If you're sampling an ounce of wine from a $100 bottle or trying to decide which Pinot Noir is your favorite, you'll probably want just the right food between sips.

At Brix Wine Bistro, where there are more than 64 wines served by the ounce or by the glass, executive chef Erik Rickard develops those wine-friendly morsels.

Rickard, 26, is an Omaha native who graduated from Elkhorn High School and completed studies, with honors, at the Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Austin, Texas. He started work at Brix in February.

Q. Brix is such a new concept for Omaha. Your bistro is side-by-side with a retail area selling more than 1,200 wines and 700 beers.

A. Everyone comes into the bistro to play with the wine machines. My food helps people hang out and enjoy the wine.

Q. How do you organize a menu around that? I see your menu says first, second, third and fourth — not appetizer, entrée and dessert.

A. I set out to create a road map. For those who are coming in to hang out for a little while with a glass of wine, order something from the first list — like the cheese and meat tray or the avocado carpaccio salad.

If they are going to stick around they could order something from the second course that is a little more filling (coconut shrimp or beef carpaccio).

The third list is more entrée-sized (eight-ounce beef tenderloin with grilled asparagus, parsnip puree and Bourguignon sauce, for example).

The fourth is dessert (like a flourless chocolate cake or grilled pear with mascarpone).

You can come in and pick a four-course meal. Or, you can order as you go and pick and choose. We've had people come in and order all desserts. No problem.

Q. What are the big hits on the menu?

A. The avocado carpaccio is definitely a huge hit. People enjoy the subtle flavor of the crab with the avocado. Then we tie it all together with lime and Sriracha chili sauce drizzled around the outside. People can flavor it with as much Sriracha as they want. It's really a fun plate.

Beef Carpaccio is another big hit. We use fresh lemon juice vinaigrette and truffle aioli. You want to be able to taste the beef so we made sure all the other flavors are in tune.

The planked salmon. We marinate salmon in garlic, shallots and olive oil and place it on mesquite wood planks that we have soaked in water. We set the planks on the grill so you get the smokiness of the burning wood infused in the salmon. The sauce is a mixture of Jack Daniels whiskey, pure maple syrup and brown sugar.

Q. Is it OK to share plates?

A. A lot of the dishes can easily be shared. It's definitely a very casual restaurant and the food plays to that. The food is there to accent all the wines.

Q. Where did you work after you graduated from culinary school?

A. I interned with Marc Oswald at the Underwood Cafe (now closed in Omaha). Then Caesars Entertainment: Harrah's Council Bluffs, Horseshoe Council Bluffs, Harrah's St. Louis. I worked in multiple properties in St. Louis: the buffet, the steak house and Sammy Beach Bar & Grill. Then I came back to Harrah's in Council Bluffs before moving here (to Brix).

Q. Do you have a favorite cooking show or book?

A. I work so much I don't have time to watch cooking shows. The book I like is “Culinary Artistry.” It talks about flavor pairings. It's a good reference book. It's not a cookbook. It's just saying here are foods that pair well together. I don't really follow recipes. I just look at the main ingredients. One look at a lasagne: OK I can make it my own from there. I think the home cook over-complicates what cooking is. Just do it.

Q. How did you choose cooking as a career?

A. I started working in restaurants when I was 16 as a busboy and I was hooked. The rush of working in a restaurant is probably the best adrenaline rush you could get. Better than riding a roller coaster. It's the speed. You know something's going to happen.

There's hardly an hour that everything goes perfect. You have to adjust and make things happen. In this industry, nothing stays the same. Everyday is something different.

Contact the writer:

402-444-1052, jane.palmer@owh.com