Brazen Open Kitchen Is One of Iowa's Best Restaurants
Every time I dine here, I appreciate this Dubuque restaurant even more.
Review of Brazen Open Kitchen
955 Washington St #101, Dubuque,
(563) 587-8899
BrazenOpenKitchen.com
Any travel destination I seek must pass one test: it must offer a distinct sense of place—that feeling that you’ve landed somewhere that’s like nowhere else in the world. I also love it when a restaurant taps into a distinct sense of place as well. Brazen Open Kitchen, in Dubuque, Iowa, does just that.
Brazen is the anchor restaurant in Dubuque’s Millwork District, where character-rich brick warehouses have been transformed into offices, living spaces, galleries and dining/drinking establishments. I love how the area hasn’t been overly tarted-up; while impeccably tidy, the solid, workaday buildings—complete with rail spurs intact—never let you forget the area’s rough-and-tumble, hardworking past.
Inside Brazen, the brick, steel and well-worn wood also hint at the grittiness of history, but in comfortable and contemporary ways, with modern lighting, banquette seating and sleek leather chairs. Tapping into the fusion between yesteryear and today, the focal points of one dining room include an imposing antique lithograph of cattle breeds and a view of the flashy open kitchen itself.
And the food?
I love the way the refined-rustic appeal of chef Kevin Scharpf’s cuisine fits seamlessly into the dashing yet decidedly unfussy decor of his restaurant. When I dined here on October 1, 2024, the always-seasonal menu was focusing on last-of-summer ingredients and presentations. When you visit, the summery touches on the menu will likely have changed, but I’m willing to bet you’ll find food that’s makes you glad you’re in Dubuque.
While you could order one of the fresh, homemade pasta dishes as an entree, we split an order to dine the “Italian way.” The orecchiette brought jumbo lump crab (yes, nice chunks of it), with a sprinkling of local sweet corn, chives, and chili oil, and was topped with crumbled spiced corn nuts—adding that textural dimension that breadcrumbs often do on pasta dishes, but in a more head-turning way. I was captivated by the subtle heat of the chili oil, which played with the sweetness of the corn and crab and the richness of the buttery sauce.
Once again, I appreciated the Italian method of enjoying pasta as a first course: I so often tire of a main-dish pasta halfway through it. A starter course was just right to rev up the appetite and look forward to what was yet to come.
When our server—a mature, convivial expert—described the local roasted chicken entree he laughed and said that surprisingly, it was probably less healthy than the fried chicken beside it on the menu. (It had to do with the sumac/double-butter glaze and, I imagine, the beautifully crisp potatoes enriched with beef fat). This lovely bird was worth the caloric splurge—I couldn’t get enough of the deeply flavored crackly skin and the roasty-toasty flavored interior. All that depth and richness was brightened by a tangy touch from the sumac-berry spice.
If you love ribeyes, but don’t always love spending $50- to $60-plus for more meat than you really can or should eat in one sitting, keep your eye for a bavette steak. Sometimes called “the butcher’s cut” (because butchers often save it for themselves), this well-marbled option offers some of that luscious appeal of the irresistible edge of the ribeye, but is rarely as expensive nor served in impossibly huge portions.
I immensely enjoyed this steak, with its lively touches of red onion, zucchini, and sweet corn. The dull-flavored popcorn grits, however, left me nonplussed. (Fortunately, I snagged many of Dave’s crunchy-rich roasted potatoes.)
Yes, you should stay for dessert. The apple tart, with its delicate puff pastry, tender apples, crunch crumble topping, fit right into the refined-rustic appeal of everything else here.
Bottom Line: I have now dined at Brazen three times in my life (I never tell them I’m coming, btw), and I always leave feeling exceedingly gratified and well cared for. Not only has the place never let me down, I’ve grown to appreciate more with each visit.
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