December 13, 2012 - Brio, Cherokee, NC 

This is our first stop in Harrahs' Casino, but not our last. There are numerous restaurants in the casino, but I am not sure all their names, locations or selections. But... together, we will discover them all. Since we were going to the casino, I did not dress up. I thought... .casino - casual. But all the rest of our party dressed up like we were going to the Grove Park Inn. I felt like a urchin. But those folks looked great. 

This restaurant is located on the 2nd floor of the casino. There are now two parking decks- one for the casino and one for the hotel. Since the renovation, getting around is very confusing. You have to pay attention to the tiny signs scattered around the outside. It is best to park in the casino parking deck and take the elevator to the restaurants. This way you avoid the outside parking lot, the bus ride to the casino, and the walk through the casino floor. Or you avoid the valet parking too. Either way, you end up at your restaurant not smelling like an ashtray. 

Tonite, we were all in attendance, except for Lisa who was somewhere else. I don't remember where, but she  had something else to do. Or maybe she was sick. 

We all met at the casino and unbelievably, all made it with little trouble. 

Brio is a very pretty restaurants. It does look like a Tuscan villa style restaurant, with inside and outside (sort of) seating. There are booths, bistro style tables, white table cloths and lots of plants. 

We were seated at a large round table, which soon proved to be too little. We had to wade through the jungle of plants to get to our seats. We were seated om the outside of the restaurant, which means that we were able to watch everyone that passed and in turn, they were able to watch us. 

This place is like Lulu's..... if you don't want to be seen, don't go here. Even though Brio seems to be in a hidden corner, there is a lot of foot traffic going past. 

The lighting inside this area of the casino really played havoc with my attempt to take pictures. The shutter speed was so slow due to the lighting, that most of the pictures came out blurry. I apologize for that up front. 

What is Beth thinking of? 

The hallway beside Brio and Pam trying to figure out the difference between the sign language "I love you", and the Rock and Roll sign. 

Three different appetizers -Bruschetta variety, hummus, and artichoke dip 

Well the jury is still out on those signs... and the discussion continues.  I think Pam just didn't believe we knew what we were talking about


We had a local girl for our waitress. I think she was fairly new or just unsure of what she was doing. She was pleasant enough, but was very slow....at every phase of the meal. Maybe she just had lots of tables. We spent a great deal of time perusing the menu, trying to decide what to order. There was a nice selection of appetizers, salads and main courses. In fact, there was too much that looked good. We all ordered an appetizer, which in hindsight, was a mistake. The appetizers were large enough for the entire table. So, there we were, with three large appetizers. All were good and nicely presented. I could not say which was better.... maybe one of the other folks had a favorite. 

 CRAB AND SHRIMP FONDUTA - Bubbling hot and creamy, with Parmesan crisps for dipping 

BRUSCHETTA QUATTRO 

ARTICHOKE, ROASTED GARLIC AND SHRIMP DIP

BISTECCA INSALATA -A wedge of lettuce, Gorgonzola, bacon, Roma tomatoes and creamy Parmesan dressing 

Rosemary, Beth and Robert ordered a salad. I didn't as I figured that would be way too much food. However, the salad was a bit on the disappointing side. Although the salad looks nice, I think of these types of salads as lazy salads. It consists of a quarter of iceberg lettuce (which in nutritional value is like eating air), with some bacon bits, tomatoes, and dressing on top. Not much of an effort in the salad department. 

LOBSTER AND SHRIMP FETTUCINE - Shrimp and lobster tossed with mushrooms, green onions and a spicy lobster butter sauce

GRILLED SALMON - With Romano crusted tomatoes, citrus pesto, asparagus and crispy shoestring potatoes

CAMPANELLE CARBONARA - Grilled chicken, crisp bacon, Parmesan cheese and sauteed spinach

PASTA BRIO - Rigatoni, grilled chicken, seared mushrooms and roasted red pepper sauce

LASAGNA  BOLOGNESE AL FORNO -Oven baked and layered with authentic Bolognese meat sauce, Alfredo, Ricotta and Mozzarella

All the dishes were very nice presented, with very generous portions. Too generous really. Enough to share if you are on a budget. The food was hot, bubbly, and loads of flavor. Every dish was incredible. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal and some of us had to get to go boxes. 

We laughed and laughed and laughed some more. We heard how Beth and Robert met, got together and ended up together. Very sweet story. We also laughed at ourselves during some of our drinking escapades, and crazy younger days. We saw tons of folks we knew from Bryson and Cherokee. We also noticed there seemed to be a great number of folks who were wearing lit necklaces. Of course, Pam and Rosemary wanted one. So we had to stop some folks and ask where they got theirs. Seems there was an employee appreciation event going on downstairs. And it seems like except for a meal, Harrah's didn't spring for much in terms of appreciation, if all the folks got was a little lit necklace. But I guess with over 3,000, you can't expect much. 

We lingered at Brio as long as we could. Actually, we were just sitting trying to digest. But, alas, time passed and we had to go. We did walk around a bit trying to move some of that food we just ate. We watched the gamblers at work, checked out some boutiques through the windows and meandered our way to the parking deck. 

This meal and experience were completely enjoyable. The company, meal, atmosphere were a definite do again.... SOON.