Restaurants & Reservations: Dining in Cincinnati

Green Papaya Supports the Red Cross on Sunday!

2010-01-21T22:23:00.003-05:00

One of our favorite restaurants is lending a hand on Sunday to those in need in Haiti. Green Papaya's owners in Hyde Park are donating all of their food on Sunday, and 100% of sales that day are being donated to the American Red Cross for disaster relief in Haiti. So come join everyone at Green Papaya (if it's too crowded there's always take-out!) and help support the Red Cross in a delicious way!

Hat tip to the Enquirer for this one!

Great Hyde Park Mexican restaurant? Bull-ogna!

2010-01-17T10:07:00.007-05:00

El Toro Restaurante Mexicano • 3816 Paxton Avenue • Cincinnati, OH 45209 • (513) 321-4222

His Take

El Toro, a Mexican restaurant, is one of the latest results of the revolving-door that is Hyde Park Plaza. We stopped in for lunch the other day to finally give it a shot now that they’ve have time to settle in. And in short, we likely won’t be back. El Toro is basically a cheap version of Don Pablo's with the food and service to match the prices.

When we arrived for lunch around noon, we were quickly seated in a very sparsely populated restaurant. All of the booths have bull-horn cutouts on the back, and the walls are freshly painted with vibrant colors and attractive artwork. But unfortunately for them, it takes more than paint to really create ambiance. You need people for that, too.

Our server for lunch went through the motions of taking our order without having any real personality. There was no friendly greeting, no smile, no enthusiasm, nada. And even more annoyingly, he was clearly instructed to always refer to us as “amigos”. Now, I understand vein attempts to infuse Mexican culture into a fast-food Midwestern restaurant, but having a bored-to-death Caucasian saying “Are you ready to order, amigos? Can I get you anything else, amigos?” gets old really fast.

The menus at El Toro are enormous without good cause. They basically take your standard Mexican-fare dishes (e.g., burritos, enchiladas, chalupas, tostadas, etc.) and then give you every possible permutation of those dishes. Those combinations then have the super creative names of Special Lunch #1, Special Lunch #2, etc.

I ordered a Taco Salad Fajita — a tortilla bowl with fajita-style chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, guacamole, etc. The strangest addition to it was refried beans in my salad. I’ve ordered my share of Southwest/Mexican salads from inauthentic Mexican restaurants over the years—in truth it’s one of my favorite kinds of salads—and they all have had black beans. So, when I see “beans” on the menu for a salad, I assume black beans. I was surprised to see refried beans in my salad, and having seen what it looks like after eating for a few minutes, I now know why no one else used refried beans in a salad. Bad idea. The rest of the salad tasted fine; nothing special, unless you really, really like iceberg lettuce. The tortilla bowl tasted pretty standard, and there were no accompaniments that come with the salad.

Other than the walls, the restaurant basically shots “low-budget”. We didn’t hear one outgoing, friendly server while we were there. The water glasses are Pizza-Hut style Pepsi cups, and even the bills look like they were rung up on a 25-year old cash register or calculator with ticker-tape.

As we sat and ate our meal, we concluded that El Toro is unlikely to last very long. If you’re craving Americanized Mexican food, you’re better off at Don Pablo's, though you’ll pay a little bit more depending on when you go and what you order. If you want something a little more high-end, head to Cactus Pear, where the dishes are more creative and better tasting, and the higher price gets you good, friendly service, too.

Her Take

We got hungry for lunch, and made a quick choice to try out El Toro, recently opened in Hyde Park Plaza, in the former Daybreak space. Just past noon on a Saturday, it was relatively empty; fewer than a quarter of the tables had people. The space its in feels like it could be a higher (middle?) end restaurant, but the El Toro decor seems to have been done on a tight budget. The tops of the booths curve up into horns (get it? Toro means bull, so...horns), there are pictures painted directly onto the walls, but that’s about it. The first indication that this is a fairly low-end restaurant is the candy on the register counter for sale. At some point I noticed that the entire waitstaff was male. I don’t know that it’s a big deal, or that it wasn’t just this particular shift, but the host, the waitstaff, the 11-ish year old kid behind the cash register who we assume came to work with his dad, every employee we saw was male, which just struck me as a little odd.

The menu is overwhelming. There is a page of lunch specials, also good on Saturdays, and priced between $5 and $7, but completely uninspiring. They are simply different combinations of standard menu items, and numbered. As in, “lunch special 4” might be one taco, one chalupa, and one burrito. What’s the precise difference between those three at this particular restaurant? It’s unclear. They’re never described on the menu. So looking for a bit of inspiration (and description!), we flipped past the lunch specials into the rest of the looooooooong menu. There is a section or two where the dishes have actual names, but there are more sections where everything is either numbered or lettered. In the vegetarian section, the dishes are A, B, C, instead of 1, 2, 3. There is also an a la carte section, so if you don’t like their combination of single items in the “specials,” you can create your own. They never actually explain what each item is, so if you don’t already know the difference, or if you realize that every restaurant you’ve ever been to defines these items a bit differently, you’re out of luck at El Toro.

The waiter (who greeted us with a very American accented “hola” and referred to both of us as “amigo”) brought us chips and salsa while we were still reading the menu. The chips were decent, and at least warm. The salsa had good flavor, but I prefer salsa to have actual chunks. It stays on the chips better that way. This stuff was pretty runny, and kept dripping off of the chips. (Also problematic because we had no plates on the table until our meals arrived, so it got a little messy.)

I ordered Veggie Fajitas. I got three plates: one with foil-wrapped, folded tortillas. One with pico de gallo, guacamole, shredded iceberg lettuce, rice-with-nothing-in-it, and a puddle of refried beans, and the third was a hot pan sizzling with my veggies: mostly onions, some green pepper strips, some tomatoes, and a few slices of button mushrooms. I took my foil-wrapped tortillas off of their plate so that I had a place to put my fajitas together. They were ok, but nothing particularly exciting. The veggies didn’t seem to have any seasoning, and everything else could have come from a jar, and I wouldn’t be surprised.

For chain tex-mex, I recommend Don Pablo’s. For a more upscale version, I recommend Cactus Pear. If you’re looking for cheap-with-table-service, then (and only then) El Toro is your spot.

The 3/50 Project - Saving Independent Restaurants (Among Others)

2009-05-04T22:37:00.003-04:00

McCormick & Schmick's Tax Relief Day

2009-04-15T12:11:00.003-04:00

McCormick & Schmick's • 1 East 5th Street • Cincinnati, OH 45202 • (513) 721-9339‎

Short Take

Early Bird Special at Blue Water Grill?

2009-03-31T21:53:00.005-04:00

Blue Water Grill • 7453 Wooster Pike • Cincinnati, OH 45227 • (513) 272-0178

Short Take

We were really excited to try a new restaurant during Restaurant Week. We had a reservation for dinner at Blue Water Grill, formerly known as the Village Kitchen, near Mariemont. We arrived for a late-for-a-weeknight dinner, and were surprised to find...that we were the only ones in the restaurant below the age of 65. Including all visible serving staff and the hostess. We stood there for a couple of minutes trying to figure it all out, taking in the nursing home newsletter on the counter and the advertisements for Easter brunch, on a chalkboard, posted inside. We mostly felt really uncomfortable and out of place, enough so that we ended up leaving in our utter confusion that perhaps we had stumbled on a different Blue Water Grill.

Anyone have any insight into this restaurant? Did we miss out on a fantastic meal? Does it affiliate with a senior residence? Was this just entirely random? We're still scratching our heads over this one!

Brown Dog: Worth the Wait!

2009-03-22T21:27:00.003-04:00

Brown Dog Cafe • 4893 Pfeiffer Road • Blue Ash, OH 45242 • (513) 794-1610

His Take

The title says it all. We took a lot of flak from our readers when we left Brown Dog before being seated on Valentine’s day because of the long wait (even with a reservation), unannounced special menu, and no-gift-certificates policy. But as promised, we returned to see if the food was really as good as everyone had said it was.

Brown Dog Café is a tiny, tiny, one-room restaurant in a very non-descript shopping plaza right near I-71 at Pfeiffer. This is not a venue you are likely to accidentally walk past. But no worries, because there are clearly a group of local patrons who rely on the restaurant for a top notch meal whenever they fancy one. Having only seen the restaurant at capacity (and then some) on Valentine’s Day, we were surprised to find it only a little more than half full when we arrived on a Saturday evening for our second attempt. We were even more surprised at how small the restaurant is, with a capacity probably near 50. Naturally, we were seated quickly and politely without any wait.

Brown Dog’s service quickly proved to be the opposite at our experience at Bangkok Bistro (when they forgot to tell our server we existed for 15 minutes). Apparently, our server was busy when we arrived, so another server offered to take care of us. In the end, they both thought they were responsible, so we heard the specials twice (usually a good thing) and almost enjoyed our amuse twice (until they figured out what was happening). Our server(s) were friendly and knowledgeable, which always makes the night more enjoyable.

OK, on to the food...

Aside from the whitefish amuse and delicious bread (note for every other restaurant: warm break + olive oil = mmmmmm), our meal really started with the Mediterranean sampler maza. We’ve been to other places that served this kind of sampler, which usually includes hummus, olives, pita, roasted red peppers, etc. What struck me about Brown Dog’s rendition of the dish was that everything was piled together in a large boat. I suppose this presentation gives you a hint that it’s worth trying bits of each component with the others — and they couldn’t be more right! From the amazing olive tapenade and delicious peppers to the pita and artichokes, everything was so flavorful, I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited about a Mediterranean sampler. What a great start to our meal.

Next up was a simple Bibb lettuce salad with candied walnuts. It’s hard to go wrong with candied nuts, and the presentation was impressive, despite the relatively small portion size. Note: one salad per person, two people per appetizer.

For the main course, I decided to go with the evening’s special: a grilled swordfish with a spicy, brown mustard sauce and asparagus. The dish usually comes with garlic mashed potatoes. I’m not a huge mashed potatoes fan, and the kitchen was kind enough to swap them for “Brown Dog Fries.” The swordfish was a nice large portion cooked appropriately, and the mustard sauce was a terrific complement. Sadly, the “Brown Dog Fries” were a little disappointing for a restaurant-named dish. They weren’t bad, but we’ve grown to expect amazing things when a restaurant names a dish after itself — Honey with its Honey Fries is the perfect example. Brown Dog Fries were home-cut fries served with plain ketchup, nothing too exciting here.

Lest you think the meal ended on a down note, there is always dessert. And Brown Dog passed our dessert test with flying colors. I chose the Chocolate Banana Bread, largely because I wasn’t enticed by the espresso or ice cream in the Chocolate Tasting. The Chocolate Banana Bread has a liquid chocolate center that is sweet, rich, and satisfying. The caramelized bananas are a nice touch, too. This is one of the top desserts I’ve had anywhere in the area, so golf-clap for a perfect way to cap a fantastic meal.

