Bricco Trattoria creates family atmosphere

Mar. 9—GLASTONBURY — For 25 years, Billy, Michael, and Tony Grant have been honoring their family's food heritage.

Since 2010, that heritage has been, in part, located at Bricco Trattoria on Hebron Avenue.

"The original Bricco's in West Hartford has been open for about 25 years," said Bricco Trattoria General Manager Jason Sowik.

BRICCO TRATTORIA

Address: 124 Hebron Ave., Glastonbury.

Hours: Monday-Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday noon-10 p.m.; Sunday noon-9 p.m.

Menu: Wings, pizza, tacos, grinders, hot dogs.

Misc.: Traditional Italian staples; pizza; Pork Chop Milanese; signature cocktails, more.

Contact: 860-659-0220; billygrant.com/bricco-trattoria

There used to be a third restaurant, Grants, Sowik said, which closed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Billy is the driving force behind the food," he said. "He's the executive chef. The other brothers have previous businesses. Michael's first business was a bagel shop. He had some clubs in downtown Hartford. This is a family-owned restaurant with high expectations for its food and service."

Though the expectations are high when it comes to quality and service, what with dishes like Chicken Milanese that is so tender it can be cut with a fork, Sowik said the atmosphere is intended to still have an infusion of a classic mom-and-pop restaurant.

"I think as management, the feeling we want to invoke is a feeling of home," he said. "I always say there's a difference between service and hospitality. We can give great service, making sure the food's on time, making sure every course is on time. But hospitality is evoking a feeling out of a guest, making sure they feel like they're welcome. It is the little things. We want them to feel like they're coming into their friend's living room and we're serving them dinner."

The restaurant has a variety of aesthetics, from family sit-down dining to an expansive bar area, to take-out meals.

"It's all integrated," he said. "Our full menu is available to- go. It's not just pizzas. Pizzas are also very popular inside our dining room."

The bar has a high-end craft cocktail program that involves many local breweries, Sowik said.

"Part of my mantra when ordering is support local," he said.

Happy hour is daily from 4 to 6 p.m.

"By 4:30 it's full, every day," he said. "I believe we have the best happy hour in the area, with just the amount of options for food and craft cocktails, beer, and wine."

Popular happy hour items, he said, include Aunt Josie's Meatballs and Bricco's artisan pizzas, which are half the size of its normal pizza.

He said the signature cocktails are mostly seasonal, with new flavors introduced in the spring and fall.

Three cocktails, he said, stay on the menu year round because of their popularity.

"They're our best sellers," he said. "The Bricco Espresso Martini is our number one seller by far. It's unbelievably delicious. There's the Flirtini, which is the raspberry-based vodka light martini. Then for the bourbon drinkers we have Birch Oak Aged Old Fashioned, which we batch in wooden barrels so we get a little more depth."

There are a couple extra high-end cocktails, he said, called The Big Daddy Smoke Show, which are on the pricier end.

"We use a pricier tequila and a pricier bourbon, and they come in a smoke box," he said. The bartender then uses a smoke gun with wood chips to infuse smokier flavor into the drink.

"We present it in the box and they open it," Sowik said. "Because it's almost $40 each it is not as popular, but it has an impact. It's a conversation starter. It's a little outlier, but we like to have it on there."

The initial inspiration for Bricco's menu is from the Grant family's matriarchs, Sowik said, from the aforementioned My Aunt Josie's Meatballs to My Mom's Carbonara and My Grandma's Ravioli.

"That's stuffed with prosciutto and chicken, with a red sauce that's his grandmother's ravioli recipe," Sowik said.

Other traditional Italian staples on the menu include penne alla vodka, baked rigatoni, and bolognese, he said.

There are many different options for guests to choose from, he said.

"I think there's a good mix of seafood," he said. "We have a couple different milanese. Chicken Milanese, Pork Chop Milanese that's pounded thin and is the size of the plate. It's huge. Our salmon is one of our biggest sellers as well. There's a barbecue mustard glaze that's on the salmon that we always hear is good."

Sowik's personal favorite dish, he said, is the Pork Chop Milanese.

"It's the first thing I ever ate here at Bricco," he said. "It comes with a lemon butter beurre blanc sauce they put on it and some aged vinegar, and a little mixed salad on it. It's delicious."

Much of the pasta, he said is made in house.

"Our gnocchi, our cavatelli, our fettuccini, our ravioli, we make those in-house," he said. "We also provide gluten-free pasta and gluten-free pizza crust for people who want that option."

Popular specialty pizzas, he said, include the Bianco Pie, with ricotta, red onion, pistachios, and a little honey.

"That's a good one," he said. "We have a Spicy Sopressata Pie that has spicy soppressata and nduja pork. It has a spicy honey on there. Our classic Margherita Pizza, people like to add meatballs to it, or prosciutto."

Since the pandemic has abated, business has increased at Bricco's Trattoria, Sowik said.

"We've done the most business we've ever done since Trattoria opened in the last two years," he said. "We've really elevated our hospitality, our service. Our food has always been amazing, but through COVID, I think we really took a look at ourselves and the details to see where we can improve and I think peopl e noticed that. I think we're getting more repeat guests going in. Our price point is a fair price. I think people are seeing the value they're getting for their money."

For coverage of local restaurants, cultural events, music, and an extensive range of Connecticut theater reviews, follow Tim Leininger on Twitter: @Tim_E_Leininger, Facebook: Tim Leininger's Journal Inquirer News page, and Instagram: @One_Mans_Opinion77.