First Take: Brodo Italian Scratch Kitchen is Good, Really Good

I stopped into Brodo today to take in the lovely February weather (!) and try a few things off their menu. The short story is that I had an amazing meal made even better by outstanding service. The longer story? Here goes:

As I wrote back in October, I've had some reservation about owners Shaheen and Knauf's decision to focus on Italian American classics instead of the more authentically Italian dishes they offer at their Greenwood village location, The Wooden Table. And I still have this concern. But I was able to find more than enough interesting choices on today's lunch menu to make it difficult to settle on just a couple of items.

As expected, the menu had plenty of pasta and red sauce, along with a meatball sandwich and chicken or eggplant parmesan. None of these choices stood out as particularly interesting, but I was tempted by the braised pork shoulder and chicken marsala, especially as they seemed likely to come with homemade pasta.

In the end, though, I started with an order of mussels in white wine, butter, and garlic, topped with a slice of grilled ciabatta. I paired it with a house chardonnay, and I got to say, I love mussels and white wine. This is a classic dish, but one that's easy to screw up if the mussels aren't top notch, or if they're over cooked. The ones Brodo served up were perfect, with not a single unopened shell or too-chewy bite. Instead, the mussels were tender and buttery, and the broth that they were served in was so good that I requested a side of bread to dip into it. The bread was crusty and fresh, and together it was practically a meal.


The mussels are on the appetizer menu, which means they're a couple of bucks off at happy hour (making then $12 instead of $14). The side of bread was just a couple of dollars, and at happy hour glasses of house wines are just $5. Taken together, this is a combination that I'm looking forward to going back to try again sometime soon.

After the mussels, I went for the hanger steak salad, which involved slices of the aforementioned hanger steak atop a plate of spring greens, gorgonzola, roasted grape tomatoes, and a sherry and gorgonzola vinaigrette. The steak was as tender as any steak I've ever had, and cooked exactly to my requested medium rare. The salad was perfectly balanced, and a true delight, especially when matched with a glass of a 2015 Posta Fazzio malbec. At $12 a glass, it was a bit of a splurge for a humble blogger like myself, but had deep cherry and plum undercurrents that went beautifully with the steak salad.

At this point, I'd eaten enough to call my appetizer and salad a meal, but obviously I was very pleased with the quality of both the ingredients and the cooking. Brodo seems like the real deal, if you can get past the conservative, ultra-classic nature of the menu.

I also want to highlight the quality of the service, because my server was outstanding. He clearly knew the menu, the food, and the ingredients, and he orchestrated the arrival of each course perfectly.

My only complaint was with the ambience, and specifically, the decor. The renovation of the space itself has been tastefully done. There's a large garage door that opens onto a spacious patio (hello spring and summer happy hour!), and a warm, open dining room under high ceilings and modern lights. But the tables and chairs seem a little institutional, and the wall art appears to have been plucked from a Bed, Bath, and Beyond discount bin. If Shaheen and Knauf really want to compete, they need to hire an interior decorator to finish the job.

But I really enjoyed my meal, and I think Brodo is going to be an outstanding addition to Belmar and downtown Lakewood. If you haven't gone over to try it yet, you really should. Order the mussels and a glass of wine, sit out on the patio, and enjoy a warm, February afternoon.