We’ll be back, but most likely when we find someone else to pay :-)

Her Take

We went into Brown Dog on a recent Saturday night with a strike against it because of our experience there on Valentine’s Day, when we left before actually eating. Based on everything we had heard (and read here in the comments), we really still wanted to try it, so we made another reservation and headed in. It was the complete opposite from last time.

We were seated immediately, and there were a small handful of open tables. Our waitress came to greet us quickly to take drink orders and tell us about the specials. Shortly thereafter, a different waitress came over and repeated the specials. The first one came back a few minutes later with bread and a “gift from the chef,” a plate of two fancy spoons with a type of whitefish and a citrus sauce to cleanse our palettes before the meal. It had some kick and did its job! We also gave our orders to waitress-1.

As we were enjoying our first slices of warm bread with olive oil and roasted garlic (YUM!), waitress-2 came back, saw that we already had food, and handed off her plate of chef-gift to the hostess. She came over anyway to make sure we had given our orders to the other waitress as well. Apparently both said they would take our table, but then both took our table. Once they realized it, we were back to just one waitress.

A little while after enjoying some bread, our shared appetizer appeared. We ordered the Maza, a mix of olives, artichoke hearts, hummus, smoked peppers, olive tapenade, tomato salad, cucumber relish, feta, haloumi cheese, and pita with zaatar. Everything was delicious!! The olive tapenade was by far our favorite part. The haloumi didn’t have too much taste, and the “tomato salad” was more a pile of cherry tomatoes, but mixed with the other stuff, it didn’t matter. We could have used another couple of pieces of pita, but we managed to finish the whole plate anyway. This appetizer comes in a for-one size and a for-two size. We shared the for-one, because we wanted to have room to try more dishes!

Our (shared) salad was the Waldorf Bibb, which also came with granny smith apples, candied walnuts, celery, dried cherries, and a sweet onion dressing with chunks of swiss cheese. Unlike the appetizer, this one was a little smaller than expected, but still enough, especially with everything else we ate. It was an interesting mix of things I wouldn’t normally put together—especially the celery! It worked well. I thought I tasted pear in the salad, too, though, so I have a suspicion of pear in place of granny smith apples, but I’m not entirely positive.

My main course was Eggplant Bruschetta, slices of fried eggplant covered with roasted veggies and fresh mozzarella, and the whole thing on top of a parmesan risotto. Wow. It was fantastic. In spite of all the moisture, the outside of the eggplant was crispy. The risotto was creamy but not overly rich and heavy. There was more than enough mozzarella (and I seldom say that). The veggies on top helped the whole thing feel a little lighter. I couldn’t quite finish it (although I got close), and I was disappointed both that there wasn’t enough to take home, and with the knowledge that it wouldn’t be as good reheated anyway. Yum.

Even though we weren’t entirely hungry by the end of all that, we agreed to take a look at the dessert menu. We almost always share a dessert if we’re going to get one, but the one I wanted was really creamy, and he tries to stay away from those. So of course, we each ordered a dessert. I got a Chocolate Tasting. It was beautifully presented! There was homemade bittersweet chocolate chocolate chip ice cream, which was fantastic, even if the chips were smaller than the ones at Graeter’s. There was a white chocolate fondue with a sliced strawberry. I am the first to argue that white chocolate isn’t really chocolate, but the fondue was delicious anyway. And there was an espresso pot de crème, which turns out to be served in a kind of shot glass, sort of a cross between fudge and mousse, more the consistency of cream cheese. Thick chocolate-espresso with a spoon! What could be bad?! Nothing. It was fantastic.

We both commented that one of the great things about this meal was that it was fantastically paced. We were there for about an hour and a half, far longer than most restaurants, and they let us finish each course, and talk for a few minutes, before the next one arrived. It was comfortable and relaxed, the magical place between rushed and slow, and we enjoyed every bite. I hope I get to go back eventually!

Restaurant Week!

2009-03-15T11:09:00.004-04:00

Greater Cincinnati Independents

Short Take

It’s Restaurant Week! The coalition of Cincinnati Independent Restaurants is offering Spring Restaurant Week, a chance to try great restaurants at a lower-than-usual price! From March 16-22, check out the almost 30 different Restaurant Week menus available (and more are added each day). Most of them are offering a three-course meal for $26.09, with a few of the “more casual” participants offering dinner for two for $26.09. Although their website doesn’t mention it, most of these places do take reservations, and especially over the weekend, they’re probably a good idea, and even a necessity at some places.

The three-course menus differ by which three courses they offer. Some are doing appetizer, salad, and entrée, while others are doing appetizer/soup/salad, entrée, and dessert. Naturally, I gravitate towards the latter, although I certainly understand the idea of separating appetizers and salad -- although I’m not sure I understand it at the cost of dessert, but that’s just me.

The menus vary widely. I am disappointed in a few, such as Bella Luna. We’ve eaten there and had good meals, but their Restaurant Week menu offers no vegetarian (or even fish) entrée. It was crossed off our list for this week simply because there’s nothing I can eat! The same goes for Daveed’s (who, by the way, apparently thinks fish and scallops are vegetarian-friendly?!), Red (although, to be fair, they’re a steak house and therefore not typically so vegetarian friendly), and China Gourmet. I’m also a little disappointed with menus like Vineyard Café's and Hugo’s, which don’t give actual options, just one dish per course. While I understand that the chefs may want to present a certain mixture of foods, as someone who can only eat certain things, that makes eating more difficult. Even during Restaurant Week, most restaurants are offering at least some choices, which makes the ones that aren’t stand out.

We’re also psyched about the dinner-for-two for $26.09. That pricing makes it possible to potentially enjoy multiple Restaurant Week offerings without totally breaking the bank—and to feel like we’re getting our money’s worth, even at a lower-end restaurant.

Looking forward to this week! Please share your Restaurant Week experiences in the comments!

Sit and Enjoy at Coffee Emporium

2009-03-13T13:33:00.006-04:00

Coffee Emporium • 3316 Erie Avenue • Cincinnati, OH 45208 • (513) 321-5943

Her Take

I’m doing something unusual for me, and writing this review as I sit inside the restaurant. I go to Coffee Emporium with some regularity—enough that the woman who works the shift when I’m there knows my usual order. I am the kind of person who loves to sit in a coffee shop for hours and get work done, and Coffee Emporium (the East Hyde Park location) has become one of my usual places to do so. The downstairs is your typical independent coffee shop: fancifully decorated blackboard listing all their drinks, sign saying “friends don’t let friends go to Starbucks,” and lots of coffee and tea related merchandise, much of it local. The shop is in a converted row-house, so the enjoying-the-drink magic happens upstairs, in what I imagine started as the bedroom portion of the house. There is seating for about 25 spread across 9 tables (I’m sitting and counting, but I can’t take pictures since my phone isn’t the fancy one), although the exact configurations change from time to time. There is free wireless internet, one of my personal keys to a great coffee shop. It varies in noise level. Until about 10:30ish on a weekday, it is often somewhat noisy with groups, and it can be hard to get a table. After that, it is often quiet, with several individuals working, or groups of 2 or 3 meeting for coffee or lunch. They have Belgian waffles on Sunday mornings, and while I haven’t made it yet, I hear they are fantastic—and I would guess that the tables are full and noisy!

My drink of choice is a skim-dark-mocha. The dark refers to the chocolate; they also offer white and milk. One of my favorite policies is the bring-your-own-mug. They will charge you for a small, regardless of the size of your mug (up to a somewhat absurd 32 oz.), and fill your mug, even for the fancy drinks (like a mocha)! It’s fun to feel good about being environmentally conscious, and also get an extra $0.50 worth of mocha goodness. I usually eat lunch on my days working at Coffee Emporium as well. My usual choice is the Breakfast Burrito (no bacon), which is, of course, also available for lunch. Wrapped in a tortilla is egg, cheese, and potatoes, with salsa on the side. They warm it up when you order at the counter downstairs, and then bring it up to your table. The salsa has just a bit of kick to it to make it interesting, and it is a great filling lunch (or breakfast). They also have other sandwichy type foods; the spinach-ricotta pie is also very good, although not as filling. Today they had a special veggie wrap, roasted veggies with a bit of cheese in a wrap, but I stuck with my usual that I had been looking forward to.

There are also sometimes samples by the register, and today’s samples may prove to be my downfall. I had never tasted their cookies, but there were little pieces on a plate when I went to get my lunch. There were four different types of samples: chocolate chip, white chocolate macadamia, oatmeal raisin, and peanut butter. I tasted three of them (with encouragement from the woman at the register), and wow. Those are some outstanding cookies. And I have high standards for cookies! They are soft and chewy, thick, and full of the chunks of things they are supposed to have in them (chocolate chips, mainly). In fact if this posting is delayed, it’s probably because I decided to go back downstairs for a chippy treat.

I mostly sit here on Fridays, although I have been known to appear on other random off-days of school as well. I’ll most definitely be back. I’ll be back for the laid back, coffee-smelling, relatively quite atmosphere, I’ll be back for the coffee and lunch and hopefully eventually waffles, and I suspect I’ll be back for the cookies.

You Just Can't Trust a Spring Roll

2009-03-03T06:01:00.000-05:00

Bangkok Bistro • 3506 Erie Ave • Cincinnati, OH 45208 • (513) 871-0707

His Take

As faithful readers might recall, we first sampled the fare from Bangkok Bistro at Taste of Cincinnati last year, and our experience with their veggie spring rolls was pretty disappointing. But after several readers posted encouraging comments about Bangkok Bistro, we decided to give it, and its spring rolls, a second chance. The good news is that we’ve seen the light and had a wonderful meal (not to mention leftovers) at Bangkok Bistro; the bad news is that our original take on their spring rolls continues to be spot on.

Bangkok Bistro is a larger than expected restaurant on the edge of Hyde Park (or Hyde Park East as some call it). You can tell from the aroma outside the restaurant why nearly every table was full on a Saturday night. Our experience that night had some high highs and low lows, but you’ll have to keep reading for the details.

We arrived at Bangkok Bistro hungry, nay starving. And as we have a habit of doing in such circumstances, we knew right away we needed an appetizer. We had made a reservation, but unfortunately were running about 20 minutes behind schedule. Luckily, this wasn’t a problem, and we were seated immediately when we arrived.

This leads us to our first low-point of the evening. We sat at our table studying the menus as we took in the organized chaos of the tables and servers around us. Ten minutes later, when we hadn’t met our server or even received water glasses, we knew something was amiss. And did I mention we were hungry? We politely grabbed one of the busboys walking by to inquire about ordering some food.

