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Published: November 15th 2008
We visited Café Brio on Monday, November the 3rd, one day before the US elections. But I bet nobody was thinking about the election outcomes. I know I was eager to participate in a real culinary tourism experience. And if a previous session in class can apply across other culinary platforms (we learned that what we thought was chocolate, was not real chocolate all along) I, for one, thought we were in for a real culinary treat. The location we chose is reputed for offering an authentic BC culinary experience.
And besides I was hungry, too. Not too hungry to cease to function mentally (or to the point of nausea) but you get the idea. In any event, Kim pulled up in her white two-door and scooped up the rest of the group, Team 5. And off to town we went. Even before our first impression, or rather seeing the place for the first time, its location spoke volumes. It was off Douglas Street, but not too far from the city centre so as to lose its potential customers. But more on them later.
After finding a parking space conveniently in front of the restaurant, we had the first
Local Oysters
Appetizer on a bed of salt
real look and impression of the exterior; Tuscany came to mind in a flash. Even to those of us who hadn’t been to Tuscany, or Italy even. The entrance was behind a little patio space where you could fit two to four tables when the weather is nice.
Once inside, the host, who turned out to be one of the owners, greeted us and offered us two seating options: one a bit too intimate for our purposes, the other in the middle of the dining room where we could view it all. It was a no-brainer for us. Lest we forget we were mystery shoppers… on a mission. So moving along…
After taking our seats at a table right in the centre of the room, behind the bar which takes up quite a space, the servers started with menus and water. Those glasses could take you back to the medieval age, or the time of Joan d’Arc. At that point all I could think of was wine - or red meat with red wine. So we were greeted and seated. And of course what came next was the routine ‘can I get you started with a drink?’ Moments
later Andrea was the first to make up her mind. She ordered the Brio Martini, which had an interesting combination of flavours and wasn’t sweet nor fruity like other restaurants make them. As for wines, there was so much wine on the menu, I bet they had a cellar the size of the restaurant too, I was afraid it was going to be a long night alcohol wise.
Danny was next to figure out what he wanted to have for a drink. He went for the lager. As for Kim, Judy and I, we remained indecisive. But that didn’t matter, for there was bread… and butter… in plentiful supply… and it was all complimentary. And it was good. Too bad the butter wasn’t homemade anymore. We would have loved to try something we often take for granted on a night out dining with a domestic touch to it. So we kept going for one piece of bread after the other, spreading a little butter on it, and talking about it with one mouthful at a time, having a little water so as not to choke or dehydrate. And the water kept flowing. There was a server that kept
walking around the room, a pitcher of water in hand, but it was the look in her eyes. She was on water-patrol, keeping an eye on half-empty - or half-full - water glasses and tending to them. The beauty of what she did is that she never asked you if you liked some more. She just went about her job dutifully.
Of course by then we pretty much figured out what we wanted to have. Judy, Kim, and Andrea went for the early dinner option; two options per each course, including dessert, all for a flat rate. Three selections per course would have been the icing on the cake for an already solid offering - economically speaking. We’re students, with student budgets unlike the other patrons (again more on them later). As for myself and Danny, we took the conventional method. We had to, to uphold some degree of variety, or to leave room for sampling. So I limited my options to two per course, but wanted my Chilean viognier served with my romaine hearts. I got my romaine hearts (peculiar name for a salad, I thought, although the menu wasn’t pretentious) for an appetizer.
Around that time, most
Local Organic Greens
Appetizer from the early dinner menu of our starters had been taken care of. Danny’s charcuterie took some time to prepare, partly because the Dijon had to be made fresh then and there. And just like everything so far, it was served in a fashion that appeals to your eye and in a manner that spoke to your taste buds. For the most part...The oysters Judy ordered sat there unfinished after everyone tried them while the inclusion of pommes frites, a fancier name for fries, was a bit of a surprise. But that was what was on offer on the early dinner menu; two per course. And the surprises didn’t stop there.
But more free water flowed for those who didn’t decline a refill, and the bread and butter kept coming, though you had to ask for it. If only water could be turned to wine… or at least bread. Regardless, we devoured just about everything that worked well for our culinary tastes. Normally one would leave room for the main course no matter how good anything served before it is. But it can be safe to say we threw caution to the wind. This was an experience to savor. It’s not every day that
you get to splurge for a good cause, right? Guards down.
