Brio!

Some days ago it was nearing lunchtime in our household. Brad came up with a great idea to get in the car and cruise in an effort to find a new dining experience.  We stopped at an outdoor shopping center a little ways away from our section of town.  With a decent selection of restaurants sprinkled in among the shops and the movie theatre we quickly set our sights on a restaurant called Brio.

Based on the name we were a little unsure what type of food the restaurant served. We noticed it had an upscale feel without being off-putting. Once we looked over the menu we realized it was a restaurant that served up food primarily coming from Tuscany.  Oh yeah, I'm in!  Italian food...I'm set!  Brunch items were being served until 3:00, therefore brunch briefly called my name.  In the end one of us chose a pasta dish and one of us chose a flatbread.  Who chose what?  I surprisingly got a flatbread.  Now I have not been a big fan of the flatbread craze restaurants are currently pushing.  However, I'm open-minded and this flatbread sounded amazing....pepperoni, sausage, and ricotta.  Ricotta being in the starting line-up of this flatbread is what caught my eye.  I've never heard of putting ricotta on a pizza.  In a lasagna for sure but on pizza that was unique!  Brad got a delish pasta dish. His was yummy!  A creamy tomato sauce with chicken and sausage along with risotto playing a starring role.  When he ordered his meal we were both sitting there trying to remember exactly what is risotto?  I know most of the types of pasta but there are a few that stump me from time to time...which one is which? Well, risotto is a type of pasta with somewhat long tubes, different from penne in the fact that it does not have ridges. Ridges? I guess that's the best way to describe penne. ;)

After we had our "take a cruise lunch".  We went to walk around to look at the shops.  Yes we were outside walking from shop to shop in the middle of July!  At one point I did think to myself how different it is living in Texas versus AZ.  In AZ in the summer you go from your home to your car, from your car to whatever well air-conditioned place you are arriving at.  You don't linger too long to browse from shop to shop outdoors. LOL!  This particular afternoon in the big D area was warm out but not what I would classify hot.  It was doable. 

A good time was had by both of us.  So glad we decided to go for a cruise in an effort to find something new and different!  Putting the good meal to the side for a second, I think my favorite thing about Brio was the upscale feel without making patrons feel as though they needed to be super dressed up or fancy to be there. It was outstanding at walking that fine line in my opinion. Brio received an excellent rating in the 3 top categories our humble opinions use to grade restaurants: food, presentation, and ambiance.  All three were excellent! 

As we sat at Brio's I joked with Brad that I think we may have found the place I want to go to for my bday!  Would be nice to try Brio's at dinnertime! It's a keeper! We'll certainly return.