This is where the evening took its first turn. Normally, I expect someone else’s server/busboy to tell me “I’ll see if I can find someone...” and disappear again. This gentleman’s immediate response was “I’ll find out who it is; in the meantime, I can at least get you some water.” As a former management student, the idea of a restaurant employee being so proactive was surprisingly refreshing.

Anyhow, a moment later our server appeared. She was very friendly and apologized profusely, while explaining that the manager had forgotten to write down that we were seated. I gather our server’s tables were elsewhere, so she didn’t know we were there. Whether the story was true or not, we were happy to finally have someone’s attention and a chance to order food!

As I intimated earlier, we started our meal with the veggie spring rolls. We had initially wanted soup because it was mighty cold outside, but none of their soups were vegetarian -- even the vegetable soup, go figure. The spring rolls arrived about 5 minutes later and looked, well, like spring rolls. There were two in the order (ignore the missing one in the picture, like I said we were really hungry). The spring rolls were about as boring as boring can be. They tasted like a pile of lettuce with some bean sprouts and no seasoning. Even the sauce was very watery and had minimal taste. For two hungry people, this was a disturbing sign, but the smell of the restaurant gave us hope for the next course.

My main dish was a new menu item: Green Curry Pasta Salmon. The dish is basically a large salmon filet served over a mountain of angel hair with vegetables and a green curry sauce. When it arrived, I was impressed by the enormous serving size. Note to self: this is easily a dish to feed two or three people if you want to split it. All of Bangkok Bistro’s dishes can be ordered on a spiciness scale of 1 to 10. I went with 6 tonight, and the dish had enough kick to leave my mouth tingling afterwards, but not enough to make my eyes water and nose run. Overall, the dish was very tasty. The salmon was cooked appropriately, and the green curry sauce was delicious. I would have gladly traded some of the pasta for some more vegetables, but overall I was very pleased. As much as I enjoyed it, I think I’m more of a rice than pasta person when it comes to curry, so I’ll probably go back to one of the curry dishes next time. And despite the initial service and the spring rolls, there will be a next time. Thanks to all our commenters who stood by this place! We enjoyed our visit.

Her Take

I, too, was skeptical about trying Bangkok Bistro after our disappointing Taste. But since they’re nearby and we had heard more good things about the restaurant than bad, we decided it was worth a real shot.

They initially were below our (admittedly low) expectations. The man who seated us led us wordlessly to a table, put down the menus and walked away without a word. Unfortunately, as described to my left, his silence was not exactly a mark of rushing back up front to let our waitress know she had a new table. At first, we pondered the menu happily. We had never been to the actual restaurant, so it was fun to see what they had, how they described (or didn’t describe) their different curries and other dishes, and to figure out exactly what we wanted to eat. Except that once that was done, we were ready to ask questions, order, and eat. And drink some water.

Once our waitress finally arrived, she was good! The non-vegetarian soups (including not only a chicken-stock-vegetable, but a chicken-stock-miso!) were disappointing, but we figured it gave the spring rolls a chance to redeem themselves. The waitress was also helpful with other questions about dishes, happy to make substitutions (tofu and veggies for chicken and shrimp) and made sure that we knew that substitutions were doable on any dish. Except the soup, obviously.

For my main course, I ordered the drunken noodles: flat noodles with a brown sauce, basil, tofu, and veggies, spice level 5 on a scale of 1-10. She informed me that 5 was about the level of Tabasco. Since I don’t really ever use Tabasco, I nodded my head. The dish was great. There was tons of tofu, and lots of vegetables. I was bummed that I forgot to order mine minus-the-broccoli, but luckily Michael doesn’t mind being the receptor of a pile of rejected broccoli. If their spicing is consistent (which at many restaurants it isn’t), I would probably order a 4 next time, but spiciness is probably even more subjective than, say, opinions of spring rolls. The dish was very good, as were the leftovers the next day for lunch!

My one comment of our waitress (after her eventual arrival) was probably not her fault. We didn’t see her at any of the tables nearby ours, so we got the sense that her tables were pretty spread out. She came by to make sure we were enjoying our food, and again at the end of the meal. We didn’t really need anything else, but the fact that we didn’t see her much after we had food also meant that if we had needed anything, it would have been hard to find her. Not a terrible complaint, simply an observation.

My overall impression was that the food (aside from the spring rolls) was good, and the service was decent (once they realized we were there). I’m psyched to have found another good restaurant nearby, and I’m sure we’ll be going back again!

Noodles & Co: Where Fast Food is Fast, but far from Fast Food

2009-02-27T06:03:00.002-05:00

Noodles and Co. • 7800 Montgomery Road • Cincinnati, OH 45236 • (513) 791-6259

His Take

This post is one of the few about a restaurant I hadn't really planned to visit until literally 10 seconds before I turned into the parking lot. Noodles & Company is all about pasta (as the name makes obvious) and has the appearance of being just another neighborhood fast-food joint. But if that's what you are expecting, you're definitely in for a treat.

I visited the Noodles & Co. location across from the Kenwood mall as I was driving up Montgomery Road with a friend and starving. We were on our way elsewhere and didn't want to stop long enough to eat at Dewey's, Cheesecake, or some other dine-in spot along the way, but we weren't desperate enough to hit up a true fast-food joint. Noodles seemed like a decent compromise. I had seen the chain all over the place, but somehow had never been inside one.

The Noodles menu is based on several permutations of pasta, veggies, and proteins (chicken, beef, shrimp, or tofu) -- 432 permutations to be precise. They've divided the menu by cuisine theme -- American, Asian, and Mediterranean. Each style has a few options for pastas, a soup, and a salad. Or just can make whatever combination you'd like.

I decided to start with a Chinese Chop Salad, which includes the usual fixings of sesame seeds, Asian vegetables, crispy wontons, and a sesame-soy dressing. The salad was bigger than I expected, but probably not big enough for a meal. I was impressed, though, because the ingredients looked and tasted very fresh and I've certainly had smaller, less tasty Asian salads for much more money. My friend opted for the smaller Cucumber and Tomato Salad, which is simply chopped tomatoes, cucumber, and onions with a little balsamic vinegar dressing. I didn't taste it, but it certainly looked fresh, and my friend was very content.

Since the name of the place is Noodles, I certainly wasn't going to leave without some pasta. My choice was the Pasta Fresca, one of their "Mediterranean" choices. The Pasta Fresca is penne with sauteed spinach, tomatoes, and onions in a balsamic vinegar, white wine, and garlic sauce.

Now, I'm not one to frequently order pasta at a restaurant, largely because I think I can do pasta at home just as well and for a fraction of the price. In other words, my expectations are pretty low for restaurant pasta because, seriously, how can you screw up pasta? That said, Noodles impressed me. The pasta was hot (which surprisingly doesn't always happen elsewhere), not drowned in oil (a la Pompilio's), and had exactly the flavor I wanted from those ingredients.

All in all, this was a successful, quick stop for lunch. It's inexpensive, fast, fresh, and generally pretty healthy -- a hard combination to come by on the road. If you need a quick lunch break, give this place a shot. You won't regret it.

Reliably Predictable Tex Mex at Don Pablo's

2009-02-25T20:55:00.000-05:00

Don Pablo's • 2692 Madison Road • Cincinnati, OH 45208 • (513) 631-1356
401 Riverboat Road • Newport, KY 41071 • (859) 261-8100

His Take

Don Pablo's is one of those chains for which sometimes you are just in the right mood. As the name implies, it's a Tex-Mex restaurant, which means chips, salsa, burritos, chimichangas, enchiladas, fajitas, and every other variation of those words that seem to be introduced into the vernacular from time to time.

Generally, when we head to Don Pablo's we're hungry and feeling like fajitas. Sadly, I'm forced to avoid most of the cheesy items, which makes fajitas option numero uno. In the past, I've usually done either the steak or chicken fajitas (or sometimes both), but then I discovered a secret few carnivores know. At Don Pablos, the vegetarian portobello fajitas are far tastier than any of the meats they have. Shocking, I know.

While we've been to Don Pablos in a variety of cities, locally we've been to the Rookwood and Newport locations. As the pictures show, the Newport location has a great outdoor patio for the summer that overlooks the river. Like the Rookwood location, the Newport one is also decorated to accent its warehouse origins.

Meals at Don Pablos always start with chips and salsa. Their salsa is not the most amazing salsa you've likely ever had, but it's not bad, and if you're eating at Don Pablos, that's probably good enough for you.

I think Jessica has pretty much covered the details of the food, so I'll let you read and check out the pictures without further delay. Enjoy!

Her Take

I have been to Don Pablo’s at least a half dozen times in the last year or two, more because it’s convenient and good enough for a last minute dinner than because it’s really fantastic. The Rookwood location is in an old warehouse, and it still has a bit of that feel to it, but it has been decorated in a sort of funky Tex-Mex theme. The waitstaff is fairly non-notable. Sometimes they are a bit social with the tables, but more frequently they simply get their jobs done in a not particularly interesting fashion.

Meals at Don Pablo’s tend to start the same way. Instead of the bread and olive oil of many restaurants, they keep with their theme and bring chips and salsa to the table. It’s a never-ending basket, so if the table is as hungry as we usually are, it’s no problem for the waiter to continually refill both the chips and the salsa.

Because I am a creature of habit—but more because of a lack of vegetarian options—I tend to order the Portabella Fajitas. I get three plates with my order, and sometimes more, depending on the waiter. It comes with one dish of sizzling seasoned portabella, peppers, and onions, one dish of tortillas, and a third of all the other stuff, generally rice, refried beans, cheese, salsa, guacamole, sour cream, and lettuce. I say generally because the waiters do differ on one key point. When I ask whether the sides are all vegetarian, I have gotten more than one different answer.

There is a general consensus that the refried beans are, in fact, meat/pork-free, but the rice seems to be a bit of a mystery. Some have told me that it, too, is vegetarian, but others, as on my most recent visit, told me it was cooked with a chicken broth, making it decidedly not-vegetarian. In exchange, I got the corn bread, which brings my total number of dishes to four. A couple of other sides are also generally offered in exchange for the potentially-meaty-rice, but the corn bread is my favorite!

Once the vegetarian-ness has been sorted out, I thoroughly enjoy my meals at Don Pablo’s. The portabellas have good spices on them, and I generally leave stuffed. I can’t finish all the tortillas they bring, both because I get too full and because they are so messy to eat. After one or two (they’re small!) I tend to just mix the ingredients together on one of my several plates and eat it with a fork. The too-many-plates issue tends to be an issue only when everyone at the table orders fajitas, in which case multiply the 3-4 dishes per person by the number of people at the table, add chips and salsa and drinks, and, well, it’s a little crowded.

