I’m one of those annoying people you roll your eyes at during the beginning of the New Year.

We’re the ones who always talk about eating healthy in the New Year. The ones who for some reason can’t eat right in the last week of December, but magically the first week of January instills some sort of change in us where we can finally replace that third Snicker bar with seaweed squares. Yes, I’m one of those people—well, sort of. Considering my line of work, this blog, I would never say that I’ll eat 100% healthy. Instead, I simply say that I’ll incorporate healthier food into my meal. That could mean something ambitious as eating a salad instead of a burger or something as simple as keeping the lettuce on my burger instead of throwing it under the table. My road to adding less caloric plates to my table didn’t lead me to the vegetable side of the grocery store, but to Brio Coastal Bar and Kitchen.

The beautiful restaurant recently opened its doors at the Del Amo Fashion Center. The expansive restaurant is well designed and hard to miss. Walking into the attractive restaurant it’s easy to take in the nautical theme amidst the semi-casual appeal. With both indoor and outdoor seating and large glass windows, the restaurant feels like an ideal place to grab a bite to eat whether you’re with a large group celebrating a birthday, or alone trying to grab a healthier-than-usual bite like myself.

As much as I would love to say I ate a 100% healthy meal, I didn’t. It was hard to resist a few cocktails when I read the description of the Moonshine Trio ($12). The sampler brought together three of the restaurant’s fruit infused moonshines and it seemed like the perfect way to start my lunch. In my defense, it included fruit so it had to be somewhat healthy right?

Whatever, that was my story and I was sticking with it.

Diving into each cocktail was an easy task. I started with the Apple Pie. It had Ole Smokey Apple Pie, gala apples, and cinnamon which meant it tasted exactly as you would hope. As I drank this first, I started to feel like I was eating the filling of a freshly baked pie from the warm fruit to the custard. It was smooth on the way down and I could barely taste the alcohol. The second was the Peach made of Ole Smokey Peach, raspberries, and peaches. It was light, refreshing, and had a pleasant balance of both fruit and the liquor. I could easily inhale three of these before realizing what I’ve done to myself. If you’re a lightweight like me, then don’t do it–drink them slowly because they will creep up on you. If you can’t stop yourself then either pass out in the parking lot with your keys in the glove compartment or get an Uber! The final of the three moonshines was the Blackberry. This glass was filled with Bacardi dragonberry rum, blackberries, blueberries, mint, and lime. As the more involved of the three moonshines, it had the greatest taste of alcohol to it making it the stiffer drink.

As the cocktails were inhaled and my healthy approach to the New Year was brought into question, the Buffalo Cauliflower Steak ($8) came along to bring it back into frame. Thick slices of cauliflower were drizzled with a  creamy horseradish and sprinkled with Gorgonzola cheese. As an appetizer the three large and flattened pieces of cauliflower were perfect enough to eat alone or share amongst friends. To the taste, the noticeable flavor came towards the end as the spice kicks in. The Gorgonzola (under normal circumstances) may come off too sharp, but pairing it here with the horseradish is a great way to help tame any potential harshness down.

After the cauliflower steak came the Stracciatella Caprese ($11.50). A plate of creamy burrata filling was paired with heirloom tomatoes, basil, ciabatta, and sprinkled with sea salt. The star of the plate as expected was the burrata. The cheese was thick, smooth, and velvety making it a perfect spread on top of the crunchy toasted ciabatta. To close it off, juice from the tomatoes and the pepper and sea salt gave it a nice kick of flavor.

While I’m taking baby steps to adding healthier plates to my meals, the Roasted Beets & Whipped Feta ($9) seemed like a leap of sorts. I say that mainly because I don’t like beets, yet it feels like the plate keeps coming to me. As this one came out to me from the kitchen, I had to give it an honest shot. The nicely plated dish consisted of colorful red and gold beets drizzled with a lemon vinaigrette. As I tried the beets on this plate I began to think that maybe, just maybe, I don’t hate beets as much as I thought. Better yet, maybe they’re growing on me. While I don’t have the exact answer for that, I do know that these weren’t so bad. It could have been that the beets came with a whipped feta that helped take away what I feel is a harsh taste in the beets. That extra creamy yet somewhat tart after taste may have won me over. I can’t say I’m convinced that I like beets, but I did come close to cleaning the plate. So that has to count for some level of improvement or maturation.

The final plate of the lunch happened to be my favorite. The Shrimp and Grits ($13.50) took a creamy smoked gouda polenta and topped it with black pepper shrimp. Two things things that I love dearly were combined in this dish to satisfy me. Not too sure, if it can actually be considered healthy, but seeing that it was loaded in grease and fat I figured I was doing pretty well. Eating this dish was like taking bites of a plate served in heaven. Maybe this is what St. Peter eats in the clouds—hold on, do angels eat? Whatever they do in the sky, here on earth this plate was extremely delicious and there was enough of the “grits” texture within the cornmeal of the polenta. The shrimp were huge with a desirable amount of saltiness. When I combined the two together, they created such a well-balanced and designed dish that it was almost impossible to leave anything on the plate.

I realize that I may be one of those annoying resolution makers with plans to eat better in the New Year. Sure I’m not making drastic changes, but eating less of the things my gut craves and more of what will be good for it, is pretty serious. Thanks to the healthier options like these at Brio Coastal Bar and Kitchen, I have a place where I can get food that is healthier than a burger, yet still as delicious as that burger. From the shrimp and grits that stole my heart to the beets that (somehow) won me over, Brio Coastal is a great place to get healthy eats in the New Year.

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Address: 21532 Hawthorne Blvd, Torrance, CA 90503
Phone: (310) 214-1628
Hours: Monday through Thursday – 11:00am to 10:00pm, Friday & Saturday – 11:00am to 11:00pm, and Sunday 10:00am to 9:00pm
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