Brooksy’s Brick Oven and Bar
Classic pizza smothered with bbq sauce, short rib and sweet Peruvian peppers.
“It's a perfectly balanced pizza, and it's one of my favorites.”
Delicious Detroit Style pie with the flavors of a Buffalo favorite.
“It's not too spicy, but it has a nice kick”.
And a classic campfire treat made into a pizza.
“They see marshmallows rising in the pizza oven, they’re blown away.”
Sweet, spicy or somewhere in between, when you want great pizza, just ask Brooksy.
Situated on Main Street in Andover, Brooksy’s Brick Oven and Bar is the creation of owner Brooks Rice; a man with a true passion for pizza, and an oven to back it up.
“The main feature of Brooksy’s is our massive wood fired pizza oven. So our pizza oven allows us the time to rise and give it that nice chewy effect. And then you put it ..against the fire at the end to crisp up the crust, give it that nice smoke, wood fired flavor, and then the pizza is ready to go. Our style, I'm going to call it the Brooksy style. And that might sound like I'm being conceited, but I'm trying to be anything but that.”
The ever-so-humble “Brooksy’s style” combines Brook’s background in both coal fired and wood fired pizza for a beautiful hybrid of the two.
“It's not a New York style, it's not a Neapolitan style. It's Brooksy’s style.”
You can take in the sights, sounds and smells of pizza and more being prepped out of the open kitchen.
“It's like a dinner and a show. You're right on top of the action. Customers love asking questions. The staff is great accommodating those questions and it's just a good place to hang out.”
Every meal at Brooksy's should start with some Wings- cooked to perfection in their pizza oven.
“Cooking anything in that pizza oven is unique. The flavor from the smoke and the wood, and it allows you to cook them at nice pace, where they're still juicy and not overcooked. So the pizza oven just gives them a nice little coating of charness, but they're also nice and juicy on the inside.”
Another starter that gets kissed with the flavor of fire are the meatballs.
“Our meatballs are made in house. They melt in your mouth when you bite into them. We put whipped ricotta on top of them and then they get finished off in the pizza oven. They're fantastic.”
Other apps include the creamy burrata served with imported prosciutto, pistachios for crunch and drizzled with a balsamic reduction….
And the sidewinder truffle fries; a feast for all of the senses.
“You can smell the truffle oil before it even hits the table. They're very appealing to the eye and then when they taste them, you can see the expression on their face. The truffle oil is exceptional and just the visual of seeing their eyes when the sidewinders get put in front of them. It's one of our top sellers as far as appetizers.”
Once apps are over, it’s time to get down to business and order one of Brooksy’s pizzas.
Like his personal fave known as the ‘Real Brooksy’.
“I love seafood. So I started playing around with other items, and shrimp was something that I love. The first thing you taste is the lemon basil dressing. And when you combine that with the cooked shrimp. And then our roasted tomatoes, they just bring all of the flavors together. The Real Brooksy is my favorite pizza.”
For a flavor packed pie, try the Korean BBQ topped with braised short rib, Kogi bbq sauce, roasted tomato, arugula and these unique sweet drop peppers .
“The first experience is the explosion of the Peruvian sweetie drop pepper and then you have the nice offset of the arugula and then once you get to the braised short rib, it's a game changer.
If you’re looking for something heartier, try some of Brooksy’s Detroit Style Pizza.
“It's a smaller rectangular pizza. It's more airy. You get that crunch around the edge, but it's really fluffy and airy on the inside.”
The cup and char pepperoni is a topping you can’t go wrong with.
“These cup and char pepperonis curl up and you get the nice oil from the pepperoni inside the pepperoni cup, and they crisp up around the edges. So you get the flavor and the crunch at the same time.”
Or for a mash up of Detroit, Michigan meets Buffalo, New York, try Brooksy’s Buffalo Chicken Pizza.
“Our buffalo chicken pizza is buffalo sauce. We add cheese, grilled chicken, bacon, roasted red peppers, and jalapenos for a nice little spicy touch. Then we finish it off with a blue cheese drizzle. It's amazing.”
Of course man cannot live on pizza alone. So Brooksy’s offers big bowls of Bolognese and a selection of sandwiches like the Buttermilk Chicken Sandwich topped with a zippy honey mustard sauce. Or the messy yet mouthwatering Short Rib Melt topped with a Korean barbecue sauce served on sourdough with a beef au jus.
15’06 “We used the short rib that we make in house. It’s cooked in the pizza oven slow to keep it fresh and keep that flavor. You add some cheese, caramelized onions, and it just melts in your mouth. The short rib melt is tender and absolutely delicious.”
And all of that Brooksy’s style continues right through dessert, including their signature S’mores Pizza.
“Cooking the s'mores pizza in a wood fired oven, it's like being at a campfire, visually and flavorful. That's what everyone gets excited about, because everybody's had a s'mores at a campfire. They're blown away.”
And whether you go Detroit style or Brooksy’s style, you’ll find delicious food is never goes out of style at Brooksy’s.