My most entertaining Don Pablo’s experience, by far, involved leaving before we ate. During the blackout in the fall, we showed up needing dinner, since without power, dinner was difficult at home. They had power, and they were crowded, but they had a couple of open tables. The hostess, however, warned us that they were out of a few things: chips and tortillas for starters. We laughed, since that meant few things on the menu were being served as usual…and we left to go elsewhere. But we generally go back again when we’re looking for something at the last minute. It isn’t the best in the city, but it’s reliable and certainly good enough for an unexciting and unadventurous night out.

A Sweet Time at Honey

2009-02-21T19:10:00.002-05:00

Honey • 4034 Hamilton Ave • Cincinnati, OH 45223 • (513) 541-4300

His Take

Given all the comments we've read and heard about Honey, this review will likely not be a surprise to many (if not all) of you: Honey is fantastic. It's not always easy to find small, well-run, upscale restaurants with terrific food and without the air of elitism you expect at four star restaurants. Honey takes the best of those features and leaves out the rest -- its food is excellent, the service is great, the price is reasonable, and there's not even a hint of arrogance despite the fact they must know they have a good thing going.

Honey's Northside location is less than ideal, but with a staffed parking lot right next to the restaurant (and charging a whopping $3.00), the neighborhood should not be anyone's excuse for missing this venue. My first impression when we arrived was surprise at the diversity of the clientele (e.g., jeans to sport-coats, 20s, 30s, 40s, and up) and the nonchalant, low-key decor for a restaurant we've heard talked-up so much.

The restaurant didn't fill up until closer to 8 on a Saturday night, which meant we were well into our wonderful meal by the time people started lining up for tables. The warm bread was a nice start, but we didn't waste any time getting down to appetizers. (sorry for the terrible pictures, but flash photography at dinner is, well, a little obnoxious)

Everyone we know has recommended the Honey Fries, so that was an obvious choice. Our second choice was a little more eclectic: a veggie and potato cake served with olives and an artichoke heart presented like an upside-down tree. The Honey Fries easily met their reputation. The mix of potatoes and the sweet honey sauce were mouthwatering. If McDonalds had these fries, they wouldn't need to sell burgers. The second dish was also very tasty. The potato cake was a delicious combination of carrots, squash, and potatoes, although not particularly large for sharing purposes. The artichoke heart was a little less exciting because they hadn't dressed it up in any particular way. So I'd recommend skipping that for something more exotic.

My entree for the evening was a grilled wild salmon served with a shrimp and cabbage spring roll. I love fish, so ordering salmon is not exactly "adventurous" for me (as many of you probably already realize). But this is easily one of the best pieces of fish I've ever had. The salmon melted on my tongue and wasn't overcooked at all (something far too easy to do). There wasn't a fancy sauce glazed over the fish or a bucket of oil drowning it--just the natural taste with a little bit of seasoning. The shrimp and cabbage spring roll was also a nice and usual accompaniment. The spring roll was fried and crispy, but not a particularly thick or heavy dough. The shrimp and cabbage worked very well together, though I had my doubts at first.

And then there was dessert. And it was chocolate. And it was goooooood. We're always suspicious of chocolate cakes served with fruit or liquor sauces, but Honey made the sauce a true accent, rather than an integral part of the dish. The cake was a tiny bit dry, but plenty rich and well worth ordering. Plus, I'm always impressed by caramelized artwork with dessert because I could never, ever do that at home.

All in all, this place is a winner. A great meal, relaxed atmosphere, and reasonable prices for as great as it is. We'll be back!

Her Take

Since my only other restaurant experience in the Northside was at Melt, I had high hopes for Honey. (Yes, those expectations are based on the simple basis that they are down the street from one another.) Also, it looked good driving past, I had heard good things about it, and their online sample menu made my mouth water. The food sounded not just good, but really creative and good, which I think is harder to find.

We called ahead on a Saturday evening for reservations, and were told they didn’t take any. We went early just in case, but just before 7:00, they were only about half full. That certainly changed throughout the night, and by the time we left a little after 8:00, the bar area was full beyond capacity with people waiting for tables. The restaurant is simple inside, with few decorations beyond small flowers on the tables. Our waitress brought us warm bread even before we ordered. The bread certainly gets bonus points for being warm, and it was good, although not the best I’ve had, and served with butter rather than any fancy olive oil. It may have been the (only) low point of the meal, and it was certainly better than at many other places!

The waitress read us somewhere around six different specials, and after she walked away I could remember parts of three of them. With that many specials, it would have been great to have them written down. But the menu itself was so appealing that I was happy enough to order from that! We started with two appetizers, mainly because we couldn’t agree. I really wanted to try the Honey Fries, and he wanted something more interesting (to which I readily agreed, while still pushing the fries). So we got both the Honey Fries (“sweet, Yukon, and Idaho, with chili lime honey”) and a carrot-squash-potato cake appetizer that also came with an eggplant dip, chick pea dip, artichoke heart, and olives. Except that the wording on the menu was far more complicated than “dip,” so we really had little idea of what we were getting, but…wow. It was fantastic. There was a wide range of flavors and they all came together deliciously.

The only problem was that there was also a basket of fries on the table, and we couldn’t decide which to eat first. The fries were great. They came out really hot, so while we tried them first, we came back to them after letting them cool down. They were sweet, and the dipping sauce was even more so. We ended up piling them on our plates, putting a little sauce over the top, and eating them with a fork, partly because they were hot, partly because they were small, and partly because it seemed a little more polite than shoving fries into our mouths at the speed we would have liked because they were so yummy.

But then there was more food. My main course was Wild Mushroom and Fresh Mozzarella Ravioli, served in a creamy sauce with caramelized onions and balsamic vinegar. And yet again…wow. I feel like I’m running out of words to describe this meal, because everything we tasted was fantastic! It was so much fun to go expecting a good dinner, and to get something truly delicious. The ravioli had a little more sauce than I would have liked, although if I had eaten a little less appetizer, I may have happily eaten the rest of the sauce with another piece of bread. Instead, I opted to stare longingly at the creaminess left behind while I contemplated dessert.

Like the specials, desserts were not on a menu, but required listening carefully. Or, in my case, listening selectively until I heard the word “chocolate” and then asking her to repeat that dessert. We got a flourless chocolate cake with Grand Marnier, served with raspberry sauce, chocolate sauce, and some strawberries. It was a little dry, but with a cake like that (and after a meal like that) I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and thoroughly enjoy it anyway.

The meal was fantastic. I can’t wait to go back. I’ll probably wait for an occasion (or a parental visit?), since it was a bit pricier than a typical dinner out, but in this case, it was absolutely worth it. The portions were good: not tiny and not enormous, and the food was fantastic. I can’t wait to go back. Did I say that already? Yeah, it was that good.

Missing: Brown Dog

2009-02-15T18:13:00.002-05:00

We were very excited for our Valentine's Day dinner at Brown Dog Cafe. We had made a reservation a little later in the evening than we would have liked, but still within the realm of reasonable, which was impossible at a lot of other places. We were also excited to put to good use a $50 gift card we had received for 30% off courtesy of the most recent Cincinnati Independents sale. Since Brown Dog Cafe is not exactly a pub-price kind of place, we were psyched to use the gift card to make dinner a little more reasonable. And then the world conspired against us.

We had chosen Brown Dog Cafe partly because we wanted to avoid all of the upscale restaurants that take advantage of the holiday to do a fixed menu at $100 per plate. Brown Dog's website had no mention of anything out of the ordinary for Valentine's Day, and they hadn't mentioned anything on the phone when we called to make a reservation.

And then we showed up. We were a couple of minutes early for our reservation, and the tiny atrium was packed with waiting patrons, as was the bar. The host, when he eventually came back to the stand, informed us (and the others waiting) that diners were taking longer than usual tonight, and that there would be a significant wait--even with a reservation. It was a little past 8:30pm at that point, and none of the six parties with reservations for 8:30pm had been seated. The wait was enough that they had stopped taking walk-ins for the night. The host walked away again immediately after delivering that news, which was fine, because there was no space for him with all the people waiting on their reservations. We then noticed the special menus. There were no prices printed on them, which meant that they were likely in the realm of 'if you have to ask, you can't afford it.' We then realized the implications of the (unannounced) special menu and our gift certificate, which conveniently has a 'not for use on holidays and special events' clause on it. Eventually, when the host returned (to let the next round of reservation arrivals know that they would be waiting), we asked whether we could use our gift certificate that night. Somehow, we weren't surprised when he said no.

The review of Brown Dog Cafe has therefore been postponed. Between the wait time, the special (limited) menu without prices, and the (unannounced) holiday invocation against our gift certificate, it wasn't in the cards for us. For the record, we simply crossed our own names off the list and left, because the host disappeared again. Hopefully it will make up for itself next time!

Indigo: Casual Gourmet Speaks for Itself

2009-01-18T14:19:00.003-05:00

Indigo • 2637 Erie Avenue • Cincinnati, OH 45208 • (513) 321-9952

His Take

I’ve been to Indigo on two occasions, both to meet up with friends and both based on someone else’s venue selection. Indigo’s dishes offer plenty of food, semi-decent taste, and reasonable prices — often all you can ask for in a neighborhood restaurant. So while I’ve been there twice and will probably end up back there again sometime, it’s unlikely I’d ever request we go there.

The restaurant prides itself on its Italian offerings, and pasta is usually where I head on their menu. The last time I was there it was absolutely frigid outside, and I came in longing for a hot bowl of soup. And that’s exactly how I started. Our server recommended their chicken soup, which she said was so popular that people come in just to get it for take-out. I thought the soup was pretty good, but far from amazing. The soup had plenty of vegetables and plenty of chicken in a fairly unsurprising broth. So while it didn’t blow me away, I’m not sure my homemade soup would come out much better, so it fit the bill just fine.

I will admit, though, that I spent plenty of time ogling the focaccia appetizer that the rest of the party devoured because all that melted cheese looked delicious. But I was busy warming up with my soup.

My main dish was the artichoke tomato sauce pasta. All of the pasta options on Indigo’s menu let you choose the pasta you want and select from a variety of different preparations, or “sauces” as Indigo uses the word. So, I chose the spinach fettucini noodles with their artichoke tomato sauce. The sauce includes black olives, garlic, and herbs in addition to the obvious tomatoes and artichokes. And I threw in grilled chicken just for good measure. The dish had plenty of pasta, and I never quite finished it. But my progress had more to do with being hungry than the taste of the food. The sauce wasn’t very impressive, although I liked the combination of the olives and artichokes. And the pasta itself was good, but nothing to write home about. So all in all it was . . . fine.

My only real qualm with the meal was the bread that came with the pasta. The bread had a very potent taste, which rubbed me the wrong way. I never quite figured out what it was, and it didn’t seem to phase anyone else with me, but I took one bite and then left the rest on the plate. Never a good sign.

