Open in Long Beach: Brixx & Barley

A new restaurant has opened in the spacious former Long Beach digs of Grillfire. Brixx & Barley is a collaboration between Daniel Macaluso, Rich Cammarata (of Ciao Baby in Commack and Massapequa Park) and Anthony Millwater, a bar manager at RC Dugan's in East Meadow.

Macaluso said that the restaurant’s name referred to the pizza oven (made of .?.?. brixx) and the selection of around 70 craft brews (made from barley).

The menu is large and imaginative. Among the 10 brick-oven specialty pizzas are shrimp scampi (with "exploded" garlic, chardonnay and pecorino), kafta lamb (with cardamom curry, feta cheese, mint oil and curried yogurt sauce), pizza in purgatory (with oven-poached eggs, Parmesan, basil and spicy chili oil) and Grandma’s smashed best meatball pizza. Pies are 12 inches and range between $14 and $17.

Beyond pizza are salads, entrees, macaroni, sandwiches and burgers. Many of the appetizers evince a beer theme: Prime rib and Guinness chili ($10 / bowl), IPA-braised brisket quesadilla ($12), Brooklyn-ale-battered fish tacos ($10). Entrees, such as veal bruschetta topped with arugula and tomato and charred miso sea bass with wild-mushroom risotto, hover around $20.

Brixx & Barley is at 152 Park Ave., Long Beach, 516-544-4511, brixxandbarley.com.