR

I feel like I am always one slip of the foot from teetering right over the edge of the tight rope that is “kitschy” and “cute”! And on this event I felt myself almost toppling often, but think in the end it turned out lovely! I actually LOVE this brunch design! It was simple, while also being beautiful and relevant to the delicious food we were eating and that is something that I always strive to achieve!

The centerpieces consisted of a butcher paper runner down the center of each of the metal tables. Resting on top were various arrangements of simple florals (heavy on greenery and accented with fresh lemons) nestled in genuine tomato cans. Crystal jars filled with herbs as well as loose and bunched tomatoes accented the larger bouquets.

Last but not least were custom, small scale pizza peels. (which I am now learning is the correct term for a pizza paddle!) Each peel was hand cut by my brother and then I painted them with cute sayings as well as brunch and pizza inspired chalk drawings. All in all I could not be happier with the way they turned out and accented our table scapes!

Our take home gifts for this event came in the form of a sort of DIY pizza kit! We had Rosemary and Thyme infused Olive Oils in beautiful small glass bottles inspired by this Lela Burris post. We also had small bags of dried pizza herb seasoning packets and inside that, a take home pizza dough recipe. Last but not least, the guests were given empty bags to gather up the tomatoes and fresh herbs from the table to bring home. Actually! Last but realllly not least my favorite portion of the gift is a $5 donation to HUGS Hawaii for each of our guests!

THE FOOD

The food for this event was something literally out of a dream! Edible flowers, personal salads and brunch inspired pizzas!

Our menu was as follows and literally every bit as delicious as it sounds!!

I literally could not think of a better way to brunch… oh except maybe with a pizza decorating contest… am I kidding? Am I not…? I am not! The ladies each got to decorate their own pizzas with edible flowers and take part in a pizza decorating contest that resulted in one lucky lady winning a ticket to the next brunch event that we had!

THE DRINKS

The bar hosted a bottomless mimosas and, for the very first time, a bottomless bloody-mary bar as well! With all the garnishes one could hope for, it turned out to be a big hit among our guests and one we will certainly bring back for future events!!

THE LEI PO’O (FLOWER CROWNS)

Our Lei Po’o Artist Kehau is one of the most talented and kind women I have ever known!! She puts such love and time into every floral creation she makes and is such an important part of Brunch with Aloha. Every time I see a new girl put on a flower crown I can see her entire face light up and it is one of the most beautiful things in the whole wide world! Please check out more of her work via her instagram account:

INSTAGRAM: WWW.INSTAGRAM.COM/KEHAULANI.PROFESSIONS

THE GALS

There is no better way to finish up this post than with the heart and soul of Brunch with Aloha, the women… Thank you to everyone who joined us and we cannot wait to see you at the next event!

To be kept up to date on our upcoming events and exclusive presales and discounts subscribe to our e-mail list below!