So, in short, Indigo is fine. You won’t likely be amazed or dying to come back, but you’ll probably be back from time to time as will I. And that’s all I have to say about that.

Her Take

I have been to Indigo a handful of times, and I have always been satisfied with my meals there, although never blown away. I always intend to try one of their many creative salads, but I tend to be thrown off track by the variety of pastas, pizzas, and calzones, many of them interesting combinations, many of them vegetarian, and all of them more exciting than a salad. This trip was no exception, except that with the cold weather, I don’t think I ever really intended to have a salad.

On a middle-of-the-week night, the restaurant had some other tables occupied but was by no means full, and we were immediately seated at a table in the middle of the room. The décor is fairly non-notable; the neon “Indigo” sign in the front window kind of prevents the place from even appearing too upscale, and they call themselves “A Casual Gourmet Café.” Since we were all hungry, we immediately looked to the appetizer section. With the friend who dined with us that evening, I split the Focaccia Appetizer, an Italian flatbread split (the long way) and filled with melted mozzarella, sliced tomatoes, and basil. I suppose it’s much more of a summery dish, but this is not the kind of place that seems to change the menu seasonally. They served it to us and it was yummy, regardless of the season. I was a little disappointed that the bread wasn’t warmer, and the whole sandwichy concoction fell apart somewhat in the eating process, but luckily, that didn’t impede the eating process too much.

Once we were slightly less ravenous, it was time for the main course. I ordered the Eggplant Lasagna. I am a lasagna lover, and finding meatless ones is a difficult task, so I will almost always order them when I find them that way. It was good and more than enough food, of course, but I felt like there was more sauce and ricotta than noodle or eggplant, which was a little sad. It was certainly good and warm, of course, but on my next trip I will probably return to their (Cincinnati Magazine) award winning calzones (or pizzas). I have had the black bean calzone before as well, which includes beans, cheese, and salsa inside the calzone, and it was TONS of food and delicious. I am noticing that this calzone isn’t tagged as vegetarian on their website, which means I would ask first, but I also see that the Blackened Chicken Pasta is tagged as vegetarian, so…well, I’d ask about the calzone.

None of us were so enthused that night about the idea of dessert, strangely, so I can’t report on it, other than to say that they advertise some amazing and rich sounding desserts under the glass tops of the tables.

I will certainly return to Indigo, if for no other reason than that their food is decent, the location is convenient, and one of these days, I’ll try one of their salads!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-18T11:59:00.002-05:00

His Take

Happy New Year, all! As we kick-off Restaurants & Reservations’ 2009 series, we thought we'd start by introducing ourselves to those of you that have been following the blog and those of you who are new to it. My name is Michael, and I’ve been living in Cincinnati for just over eight months. As you can probably tell from our previous reviews, I’m the carnivore in this relationship when we eat out. I love a good steak (or burger depending on the night), so you generally won’t find me settling for just pasta or a salad — especially when I’m hungry. I’m a big fan of ethnic foods, especially Asian cuisine and Middle Eastern, but I’m game to try almost anything. So, if you have a favorite place you think we should visit, don’t be shy! Enjoy the coming reviews...

Her Take

Happy New Year from this side too! We’re back, we have a (slightly) new design, and we have lots of reviews and new ideas to share with you in the coming months. I’m Jessica, and I’ve been living here in Cincy for about a year and a half. This blog was born out of our enjoyment of food, of course, and as a way to keep us trying all the great restaurants out there instead of just going back to the same old places. Dining out, I tend to stick to vegetarian dishes, but also fish—so don’t get confused when I lament the lack of vegetarian food and then settle on salmon! I like lots of random foods, but Italian tends to be my comfort food. I’m also a complete chocoholic, so I usually avoid fruity desserts in favor of something much, much richer. Suggestions are always appreciated! …And, we’re back!

Red: Steaks and Wine. The name says it all.

2008-12-01T23:20:00.001-05:00

Red • 2724 Erie Avenue • Cincinnati, OH 45208 • (513) 871-3200

His Take

Red is one of those special occasion restaurants where most of us just can’t afford to be regulars. Fortunately for us, we recently had such an occasion, and so we thought we’d share our visit to Red with our readers.

The name “Red” says it all--this restaurant is about steaks and wine with a few other dishes in case a non-red-meat-eater happens to be dragged there. But like most high-end steakhouses, Red isn’t just about the food and drink--the service, decor, and atmosphere are also outstanding.

Entering Red in Hyde Park Square, the first thing we noticed was that the restaurant is unusually dark. The lights are low and much of the decor is a deep red color, which gives the restaurant a rather closed-in feel, dark, exclusive feel.

From the moment you arrive at the restaurant, the Red staff are attentive, friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. From the parking valet, to the hostess, to the servers and bus boys (though I’m sure there’s a fancier name for them at an establishment like Red), each person seems to make it his/her job to ensure your visit is perfect.

Our meal started simply with salads all around. I ordered the Red House salad, which is your standard mixed greens salad spiced up with golden raisins, amaretto almonds, and potato gaufrettes with a sherry vinaigrette. While realistically the description probably sounds fancier than it really is, Red does a perfectly fine job of presenting a tasty salad with something a little out of the ordinary — in this case the waffled potatoes on top. Across the table from me, I’m told the Caesar salad was terrific with a delicious dressing, fresh lettuce, and real shaved parmesan.

And then it was time for the main event: steak. The seafood may be good; the pasta may be wonderful; but don’t waste your money if none of you are in the mood for real red meat. What makes a Red steak more “real” than at Max & Erma’s? Well, for starters, it has to do with the fact that when you order a steak medium-rare it actually comes out red hot in the middle as opposed to well...well-done.

My dish for the night was the Steak Grayson — a 10 oz. NY Strip topped with crispy onions with wild mushrooms and beef jus accompanying it. I ordered the steak medium as a test to see whether they actually cook meat correctly, and I was certainly not disappointed. The steak was warm and pinkish-red in the center with a slight amount of seasoning and juicy enough to melt in your mouth. I was ecstatic. I don’t treat myself to a fine steak like this one nearly often enough. (Technically, I suppose I more often let others treat me to one when possible!)

Across the table from me was another happy camper, who ordered the 7 oz. filet mignon with a side of grilled sweet potatoes, which were also fantastic. And even better was our company sitting at the other corner, who ordered the surf & turf — a 7 oz. filet with an 8 oz. lobster tail — and, poor us, couldn’t finish the lobster. So, I insisted I could help. The lobster was fantastic. The meat was soft and sweet even without the candle-lit melted butter.

Oh wait, did I say the steaks were the main event? My mis-steak (sorry, had to). We actually first heard Red recommended to us by friends who stop by frequently just for dessert. So, despite how filling the steaks and salads were, we were not about to stop there. Our table ordered two desserts: the caramel creme brulee and the “molten chocolate decadence” — as if we would ever turn down a name like that. I’m told the creme brulee was wonderful, and it was certainly presented creatively in a long narrow boat. But the chocolate cake was the real story. Though the portion was sadly designed for only one to maybe two people, the chocolate was rich and smooth; the berries were fresh; and the mouse accompaniment was sweet and silky. Yes, our friends were right: we may not be able to afford a Red steak every week, but we definitely can’t afford going too long without such a grand chocolate conclusion!

Her Take

Having walked through Hyde Park Square somewhere around zillions of times, we knew we wanted to try Red eventually, but it’s not exactly the type of place you just go when you’re hungry. Once we had the right occasion, we made reservations and headed out on a Saturday night. From the moment you pull up to the valet parking in the square, you know it’s an upscale restaurant, and the staff inside makes sure you don’t forget. They seem to be everywhere, ready to take you to your table, pull out (and push in) your chair behind you, take your coat to the coat check, and hand you menus. I think these tasks were, in fact, done by four different people.

They told us they specialized in steaks and wine, and based on the number of times they tried to convince our table to try wine, they were disappointed when we did not order any. Three of the four of us did order steaks, however, so hopefully that was consolation enough. A word for vegetarians (those who decide a steakhouse is a good idea): the menu online looks like it will have lots of options. However, we were told when the waiter came to tell us about specials that they did not have the ravioli, tortellini, or gnocchi. In other words, vegetarians were out of luck. There was one more veggie item on the menu, an artichoke sandwich of some kind, but it seems so insignificant next to a steak! I ordered fish. The bread was decent, two different kinds of rolls, but not particularly notable.

The meals all come with salads. Three out of four of us opted for the Red House Salad: golden raisins, amaretto almonds, charred onions, mixed greens, spiced potato gaufrettes, with an aged sherry vinaigrette. (For the record, the “gaufrettes” are spicy and fancy waffle cut potato chips, and delicious.) The salad was fantastic. There was a creative mix of ingredients, and unlike many restaurants, the salad was not drowning in dressing; there was about as much as I would have put on myself. With the fancy potato chips on top, it even looked really pretty coming out of the kitchen. Report on the Caesar salad was that it was also delicious and appropriately under-dressed, with a dressing that did not feel nearly as heavy or thick as most restaurant Caesar dressings, and nice-looking, big parmesan shavings on top.

After an appropriate interval (as in, not before we finished our salads or immediately upon clearing the plates), our meals arrived. I had pan seared mahi, which came with soba noodles in a soy sauce and citrus sauce. The noodles were good, but very salty, and the citrus somehow all was at the bottom of the pile, so I didn’t find it until late in the meal. The fish was good, but not particularly exciting; in addition the pan searing, there was not any discernable sauce or spice added to the fish itself. It was a good-sized portion, although the plate looked emptier than I am used to at restaurants—and not as beautifully garnished as I expected from an upscale place, but I was certainly incredibly full by the end.

Not that incredibly full stops me from ordering dessert. The desserts at Red (specifically the caramelized banana bread pudding) were highly recommended by friends, so we decided to indulge. As per usual, we got the most chocolatey* thing on the menu: molten chocolate decadence. Since the desserts are described by the waiter rather than printed on a menu, I didn’t let him get all the way through the description before deciding on the chocolate lava cake. I was pleasantly surprised, of course, to find out that it also came with chocolate mousse and some fresh berries. The dessert was very good, although like once before, we were a little disappointed to find no “lava” in the middle of the cake. While it was not particularly overcooked on the edges, the center was by no means gooey, which was a bit sad. The mousse was very good, and the berries allowed us to call the whole thing healthy, of course.

Overall, dinner at Red was very good. It is certainly expensive, and not a place I would go frequently. If I had another occasion, I might look for another restaurant, mainly because there are so many nice restaurants in the area, and I did not think that this one was SO amazing that I’m ready to make it my go-to fancy restaurant…but it was definitely a good one!

*Microsoft Word requests a change from “most chocolatey” to “chocolatiest.” Neither of which are in the computer’s dictionary. Just for the record.