The overall experience so far was pleasant. From the owner greeting us, to our server, and the one on water-patrol, everything was pleasant. They had music on - loud yet subtle. The lighting was dim, but not too intimate. Folks, wine is a good alternative to mind altering substances. Because they weren’t lying in the wine menu when they said that wine consumed in the right environment enhances your disposition. I can’t speak for the rest of the gang here, no one else had wine.
The moment some of you readers have been waiting for has come; Café Brio’s other patrons. It is fitting to take the time to talk a little about them now since there was a gap between the time we finished with starters and when the entrees were served. Plus we already covered the décor. The other patrons were having wine. Some had a bottle on their table. A couple had a bottle with no food on their plates. Most were couples who probably owned property in Oak Bay. Yeah. Us Langford-Colwood people know about Oak Bay.
We also took the liberty to
ask about the paintings, which according to the menu, can be purchased off the wall and on site. Prepare to part ways with anything between a few hundred to a couple thousand dollars. But the art was exquisite. Oil on canvas mostly, framed differently. Unlike Applebee’s.
How Applebee’s got thrown in there, I do not know. I can’t believe I just said that. At least it had nothing to do with the food. There is no common denominator between Café Brio and Applebee’s. Applebee’s-like joints normally make you food in gluttonous amounts. And speaking of serving sizes, the moment we, Team 5, have been waiting for has just arrived. Plates filled only in the centre suddenly found their way to their respective consumer. Danny had lamb, billed as the Local Farm Feature on the menu. Judy got her grub on with the Rockfish, courtesy of the early dinner menu. Also from the same menu, Andrea and Kim were presented with the steak and polenta fries. But the order unanimously garnered the title ‘most succulent’ by our table was the Peppered Roast Cowichan Bay Farm Duck Breast. Just like the starters, all the entrees were a treat to the eye;
inviting you to have a bite. Judy’s Pan Roasted Rockfish tasted like a rockfish would. Its texture looked like the smooth dough of a baked calzone. Kim and Andrea loved their steaks; they were tender and the greens had an acidic zing. Danny’s entrée, or specifically the shoulder portion of the lamb, stole the limelight from the other three sausage pieces. It was soaked in red wine, and he ate it with eyes closed. He had a bold-flavoured brown ale to supplement the experience. The duck was just mamma mia material. It was sliced into ready-to-share, thin strips so naturally everyone had a piece. I had the duck with a glass of Dona Paula Malbec, a much better choice than the Viognier Anakena was. In fact, it was still unfinished when the entrées were served. But it had to be finished nonetheless.
But what sets this experience part from other dining experience was the sheer subtlety of how they present their dishes here at Brio. And subtlety is class, folks. So in order to redeem myself for the earlier Applebee’s mention, let me comment on the serving sizes of our food. Regular plates filled only in the centre. The
portions were perfect in terms of affording the diner the opportunity to relish more of their menu.
While on the topic of menus, the last menu was presented to us by the ever-courteous Brio staff. Desserts. Lucky us, portions were moderate and probably on purpose. Just like the time allowed between our appetizers and entrées. Our options for the early dinner were the crème Brulée and something that didn’t sound appealing enough to remember now, and plenty more from the main menu. So eventually we ended up with three crème Brulées orders, a toffee pudding, and Danny had the Tasting Plate. We shared and sampled, or mixed and matched. We commented accordingly. The crème Brulée was out of this world, hands down. The Tasting Plate was a sampler of itself, an assortment of biscottis, sorbets, and fudge. The toffee pudding came with vanilla ice-cream and enough sugar to counteract the alcohol in two wine glasses. Too bad, huh?
Bad? Never that. Yeah, we were quite full by the end of the meal, not to the point of suffocation though - or excess. It wasn’t draining-full. In fact full has never felt this good before. Plus we got to
sample a wider range of dishes than at the lame chain restaurants we sadly frequent more often. Sure, we broke the bank too but for something we can safely proclaim as genuinely BC.
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