Tastes of Tuscany at Brio

Brio is not your typical chain restaurant. It’s a destination for Tuscan-style fare and a great place for sharing, with seasonal small plates, grilled dishes and chef’s specialties.

We were invited to sample a tasting menu at the Brio location at Christiana Mall, which includes a bustling dining room, friendly bar and outdoor seating in fine weather.

IMG_1288Our server is warm and knowledgeable, a pro who can help diners make decisions and pair wines with their meals.

For starters, we tuck into velvety fresh Burrata cheese, drizzled with olive oil. We spread the cheese on crusty grilled slices of ciabatta baguette with tangy roasted tomato compote. We sip two wines: Conundrum, a round, pleasantly acidic white blend from California; and 19 Crimes, a fruity Australian red blend.

There are a lot of beans in Tuscan cuisine and a lot of beans on Brio’s menu. We sample a small plate of white bean dip with parmesan pizza bread. Pureed cannellini beans are topped with a salad that keeps the dish from being too starchy: artichokes, Kalamata olives, sun-dried tomatoes, arugula and feta.

IMG_1289-2Our favorite course of the evening is the 16-ounce bone-in espresso rubbed rib eye served to us by general manager Michael Collins. The cut is juicy, tender and flavorful, presented with savory sides: Sicilian cauliflower oven roasted with capers, pepperoncini and pine nuts, and creamed spinach and kale with toasted bread crumbs. The perfect pairing: Decoy by Duckhorn, a robust Cabernet.

Typically, this would be plenty of food for us. But we still have more dishes to mangia through.

We sample two chef’s specials, reminding one another that we need to save room for dessert. Prosciutto wrapped pork tenderloin is pan seared and served on a bed of cannellini beans and rendered pancetta. It’s homey and delicious, fragrant with fresh rosemary and grape tomatoes.

IMG_1291Balsamic braised beef short rib is quintessential comfort food. It’s paired with oven-roasted carrots that remind me of my grandmother and butter-basted wild mushrooms, an unexpected treat.

Such a sumptuous repast calls for a decadent dessert and our hosts do not disappoint. Flourless chocolate torte is already lush and indulgent. The chef puts it over the top with chopped Marcona almonds and super smooth olive oil gelato.

 

 

Daiquiris with Papa at Cuba Libre

All through July, you can celebrate Ernest Hemingway’s birthday—he was born on July 21—with authentic Cuban food and drinks at Cuba Libre Restaurant & Rum Bar at The Quarter at Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City.

Chef and partner Guillermo Pernot will pay tribute to Papa by offering his creative spin on the traditional menus from El Floridita, one of Hemingway’s favorite Havana hangouts.

The writer never met a drink he didn’t like but his daiquiris were his favorite. In honor of National Daiquiri Day on July 19, Pernot has developed drink specials, specialty cocktails and bar bites.

“It is impossible to think of Ernest Hemingway without acknowledging how important Cuba was to him, and this menu is our tribute to one of the finest American authors and some of his favorites from Havana,” says Pernot, a two-time James Beard Award winner who connects diners to Cuba through his dinner series featuring native Cuban chefs, as well as culinary trips to Havana.

Pernot has concocted seven refreshing cocktails, priced at $9 a pop, including the Dinger, a blend of Hayman’s Old Tom Gin, Cuba Libre 5 Year Rum, muddled limes and grenadine with a candied ginger rim. Select El Floridita cocktails will be $5 during Cuba Libre’s daily Caippy Hour throughout the month of July.

The El Floridita dinner menu, served July 15-22, is a three-course, prix-fixe menu priced at $39. Options include: Crema Floridita, lobster Velouté soup with seafood medley or Cóctel de Camarones del Golfo al estilo Hemingway, fresh Gulf shrimp, poached and chilled, with Nuevo Cubano cocktail salsa; Papa y Mary, a surf and turf’of petit filet mignon with culantro béarnaise and lobster rings with enchilado sauce or Pargo “Ambos Mundos,” Malanga-crusted, crab-stuffed red snapper with vanilla and roasted sweet onion sauce; and Alaska Tropical, vanilla and chocolate ice cream and panatela cake with rum and mint liquor-flambéed meringue or Papa Hemingway Sorbeto.

In addition to Atlantic City, Cuba Libre has hip, friendly locations in Philadelphia,Orlando,Fla., and Washington,D.C.