We're voting for.......FREE FOOD!

2008-11-02T21:49:00.002-05:00

For those of you who don't live in a cave, you already know that Tuesday, November 4 is Election Day (though it's on the 6th if you're voting for that other guy, right?). We tried to get the candidates to write a guest review of their favorite restaurant for us, but apparently they were busy with other things.

So instead, we've decided to compile for you a list of the wonderful free food you can collect on Election Day just by voting and visiting the venues below.

If you know of a place we've missed, please tell us in the comments or by email and we'll add it to our list!

Currito (UC location) -- Free burrito between 11am and 2pm with an "I voted" sticker

Ben & Jerry's -- Free scoop of ice cream between 5pm and 8pm (no sticker needed!)

Starbucks -- Free tall coffee if you tell them you voted.

Godiva (Kenwood Mall location) -- Free truffle with "I voted" sticker

2008-10-29T07:50:00.000-04:00

We've Moved! Sort of...

Restaurants & Reservations now has its own domain!

You can now visit us online at www.restaurantsandreservations.com

Don't feel like changing your bookmarks? No worries; Blogger will redirect you to our new site, so you'll never miss a review. And as always, you can still email us at CincyDining@mac.com.

Happy eating!

Ferrari's: The car company should be jealous

2008-10-29T06:10:00.004-04:00

Ferrari's Little Italy • 7677 Goff Terrace • Cincinnati, OH 45243 • (513) 272-2220

His Take

For those of you who read the comments on the blog, which we encourage you to do, you already know that we took a little bit of heat a few weeks ago when we recommended to a very pregnant (but no longer pregnant!) friend that Maggiano’s was the place to go if you want a delicious Fettucini Alfredo and plenty of it. So, we promised ourselves we would find an independent Italian restaurant that we liked. And now we have.

Ferrari’s was first recommended to me by a coworker, whose opinion was seconded in the comments here. It’s a surprisingly large restaurant and Italian grocery located in Madeira. The restaurant is in the back of a plaza, so you have to keep an eye out for the signs, rather than the actual building. We can prove we like this place because even though we’re just blogging about it now, we’ve already been there twice. And last time we brought friends (irrefutable proof we’re fans).

On our first visit, we arrived pretty late in the evening and the restaurant was pretty quiet. It was slightly too cold for us to enjoy the patio, but it looked like there were several parties out there. Our server was extremely friendly and helpful with navigating the menu. She answered questions about the portions and ingredients confidently and honestly. For example, she made sure we weren’t ordering grande portions of anything and even made me second guess my entree selection.

The first course for us was bread, and I was generally impressed. The bread looked and tasted homemade. There’s a poor picture below (low light), but you can see there were both sourdough and multigrain options, both of which were relatively dense and tasty. The downside was it was served room temperature and with butter. Fortunately, one of those problems was easily resolved with a request for oil. When the oil was delivered, our server had turned it into an oil/pesto/tomato mixture, which was one of the best tasting dips we’ve had in a restaurant.

Next up was the salad. The small salad was easily big enough for us to split, and it looked fresh with plenty of cheese, pine nuts, and cranberries. The dressing was very mild, but I don’t ask for much when it comes to a salad. This was far better than a few pieces of iceberg lettuce, some tomato, and drowning in oil. (If that’s your bag, try Pompilios.)

But the entree is always the most important part (except maybe dessert). I decided to go with chicken and ordered the Pollo Province--a sauteed chicken breast with artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes, and sherry over linguini. Our server cautioned me that some people find the dish too sweet because of the sherry, and I almost reconsidered. But I’m glad I didn’t. The dish was a delicious combination with plenty of perfectly cooked chicken pieces, a wonderful sauce, and only a small mountain of pasta.

While I’m glad I ordered the dish, I became very jealous when I tried my date’s eggplant parmigiana. It wasn’t the eggplant that caught my attention, but the marinara sauce was fantastic! Fortunately, when we went back with friends I had a chance to try more of it--this time with the Spaghettini Mediterranean. It’s normally served with artichoke hearts, portabello, and a garlic and olive oil sauce, but my friend and I ordered it with the marinara--a much better option. The red sauce has a deep flavor that is hard to find elsewhere, and that’s what will keep me coming back.

Well, that and the chocolate indulgence. Here’s a picture. You come up with the 1000 words. I’ll just leave it with mmmmmmmmmmmm...

Her Take

We most certainly listen to our commenters and friends! Ferrari’s was recently recommended by people commenting both on- and off-line. We had been searching for good, non-chain Italian in Cincinnati, but we struggled somewhat. We finally had a chance to go try Ferrari’s, and it certainly lived up to the recommendation! There was a brief moment of skepticism when we first walked in, because the main door is through a sort of grocery store, a counter area that functions as an Italian bakery/deli during the day. In the evening, it is simply the gateway to the actual restaurant.

Ferrari’s is several small/medium rooms, so it feels like a small, family-run place, even though in reality it is a fairly large restaurant. In addition to adding intimacy, the division of rooms also keeps the noise level down, which makes it feel more upscale than, say, Maggiano’s, which is a big restaurant that really feels like a big restaurant.

In any case, atmosphere is nice, but food is of supreme importance in a restaurant. The menu is fairly large at Ferrari’s, both in physical size and variety. Luckily, they serve bread while you peruse. The bread is good, but would be better warmed up. They serve with butter, but we discovered out that if you ask for olive oil, they will bring it out on a plate with a delicious tomatoey spice mixture that is far superior to the store-bought pats of butter you get otherwise.

We decided to start our meal splitting a salad. They have two sizes at Ferrari’s, which they call Piccola and Grande, which are in reality Big and Ginormous. We split a Piccola salad, and were shocked at how large it was. It seems that what they call “small” is a regular restaurant-sized portion. Grande is meant for sharing—if each person wants their own restaurant-sized portion! The Ferrari Salad (lettuce, dried cranberries, pine nuts, gorgonzola cheese, balsamic vinaigrette) was certainly yummy, although nothing overly thrilling.

I had eggplant parmesan as my main course, again the piccola. When it arrived at the table (in a reasonable, not too long not too short fashion), I was shocked to see how much food it was. There were two decent-sized pieces of eggplant, along with a large serving of ziti with tomato sauce. The eggplant was great. I find that eggplant parm often comes out somewhat soggy, and that was most definitely not the case here. It was deliciously crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. My only complaint was that it was too light on the cheese—but I love cheese. The tomato sauce on the pasta was great—flavorful, chunky, and there was plenty of it. Yum. About half the meal went home for a delicious leftovers lunch.

We somehow found room for dessert, especially after we had heard the waitress describe the “chocolate indulgence” to another table. (Actually, it may have been just uttering those two words together that convinced us.) It was baked and chocolatey and delicious, and really, that’s all that’s important to me in a rich chocolate dessert.

Ferrari’s is not an everyday Italian joint. It’s a little more upscale than that in both food quality (hooray!) and prices, but it’s not unreasonable or outrageous, especially for the amount of food on the plate. I can’t wait to go back!

China Gourmet: Finally a Chinese Restaurant That Lives Up to Its Name

2008-10-25T19:45:00.001-04:00

China Gourmet • 3340 Erie Ave • Cincinnati, OH 45208 • (513) 871-6612

His Take

A friend of ours heard us talking about finding a neighborhood Chinese place and recommended we check out China Gourmet. I had never noticed it before--largely because it occupies the basement/ground level of a nondescript plaza. But I’m always game for a recommendation, so I was keen to give it a try.

We visited China Gourmet late on a Thursday night for dinner, and the restaurant was largely empty, save for a few tables that wrapped up their meal shortly after we arrived. The restaurant was quiet, clean, and for a dark Chinese restaurant it had surprisingly contemporary lighting. The bar had a few patrons, most of whom I suspect were regular locals, and the LCD over the bar was tuned to the World Series.

We apparently came in from the back of the restaurant, since I gather they’ve oriented the hostess-stand to be near the parking lot. We were promptly seated and had our choice of a table or booth; we went with the latter. While I liked the decor--kind of a contemporary Chinese motif with even nicer contemporary silverware--I wasn’t at all impressed with the comfort of the booth. But I held out hope that the seating had little to do with the food. And I was right.

Our server greeted us with the usual drink and food menus, and we were surprised that the menu was much smaller than most Chinese restaurants. No doubt some of that is because it’s a much more upscale menu with a reasonable variety of dishes rather than listing separately every possible combination of proteins, vegetables, and sauces. That said, I couldn’t pick out what I wanted for dinner--nothing sounded so amazing, in part because there were minimal if any descriptions of each dish aside from the name. So, when our server came back, I asked him what I should order if I was in the mood for chicken with plenty of vegetables and a sauce with a little kick. Rather than point me to one dish or another, he suggested that I just let the chef throw together something not on the menu. He gave me my choice of sauces (I went with a garlic and black bean sauce) and said he’d throw in all the fresh vegetables he had. It sounded good to me, so I figured it was worth a shot. I was already impressed just by the service.

After we ordered, I was mildly disappointed not to have any Chinese noodles or other noshes brought over, but the wait was short enough that I almost didn’t notice. The food came out sizzling hot, and our server did an excellent plating job at our table. The staff overall were extremely nice and paid attention to little things like empty water glasses (which happen frequently with small glasses and lots of ice). But let’s talk about the food.

My dish came out with plenty of chicken and a mix of snow peas, bok choy, onions, and spinach in a mild black bean and garlic sauce. The chicken was much higher quality than what I find at places like First Wok, and the vegetables looked and tasted fresh. The sauce could have been spicier, but it definitely added more robust flavor to the meal. Overall, I’d say it was a very good dish--not amazing, but certainly above average.

And if only they had larger water glasses I’d be all set. I guess I’ll have to go back to ask. Shucks :-)

Her Take

Since the last time we tried a neighborhood Chinese place, we were mightily disappointed, I was not sure what to expect from China Gourmet. But it had been recommended by a friend who is a connoisseur of Chinese food, so off we went. While China Gourmet faces Erie Avenue in East Hyde Park, the main entrance is in the back, from the parking lot. It looks like a more upscale restaurant, with white tablecloths, a roaring fire, low lighting, and a fancy full bar. On a Thursday night, later than the usual dinner hour (have to get to the gym sometime!), it was fairly empty. We were among the younger diners; there were no kids and most patrons seemed at least one generation older than us, but again, who goes out to eat late-ish on a Thursday night?!

The menu was smaller than expected, with entrees taking only two small columns. One column was specials, which were all in the $18-30 range, and the other column was what you expect from an American Chinese restaurant, but fewer choices. We soon learned why the small amount of choice was fairly irrelevant. Each of us wanted something that was sort of on the menu, like a combination of two dishes or a tweak to something we saw. As it turns out, this is no problem for the chef at China Gourmet.

