The best part about BRIO Tuscan Grille, clearly, is its Happy Hour. It run weekdays from 3pm until 7pm and again from 9pm until closing. Nine entrées are available for just $2.95, and the list is long. A burger, a ravioli caprese, beef carpacio, two kinds of flatbread (margherita and sausage & pepperoni), spicy shrimp & eggplant, a shrimp cocktail, and two types of bruschetta (sliced steak and roasted red pepper & mozzarella). The food comes out fast and is decent enough, especially when being washed down by a libation or three. The dining room is large and there's more than adequate space on the patio for smokers to light up. Cocktails are reasonably priced and they knock $2 off martinis on Thursdays. The menu is dominated by pastas, grilled chicken, and meats. Moderately priced. Fair to decent. Nothing so memorable that you will rush back; nothing too terrible that you'll send it back in disgust. Very mediocre dishes. Friendly servers. Not an intimate setting. The crowd at BRIO Tuscan Grille definitely skews toward the retired Baby Boomer set, especially during Happy Hour.

- Written by Thomas Mallon
February 1, 2011