Brio was kind enough to invite us to a tasting, and I was thrilled because I've heard alot of great things about them. I know they have a place out in City Centre just haven't had a chance to go try them out yet.
We saw some nice specials for the day. But what I love is their $5 drinks special and to go along with it, they have $3.95 bar specials. They have 10 very nice dishes to chose from, and you can make a full meal out of them.
This is a parmesan flatbread with their version of spinach and artichoke dip. I would've love it if there's more cheese on the flatbread, but the artichoke dip is definitely first class. Nice and gooey and warm, it's definitely a must!
If you have any dip left over, which I'm not sure why you would. You should try them with the flatbread from the bread basket. It has sesame, rosemary and other spices. It's also great for dipping other stuff too. (read on)
Here we have shrimp and eggplant. It has a creamy black pepper sauce as a base, and I'm in love with the sauce with the shrimp. We were saying that it reminded us of a Chinese dish that use black pepper sauce. Let me tell you, that will go great with any drinks!
Beef Carpaccio is another of their popular dish. I really love their mustard aioli sauce that goes with the thinly sliced beef. They give you a small side salad, and I would eat that entire thing if they have a dish like that. Just put it in front of me, I'll do it.
After the appetizer, we got a lobster bisque. Wherever a place offers lobster bisque, I usually order that as my marker. That's how I compare places. Here: the stock is definitely hearty and thick, and you can tell the hint of . You can definitely taste and see the meat, but I wish they have more of it. Couple bites and it's gone... I think I'd like to savor it some more. Here is where you'll use the rest of the flatbread, if you have any left. They go really well together, the soup and the flatbread. So remember to save some.
For the main course, I took our server's recommendation on trying the Pasta Alla Vodka. It's ricotta stuffed pasta, with pancetta (the bacon looking red pieces) and the parmesan cream vodka sauce. OMG, I love sauces that are rich like that, it definitely warms your tummy and makes you happy. I can see myself ordering this in the winter time, especially. The pasta wrapped the ricotta like little wonton, and you can wipe every bit of your pasta in that sauce.
For dessert, they have chef size and mini size. And thank goodness for mini size... but that is not to say we didn't give the full size a try. This is a chocolate cake with vanilla gelato. The center is all warm and gooey, and you half expect that to be molten lava. But instead, it's nice and compact. Definitely a chocoholic's piece de resistance! It does remind me bit of the flourless chocolate cake. Eh, who cares, it's yummy chocolate center that's warm and ooey, you wouldn't say no if it's in front of you.
For the mini size dessert, they have 5 to choose from. You can order them as a set or individually. Given all the food you saw we ate, I opted for individual size. That's actually plenty. I had the tiramisu. I would be curious to try the full size version of this because the very bottom they put chocolate chips at the bottom. The ladyfingers were all melted and it's all mixed in nicely into the layers. For me, I can definitely tell there's some nice mascarpone on top. So the trick is to dig in from top all the way to the bottom to get the full effect of all the layers working together. Otherwise all you get is just the mascarpone cheese layer. You want a good cross section in one bite. Since this isn't very many bites, you can do that here.
Overall, even though I know this space used to be Pesce, I felt very renewed here. They removed the bar that was inconveniently located in the middle of the restaurant with the fish tank, and opened up tons of space in the middle for seating. The one side they can cater to small to medium size parties and the bar and bar seating now faces the nice windows and the street. The set up is definitely warmer and nicer. We just love the open kitchen, I always like to see my food make its way to me from the kitchen.
For those of you who paid attention to how much gluten free stuff I've been posting lately, especially on our NY/DC trip. Have no fear! Brio does have a Gluten Free menu, so you won't feel left out when your friends are drooling over pasta. They have 3 types of GF pastas to offer. Actually, at quick glance, almost everything on their Grilled section and their Steak and Filets section can pass the mustard. You just have to pay attention to their House Specialties. I'm definitely coming back for the Veal Milanese next round!
Brio (River Oaks)
3029 Kirby Dr
(at W. Alabama)
Houston, TX 77098
713-528-8200
http://www.brioitalian.com/
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