I asked for a combination of the Szechwan bean curd (mmmmm, tofu) and the Szechwan eggplant. The waiter asked how I liked my tofu, soft or crispy (crispy on the outside), and whether I wanted other vegetables in addition to the eggplant (anything but broccoli, of course). Soon enough, our custom dishes arrived. They make a big deal out of presentation, but not in the same way as Green Papaya. Instead, the server put down his big tray of food, and he made a point to dish out our first serving, putting some rice and main dish onto each of our plates—asking first whether we were sharing the two dishes or each having our own. I was impressed! It did make it harder to take pictures of what the food looked like upon arrival from the kitchen though.

It was delicious. Mine had just the right amount of kick, and an interesting variety of veggies: eggplant, water chestnuts, carrot, peapods, some kind of fancy mushrooms, and probably a couple other things I’m forgetting, in addition to big pieces of tofu. The portions were decent sized, but not overly enormous. I had enough leftovers for a small lunch the next day, which, of course, made me very happy.

The prices are reasonable. As stated above, the specials are on the pricier end, but the regular dishes are all in the $8-15 range, with a wide range of appetizers if you are so inclined as well. Eggrolls start at about $2-3, although we skipped to the main course this time.

I’m psyched to have found a good Chinese place! Of course, never satisfied, recommendations for others are always welcome, but I’ll be returning to China Gourmet!

Allyn's--Sometimes the name just doesn't even give you a clue

2008-10-15T07:50:00.002-04:00

Allyn's • 3538 Columbia Parkway • Cincinnati, OH 45226 • (513) 871-5779

His Take

Reliable southwestern cuisine can be hard to come by up north, but Allyn’s has been a favorite of mine since I first visited there a little over a year ago. Now, to clarify, we’re not talking about authentic Mexican cooking here, so commentators, it’s safe to close your jaw. We’re just talking about southwest seasoning, great flavor, and consistency. That’s what you’ll find at Allyn’s.

For those of you unfamiliar with it, Allyn’s is the single-level medium sized building that sits on the corner of Rt 50 (Columbia Parkway) and Hoge, right near Columbia-Tusculum, and has a large, funky, yellow and purple sign with its name. It advertises itself as “Cajun, Mexican” but they have a pretty decent variety on the menu. Their known locally for having the best eclectic mix of food you can find. For example, their website brags about winning:

Best Beer List . . . Best Cafe, Best Mexican, Best Quesadillas, Best Patio, Best Booth at Taste of Cincinnati, Best Crawfish Boil, Best Enchiladas . . . Best Turkey Chili, Best Place to find local musicians, Best Place to debut (Songwriter Night), Best Beer and Wine List, Best Margarita's, Best Eclectic Cuisine, Best Small Wine Shop, Best gator (as in alligator) . . .

Plus, they have a large beer and wine store inside the restaurant giving you more than 500 non-mixed drinks to choose from.

But let’s talk about the actual food. My favorite dish there is called the Pollo Asado Genghis Khan—a mix of chicken, black beans, peppers, and onions served inside a tortilla with rice and refried beans. The ingredients are pretty typical Mexican fare, but put them together with their house Mexican seasoning, salsa, and sauce, and the dish is hot and delicious with plenty of food to eat.

I must confess I might not have ever tried anything else at Allyn’s, but why mess with a good thing? The restaurant is also a pretty decent size with a variety of table settings (booths, high chairs, bar, back room, patio) and large, flat screen TV’s all over the place for entertainment. The service can be very hit or miss, but the food is solid and it’s definitely a great very casual place to go with a big group. I’ve been there multiple times with my old softball team after a game and the servers always seem to keep up with drinks and food. This is definitely a place worth checking out.

Her Take

I had never been to Allyn’s, and I was most excited to go because the Direct TV guy had been installing for hours, and at 9:00 at night, I was HUNGRY! The entrance is actually through the patio, where there were lots of people sitting and eating, and then through a small wine store associated with the restaurant. I quickly noticed that the hostess (and waitstaff) were dressed extremely casually. It was fitting for the restaurant though. My first impression of the restaurant itself was that it was really dark inside, which explains the lack of pictures. The décor looks like an attempted neighborhood bar, sort of like Cheers, in a way. It is almost as much a bar as a restaurant, but that may have also been because of where we were seated, just behind the bar. This proved to be both good (for watching football while eating) and bad (for listening to drunk people at the bar watching football while eating).

We quickly ordered something for starters, and we surprised ourselves by getting something healthy. Usually when we come in starving, the appetizer will be something at least one of us regrets later, but this time we each ordered a house salad, mine with balsamic vinaigrette on the side. It came the way I expected (which, sadly, is sometimes notable), but was not particularly exciting. A house salad seldom is, unfortunately.

For my meal, I ordered a tofu and black bean burrito. It came with chips, salsa, and some vegetarian refried beans, all next to a ginormous burrito with sauce on top. This was no pick-it-up burrito, but definitely a fork-and-knife burrito. It had all the necessary elements inside, except that it conformed to one of my main complaints about giant burritos: the stuff isn’t mixed together. Sadly, what that means is that I got bites that were exclusively beans and cheese (yum), but also bites that were exclusively tofu (booooooring). I can’t believe restaurants don’t mix the ingredients together before wrapping them up. I would be really excited to find a place that did that. In any case, my less generic complaint is that the tofu was not exciting. While I know that tofu as a food group is, in fact, boring, I also know that it’s possible to spice it up. Literally. Tofu will take on any flavor added to it, so cooking the tofu with some spices before tossing it into a tortilla would help the boring bites be a lot more interesting.

Complaints aside, I really enjoyed my meal. There were what seemed like zillions of vegetarian choices, and they weren’t mostly the just-bread-and-cheese mix that a lot of Tex-Mex places offer. The spices were interesting (Cajun), at least in the bites where they were. There was more than enough food, and it was definitely not overpriced. I could have done without the drunken sports fans at the bar, but I suppose that’s my fault for going out exhausted on a football night. I’m looking forward to a chance to go back!

MPF seeks Italian restaurant with good alfredo sauce for two...er, three

2008-09-23T21:47:00.006-04:00

We recently received an email from a (very pregnant) friend asking us for our opinion on the perfect restaurant to satisfy her craving:

I want to go to a nice Italian restaurant before the baby's born, so I looked at your blog and reread the reviews for Bella Luna, Maggiano's, Buca di Beppo, Trio, and Betta's. Did I miss one? In terms of chains I also thought of Olive Garden (love the salads).

So tell me, oh restaurant guru, which do you recommend? I'm going for a non-vegetarian, hearty, totally fattening alfredo sauce. :)

We love a good challenge, so we put our thinking caps on and debated amongst ourselves what to recommend. The verdict: Maggiano's (and don't forget the chocolate cake for dessert). Now, we're sure there are some of you who are shocked and dismayed that we would recommend a chain like Maggiano's for our friend here, but please, allow us to explain.

First and foremost, we've been struggling to find an Italian place in town that is reasonably priced and has a delicious sauce. We've been satisfied at most places we've tried (other than Pompilio's), but we haven't fallen in love with anything. In other words, your recommendations are much needed here.

Now, let's start with the runner-ups before we get to why Maggiano's won.

First runner up (who gets the crown if Maggiano's closes tomorrow): Olive Garden. We haven't formally reviewed Olive Garden here, because we haven't been to one locally, but we stopped at one last month while traveling and were reminded why we like it: good pasta, great endless salad, and buttery bread. Olive garden's pasta is plentiful and tasty, but the atmosphere and flavor just aren't anything amazing. You always feel like you're in a middle-of-the-road restaurant that happens to have white tablecloths.

The other finalists:

Trio--We probably don't need to tell you we love Trio. But I don't think we've ever had pasta there, and I wouldn't bank on them having an alfredo sauce if you just pick a random night to visit. If alfredo is what you crave, better count on finding it elsewhere.

Betta's--Betta's is good Italian at very reasonable prices. But it's just good, not great.

Buca di Beppo--This is always the place to bring a large group. Even though someone eight or nine months pregnant might be more than a little rotund, food for twelve still seems like overkill. The pasta there is adequate, but again, not amazing.

Bella Luna--Bella Luna is a little bit different than the other's. It's got a funkier atmosphere, a more interesting menu, but it also doesn't have huge portions or out-of-the-park taste. And we're betting you need a decent portion size :-)

Other places to consider: Macaroni Grill (but the one in Kenwood closed), Carrabba's (but it's a bit of a commute), and Brio (just avoid the weekend!).

So that takes us back to our winner for this competition: Maggiano's. Maggiano's has very good pasta. Some love it more than others, but I've never heard anyone say they really didn't like their dish. I think their sauce hits the spot, and the portions...oh my, the portions...will feed you and at least an extra person. So if you happen to be feeding yourself and an extra person, the portion should be just about right. And they have a pretty killer chocolate cake, too :-) So this place gets the taste points, portion points, atmosphere points, and dessert points. Haven't found a place yet to top that.........yet :-)

First Try, Last Try: First Wok

2008-09-11T22:20:00.002-04:00

First Wok • 3870 Paxton Avenue • Cincinnati, OH 45209 • (513) 321-8388

His Take

Everybody needs a decent neighborhood Chinese restaurant that you can go to when you’re feeling lazy or take out from when you’re in a rush. In search of such a place, we tested out First Wok by the Bigg’s in Hyde Park Plaza..........We’re still looking for our neighborhood Chinese restaurant.

We should have known from the empty tables when we arrived that everyone else had figured out that First Wok leaves a lot to be desired, but we were foolishly optimistic.

The menu was pretty large, although I always get the feeling that these restaurants make it that why by listing every possible “Sweet & Sour [X]” dish separately. We started with veggie spring rolls, which were fine, but far from impressive.

Then we moved on to entrees. I ordered “Silver Chicken,” which is white meat chicken and snow peas in a sweet & hot brown sauce with silver noodles. What the description left out is (a) that the portion is enormous and (b) that the chicken is lightly fried. The dish tasted fine. Just fine. I was neither repulsed nor excited about the dish. The chicken wasn’t the quality of meat I had hoped for (though in fairness, it rarely is high quality at a neighborhood Chinese joint), the “spicy” facet mentioned on the menu was nonexistent, and the taste just wasn’t all that impressive. But other than that, it came out quickly, it didn’t make me sick, and it was relatively inexpensive.

All in all, we’ll keep looking for another Chinese restaurant in the area. Any suggestions?

Her Take

We were looking for a quick dinner on a recent evening, and hoping to find a new neighborhood gem—one of those inexpensive, quick places with remarkably good food. We headed over to First Wok in Hyde Park Plaza with high hopes.

