Brio Tuscan Grille

<> Tuesday evening, my dining group stepped into Brio for our monthly dining experience. Chris and I got there a bit early and found a seat at the very crowded bar. L told me to take notice of the 40-year-old divorcees perched at the bar, and I did. He was right on the money. While it was a 40-year-old divorcee’s meat market delight, they were very beautiful people who looked very successful, so that was a plus. The bar staff was very attentive and I had no problems getting a drink. The wine list was actually better than I expected. I ended up drinking the 2003 Stival Pinot Grigio, at the bartender’s suggestion. It was very good and I would drink it again.

When we were seated at our very cramped table for 13, there was really no rhyme or reason as to how the seating worked. Two of our people came in and were seated right away, while the rest of us were at the bar. We were still waiting on four more people, who took a little while to arrive. It was nice, however that they had a table ready for us so quickly. The first thing I noticed, and heard others talking about was the fact that Brio’s décor is that of a ‘corporate restaurant’ (think Macaroni Grill or Cracker Barrel). We got the impression that at every other Brio, the same lighting and wall decorations could be found. So, it’s an upscale chain restaurant. I’m okay with that.

For some reason, they gave us a wait staff of 3 people. The main waitress was a little too snippy for my liking. I got the impression that she wasn’t too happy to be waiting on such a big group. The other two waiters did nothing but follow her around like little puppies. The reason this bothers me is that the few people whom I spoke with before our dinner, all told me how great the service was at Brio. While the bar service was great, my overall impression of the dining service is not very good. After dinner, we weren’t even offered a dessert menu, and I had to ask for one. Our waitress, Shannon, shot me the coldest look she could muster and handed our table one menu. That pretty much shot any sort of nicety regarding the service in my review.

Now for the food. We had the Brio Bruschetta & Steak Carpaccio as appetizers. The bruschetta was good, but not the best. The dish comes with four slices of bread. Two with shrimp & lobster butter on them and two with mozzarella cheese, balsamic vinegar and roasted red pepper. The part with mozzarella was the best part. To me, bruschetta isn’t the bruschetta without tomato or cheese, so the shrimp just didn’t quite cut it for me. The dish is worth trying though. The carpaccio was, “absolutely delicious” as Chris said. The presentation was nice also. The salads were not very good. If you get an entrée and are offered a salad for an extra $3.95, I would really pass on this. I must admit that I was very surprised that the salad wasn’t very good. I really expected it to be good, considering Brio is billed pretty much as an Italian joint. My main entrée was the Carbonara. It was good, but had too much spinach I thought. The presentation absolutely sucked. There were just noodles scooped on the plate and that’s it. It was pretty decent flavor though. My friend, Joan, had the Chicken Under The Brick, which was very very good. I would definitely suggest you get this dish, if you are looking for chicken.

Chris had a steak. While it came out overcooked (he ordered medium rare, but it was cooked near well) he said it was good and a little spicy. Another diner, Josh, ordered the Chicken Stuffed Prosciutto dish. He said it tasted okay, but was a little low on the prosciutto. Over all, I would say the main dishes here are average. Nothing special and nothing too awful.

Dessert wasn’t too terribly sweet. The Crème Brulee wasn’t the best I’ve ever had, but wasn’t bad. Chris got the Chocolate Mocha Gelato, which was fabulous. If you decide to visit Brio, save room for this. There’s also enough of this for 2-3 people. Most of their dishes are big enough to be shared, actually.

The coffee that was served was served was cold, but Brio does separate checks, so that kind of cancelled the coffee out. It was very nice to have separate checks and it not be a big deal, like our last visit to Balaban’s. Overall, if I get an urge to visit an upscale chain, I think I’ll stick with Macaroni Grill. It’s just a little better in the food & service department. However, anything is worth checking out at least once for yourself, so if you’re near Frontenac, give it a try. The place was very busy for a Tuesday evening so it may be best to make a reservation if you go on a Friday or Saturday night.