Time for a Change: The New Fall Menu at Brio Tuscan Grille
With the change in season quickly approaching, I am reminded of why fall will always be one of my favorite times of the year. This especially speaks true when restaurants begin to unveil their new delectable dishes. So on a lovely Tuesday evening, I was invited to experience a new fall menu at one of my go-to Italian spots, Brio Tuscan Grille at Tivoli Village. And let me tell you, it sure was delish!
Originally, the plan was to have a sit-down outside on the terrace with the live band playing, but due to the heat, we were seated inside (which I’m so glad they did!). However, now that the weather is starting to cool off, I would imagine dining out on the terrace would be splendid, so I’ll save that for another time. Yep, this means that I will be back, Brio!
Let’s start off with the menu. We were treated to a four-course meal paired with a glass of wine to perfectly complement each course. That properly earned a gold star in my book! The first course included Tuscan Tots and Sausage Florentine Bruschetta matched with a white blend.
I devoured the tots, as they were baked to a perfect crisp. Combine that with the delicious Sriracha mayo sauce and I was in heaven. (Either that or I was just really hungry.) However, the tots and wine both masked my palate for the bruschetta because I only had a couple of bites from that plate. But the next time that I am back, I’ll be sure to devote a little more time to fully enjoy the bruschetta itself.
The second course was an absolute favorite of mine, which consisted of a vegetable broth soup of Italian meatballs, carrots, celery, orzo and spinach called the Wedding Soup.
Interesting choice in name, but I completely understand why they chose that moniker, as it so aptly ties all of the ingredients together to create a lovely union. Another gold star! Then we moved on the next plate, the Roasted Chicken and Sweet Potato Salad – yummy! Perhaps it was the simplicity itself, but it had a delicious blend of flavorful bites filled with Applewood bacon, spicy pecans and maple balsamic vinaigrette. I don’t know what it is, but lately I’ve been having non-stop kicks of salad cravings, so this hit the spot!
Now at this point, I was beginning to feel myself slip away into a state of relaxation, which could only mean one thing – food coma! I was never the type of person to eat more than two courses in one sitting. Mix that in with several glasses of wine and you’ve got yourself a stuffed girl here! I mean seriously, I was full…but that didn’t stop me from taking a few small bites off of the next course.
The third course was the Pesce Piccata, which included a beautiful plate of angel hair pasta and vegetables smothered with herb butter and lemon garlic sauce. A parmesan crusted cod topped it off, matched with a Sauvignon Blanc.
Again, I was only able to squeeze in two small bites, but it was well worth it. To be honest, I wanted to make sure that I saved room for dessert, but I’ll get to that later. As the creamy sauce was swirling around in my mouth, it somehow reminded me of my solo trip a year ago to Florence, Italy. I remember sitting next to a vivacious couple at dinner, who were both thoroughly enjoying their meal. And as I would look over at them from time to time, I kept thinking to myself, “How can they eat so much?! And I want what they’re having, please!” I mean, they each had an appetizer, which was a huge bowl of mussels swimming around in a pond of butter and garlic. Then they had their main course, which was an endless mound of pasta and seafood. Then they had another bowl of deep fried seafood. Plus they shared four or five bottles of wine! When I say they could eat, boy could they eat. But what struck me most was their enjoyment and pleasure in savoring each and every single bite of their food. Man, sometimes I wish I had the endurance and room to be able to eat that much (minus the whole weight gain, of course).
For the last course of the evening, it wasn’t particularly a favored plate of mine. It was their Braised Beef Pappardelle, which had carrots, onions, mushrooms mixed in with a tomato sauce.
Perhaps my palate is a bit more sensitive than others, but the beef was a little too salty for my liking, so I only had a small spoonful and left the rest alone. But again, I’m chucking it up to the fact that I was full two courses back. So maybe I didn’t give it the chance that it deserved. It’s okay, though. There will be another opportunity for me to do so.
Well, there you have it. A personal review of what I think about Brio’s new fall menu, which is available now. I would recommend a lot of the items on their menu, especially the chicken and potato salad. And I hope that you will enjoy it as much as I did.
Bravo, Brio! Bravo.
P.S. They didn’t serve dessert, so I was a bit bummed that we didn’t have anything sweet to end the evening. But I did enjoy another glass of wine!
[Images: Cathy Vo, Brio Italian, Yelp]
A Southern California-native, I have been living in Las Vegas for five years. Love to be outdoors and hike at Red Rock and Charleston. Hobbies include learning to cook new recipes, dancing, shopping, and hanging out with family and friends.