When we walked in, we noticed a few things right away. There were about twenty tables. Including us, three were occupied. Granted it was a weeknight, but that was not encouraging. There was, however, a booming takeout business going on at the door. There was almost a constant flow of people in and out collecting their brown paper bags.

Hungry as always, we started our meal with the usual vegetable spring rolls. They were decent enough, but not particularly memorable. I suppose I should look for a new standard dish to order as an appetizer at Chinese-style restaurants, because spring rolls are seldom better than okay, but for now, they are a safe choice—and if I find really good ones, I’ll know I’ve found a winner of a restaurant!

I was a little disappointed with First Wok’s menu. Most Chinese restaurants are very flexible, and almost any protein can be put into almost any sauce, so that even if there is a wimpy vegetarian section (as there is at First Wok), I can ask for tofu and/or veggies in a sauce that appears elsewhere on the menu, and it’s no problem. That was not the case at First Wok, as the waitress told me in her limited English, which leads me to wonder whether their dishes are pre-made. In any case, I ended up ordering the Szechwan Tofu, which comes with white rice. They don’t have a brown rice option as so many places do now. The dish was far more boring than I expected. The menu claimed it would be spicy, but it wasn’t. I expected tofu and vegetables in a sauce. Instead I got a giant plate of tofu and sauce, with a few vegetables. They might as well have been garnish for how few there were, and I don’t think I have EVER complained about a lack of vegetables in my life. It’s on the record now (mom, are you listening?): there were not enough veggies in my dish at First Wok.

It’s sad, but I was even disappointed in the fortune cookies. They were pre-wrapped, destroying even the illusion that they were made on-site.

If you’re still considering a visit to First Wok, it looks like they also have a relatively inexpensive lunch buffet, and perhaps they do take-out better than eat-in, given the number of people who chose that option. But I don’t plan to try either of those options there any time soon.

Teak: No need for a view with food this good

2008-09-07T18:54:00.003-04:00

Teak Thai Cuisine • 1049-51 St. Gregory Street • Cincinnati, OH 45202 • (513) 665-9800

His Take

Teak was actually the first restaurant I visited in Cincinnati. A friend of a friend took me there on my first night in town for an interview, and I was very impressed with the Mount Adams neighborhood and the restaurant itself. The full name is Teak Thai Cuisine, and the menu is full of various Thai, seafood, and sushi options--there’s something for just about everyone there.

My most recent visit was a chance to test out the scene on my own visitors and to get a more objective opinion; Teak passed with flying colors. Although frequently crowded on Friday and Saturday nights, the restaurant was almost entirely empty on our Thursday evening except for having an almost full--and extremely large--patio. The patio has seating for more than fifty patrons, with multiple tiers of seating, which makes the patio both comfortable and attractive. We sat outside because the interior was a little too cold and the weather was perfect for dining al fresco. Unfortunately, Teak’s location doesn’t have any views of the river or downtown, but the patio’s trees and tiers still make for a great location.

After spending some time perusing the quite lengthy menu, the four of us had settled on food for the evening. We started with a couple of different appetizers: vegetable spring rolls and crab puffs. The spring rolls were exactly what we wanted--a well stuffed roll with a nice crispy outside and tasty sauce to accompany it. The crab puffs--sometimes called Crab Rangoon in other cuisines--were also great, though they were stuffed with less cream cheese than other similar dishes I’ve tried.

Between the four of us there was a great variety of food for the main course: sweet & sour salmon; chicken with corn, snow peas, mushrooms, and carrots; beef stir-fry with vegetables; and massaman chicken curry. Teak lets you choose the spiciness of your dish on a scale of 1 to 10, and every dish comes with plenty of rice (or in our case a giant pot of it). However, the number you choose can be hit or miss--my 7 had a nice kick to it, but no flames that needed dousing, while another person’s 1 still had a noticeable kick.

My dish was the Massaman Chicken Curry, and it was fantastic. I confess it’s not the first time I’ve ordered it, but the dish is a favorite of mine and impresses me every time I order it at Teak. The curry is made with coconut milk, cinnamon, peanuts, and a tamarind sauce amongst other ingredients. It has a great rich taste and is served with potatoes and carrots, which makes for a very filling meal. With a spice level of 7, the taste is kicked up even more, but not to a level requiring much water and certainly not requiring milk to put out the flames.

A quick survey of the rest of the table found that everyone was thoroughly enjoying their meals, and Teak impressed even the pickiest of our eaters. If you need a mid-week destination or don’t mind a little wait on the weekends, Teak is well worth the short trek to Mount Adams.

Her Take

We wanted to take recent visitors to Mt. Adams, for the great view, the delicious food, to give them a glimpse into Cincinnati life, and because a friend of theirs had told them not to miss the MOUNTAIN in Cincinnati! We altered their expectations slightly, and we were on our way.

We decided to head to Teak on a Thursday night, because on a previous weekend visit, we waited over an hour for a table—an experience we would prefer not to repeat. This time, we walked right in. The restaurant itself was surprisingly empty, including the bar. Outside on the multi-level patio, however, tables were relatively full. I was a little nervous to sit outside, given my apparent attractiveness to all biting bugs, but it was remarkably not-buggy. The patio is great. It feels very informal, but the service is just as good as any indoor restaurant. There is no view of the city, but we sat surrounded by trees and plants, which in my book is just as good as a city overlook.

We started our meal with spring rolls. They were very good: not too greasy, and filled with a variety of veggies, not dominated by lettuce. The sauces served with the rolls were flavorful and did not overwhelm the rolls, and nothing was overly spicy.

Next up was the main course. I ordered Stir-fried Sweet and Sour Salmon, and no, that is not so easy to say. Teak is one of a few places I have been to recently where they ask diners to choose their preferred spice level on a scale of 1-10. I chose a very middling 5. (I realized afterwards that I should have gone with a Six, to complete the alliteration of my meal, but I was pretty flustered by that time.) In any case, it came out just right for me. There was a kick to my meal, but it was not so spicy that I couldn’t enjoy it. And I certainly did enjoy it (once I removed the broccoli).

The salmon came in one big piece on top, although I had expected it in smaller pieces. It was cooked perfectly: just about all the way through, but a bit less so toward the middle. It was also a HUGE piece of salmon! I got through most of it. In addition to the offensive broccoli, there were peppers, peapods, and onions, among other veggies, and of course a big bowl of rice for the table.

Portions were more than enough food, especially after our appetizers. We had talked about heading to Graeter’s after dinner, but that thought was (sadly) postponed, as we were all very full after Teak. They did, however, manage to end the meal on an even higher note than expected. Inside the check, there was an Andes Mint for each of us. While my date tried to hoard them all for himself, I managed to free them, and was excited to end dinner on with such a minty-chocolatey-sweet surprise. I can’t wait to go back again, but hopefully on another night without a long wait.

Don't need to travel far for this Vineyard

2008-09-01T20:00:00.001-04:00

Vineyard Cafe • 2653 Erie Ave • Cincinnati, OH 45208 • (513) 871-6167

His Take

A short while ago, on a not-too-balmy summer’s eve, we decided it was time for some fine dining al fresco to celebrate, well...I suppose nothing in particular, but we were sure we could find an excuse if we thought hard enough. We must have passed by the Vineyard Cafe in Hyde Park Square a hundred times this summer and always admired the food and crowd out on their patio without ever stopping by to eat. Sometimes, however, when you admire something from a distance too long, reality can be disappointing. And fortunately for us, sometimes it can still exceed your expectations. Welcome to the Vineyard Cafe.

We arrived at the Vineyard Cafe for dinner without a reservation on a beautiful weekday evening and had no trouble being seated on their patio. The patio sits on the corner of Edwards and Erie, and despite the steady traffic rolling through there, the restaurant was generally pretty quiet other than conversations, laughs, and the sounds of satisfied stomachs. The patio is relatively large and well equipped with large umbrellas to block the sun and chairs with enough padding to be comfortable.

Our server was very friendly and exceptionally helpful. My date couldn’t decide between a salad or seafood and asked for some recommendations. The response: BOTH! Well, almost. The server suggested adding a salmon filet to their seasonal salad. More on how that came out to the right.

I started my meal with a relatively basic salad: mixed greens, tomato, cucumber, red peppers, onions, and gorgonzola. The ingredients may sound basic, but the dish was delicious. Naturally, the liberal amount of raspberry vinagrette dressing might have something to do with that, but everything was remarkably fresh and there was plenty on the plate to share (not that I would dare consider such a thing!).

And now for the main course: Day Boat Scallops. For some reason I’ve been craving scallops lately, and the Vineyard Cafe helped me figure out why. When cooked just right, they melt in your mouth and are hard to beat. You can see from the amateur photo below that these scallops were enormous; two were plenty! The dish was served with sauteed spinach and artichoke, and the sauce you see pictured is a pine nut vinagrette. I’ve never heard of such a dressing, but this one is well worth trying.

Sad to say, we didn’t have room for dessert, but hopefully we’ll remedy that in the future!

Her Take

Although we are in and through Hyde Park Square all the time, somehow we had never stopped in at Vineyard Café. I had heard from friends that it was good, but a bit pricey, and we had not yet found an occasion for such a meal. We still haven’t settled on an occasion, but on a recent evening our curiosity got the best of us, and we headed over to Vineyard Café.

When we arrived, the patio was packed, but we were a little surprised to see that the inside was fairly empty. Luckily, there was an available table outside for us, since it was a nice night and clearly, that’s where all the excitement was. The inside clearly had all the upscale ambience. Outside always feels more laid back, but in this case there was even more contrast than usual. I was impressed with the age range of the restaurant. It seems that Vineyard does not cater to one particular age group, but to a little bit of everyone. The table that looks empty in the picture was soon filled, with a young couple and their toddler. While inside the toddler may have been slightly less welcome, outside she was an adorable distraction—and the restaurant produced a high chair immediately. There were older people, younger people, families, and couples on dates, really all types of diners.

Back to the food. Looking at the menu, I was torn. The seasonal salad sounded amazing (arugula, hazelnut, granny smith apple, goat cheese, lemon vinaigrette)—apples and goat cheese are a combination that will always make me happy—but so did the Herb Roasted Salmon (with mascarpone, red onion, couscous, apple wood bacon, tomato, and arugula, hold the bacon). When our waitress came over, I explained my dilemma. Her response: order both! Not one after the other, as I prefer to drive rather than roll home, but one on top of the other. So, I ordered the Seasonal Salad with salmon on top. It’s not on the menu, but it should be.

Sadly, we had no room for dessert. (Again: preference for not rolling self home.) As we had been warned, the meal was a little pricey. We did not order the most expensive things on the menu, but it was still a bit more than your routine night out, but not so much that we have to stop eating for any length of time afterwards—at least once we’re hungry again!