| rev:text
| - WINNER, WINNER, NO BRIO FOR DINNER!!!
Ok, here's the overview: Brio is one of those swanky, but casual kind of joints...A businessman in an Armani suit may be sitting across from a college kid wearing a t-shirt and flip-flops. The interior kind of has a Cheesecake Factory meets Bellagio feel to it. The average dinner runs $18-20.
So here's what I liked: Brio has hands-down the best after-dinner mints in a jar near the front enterence. Don't feel intimidated sticking your hand in the jar because the hostess is staring you down, heck, they're free...take advantage.
Now, here's the dirty: The last two times I went here (about 2 months apart), I had chicken dishes, both of which were undercooked. The first dish a couple months ago was grossly undercooked and had a very cool pink center. My most recent chicken dinner was just slightly undercooked...but pink enough to complain, nonetheless...Total gross-out!!
What sealed the deal for me to never go back is the manager telling me the reason my most recent dish was pink is that Brio brines the chicken for 48 hours!! Are you kidding me? Ok, I know that when you brine chicken it will turn a little pink. However, the time factor now becomes the problem. 48 hours will darn near cook it (chicken ceviche)...not to mention give you a stroke.
I'm not sure what to think...Brio was quickly becoming my favorite Italian restaurant in the East Valley, but these two most recent visits have got me looking for alternatives!! I am also a little bitter they stopped selling canoli's.
Recommendation: Want to impress your date, but don't have a lot of loot? Load up on Brio's free dinner bread and water and get the hell out of there. The sourdough bread is pretty tasty and the herbed cracker's (yet while messy) taste high-quality. Before actually order dinner and spend your hard earned money here, have an instant recollection about someone you know who almost got salmonella from eating raw chicken there...twice.
Recommendation #2: While Brio doesn't offer wi-fi, there is an open wi-fi connection (with a strong signal) from one of the restaurants near-by...I won't mention the name of that business, but I found you get the strongest signal if you sit to the west side of the building. :P
|