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Restaurant Review: There's A lot to Love About Cafe Brio
We recommend so may restaurants to our guests and trust they will have a pleasant experience, but how many of these restaurants have our staff actually experienced first hand? As the saying goes "the proof is in the pudding", so over the next few months, we will be sending our experienced writer and Guest Service Agent, Kelly, on a culinary adventure and report back to us on his findings. We will be showcasing his restaurant experiences on our Blog and in upcoming newsletters. Here is his first review of a staff favourite: Cafe Brio:
There's a lot to love about Cafe
Brio. You walk in the front door and the tastefully dimmed lights envelope you in cool shade. You breathe in
a deep breath that floods your senses with the knowledge that you've found something special. Try them once and you'll know exactly what I mean. If you're anything like me you'll find a lot too love too.
As for me, I love the atmosphere; I love that the service is quick, affectionate, and knowledgeable; I love seeing the owners, Greg Hays and Silvia Marcolini, busy surveying or gabbing away with guests; I love that the décor is simple and suitable and the hanging art quietly mingles into your view with the smoothness of a well coupled wine selection; I love the price and how the half order of a dish is actually a half order in both size and price-oh so perfect for splitting multiple dishes with a date. But I know what you're thinking: enough about all of that stuff-what about the food?
Fair enough. Let me tell you about my latest trip to Café Brio:
My meal opened with the Romaine Hearts as all meals should at Café Brio. I have to be frank with you: I'm not much of a salad person. I'm a meat eater; born into a family of cattle ranchers and raised with BBQ in my blood, but this is no ordinary salad. Imagine a crisp and flavourful romaine delicately dressed in a sauce that is the height of elegant, dreamy citrus and is decorated with sliced Parmesan and house-made croutons. Put it all together and you have a dish that I will order every single time.
From the salad I went to their Salumi with some trepidation, but settled on the lamb prosciutto. It turned out to be the right choice. Brio's salumis are top notch and generally around five dollars per order-the perfect size and amount to sample and try with a date or with friends. The prosciutto was served up with pickles and two types of mustard, and while both were fantastic I have to say that I was a bit fonder of the spicy than the seeded.
The main dish was the Braised Mussels and Clams, served in shell in a cream and white wine sauce with vegetables and breadcrumbs. This was a revelry of savoury flavour and delight. A single taste of the broth and you will have to spend every ounce of your willpower not to lick the bowl clean.
This post wouldn't be about Café Brio if I didn't mention the Olives Ascolane. These are Italian olives stuffed with a meat blend (pork and beef, I believe) and then lightly fried to an amber brown and served up hot. They're fantastic. The recipe is old world tradition all the way from an Italian town called Ascoli Pinceno
Written by Kelly Clark
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