What I Ate This Week

Well, it was lunch. AND it was on Main St. But if they really wanted full disclosure they’d call it “Not Bad I Guess And Hey At Least It Was Only $5 Lunch in Main,” but they’d need a bigger sign I suppose. (tuna melt @ Lunch on Main downtown, enjoyed al fresco on Fountain Square!)

Well, well!  Spring has sprung—with forecasted highs around 60 and sun as far as the eye can see, I think that we’re all cued up for the best time of the year—at least until the other best time of the year (fall)!  And there’s no question, Cincinnati is coming out of hibernation!  In support of this point of view, I humbly submit two “early spring” Cincinnati rituals!

Art of Food—A Little Art, A Little Food, A Little Bit Average

Art of Food is actually an art exhibit—a collaboration between the hosting venue—the beautiful Carnegie Arts Center in Covington KY—and a wide variety of artists who either love food, or just love making art about food.  Friday was the opening of the exhibition, which as with so many openings is turned into an event.  What makes the event interesting and noteworthy is that many of the city’s best kitchens are there, turning out bite-sized (well, almost—but we’ll get to that) noshes for patrons.

We entered the hall to the spinning beats of a DJ—while not audible everywhere in the space, it certainly let you know this was not your “average” art installation.  Unfortunately, “average” is my word of the night for my first visit to Art of Food.

So first, what of the art?  It came in two varieties—art about food, and art made of food.  Above is one of several lovely pieces that fall into the latter category.  I certainly felt like the art made of food far surpassed the other more traditional art media.  Here are a couple of examples:

All of the chandeliers in the main hall were made of candy!  Well, presumably the light bulbs and wire were real, but where strings of glass beads should be, you find rock candy or suckers.  Sarah pointed this out to me, and it added a wonderful touch of whimsy to the event!

And my favorite was a potato chip mural sponsored by local favorites Mike Sells.  This was awesome.  I won’t speak to the other pieces of art, as I fully recognize that I’m even less an art critic than a food critic!  But I do want to own this piece of bacon carpet:

OK, so what about the food?  Well, big names were there!

Cristian Pietoso from Via Vite & Nicola’s!

Amazing Head Pastry Chef Summer Genetti of The Palace! (in the center, not the dude in the shorts)

Marc Bodenstein of Chalk Food + Wine!

Julie Francis from Nectar!

Even Jean-Robert de Cavel!  Even though he didn’t have food available!  Also “in the house” were Chris Burns from JeanRo, Jeremy Luers from The Rookwood, Nick Marckwald from The Quarter, Paul Weckman from Otto’s, Matt Winterrowd from The Summit and more!  So if nothing else, Cincinnati’s food stars were all there!

So what OF the food?  I actually left pretty disappointed.  Don’t get me wrong, there were some lovely bites—I particularly remember the pulled lamb from The Rookwood, which was topped maybe with currants or some other lovely dried sweet fruit, and an amazing chocolate pate with bacon from Nectar—and our friends raved about the braised meat from The Quarter, but by 7pm (only a third of the way through the event) they had sold out.  Seriously?  The folks at Top Chef would be none too pleased!  They also wouldn’t have loved how hard most of this food was to eat, party-style.  The room was full of folks holding glasses of wine and balancing small plates on top so that they could try to use their spoon or fork to eat.  Precarious!

Oh and about that wine—tickets were $40 to the event (and the gallery is free on every other day) and they still charged $4 per glass!  Wowie!

Most disappointing, for me personally, were some of the more intriguing bites:  the tuna stuffed peppers from Via Vite (way too salty), a slimy beet salad.  My bigger disappointment is that this combination of all these great kitchens couldn’t possibly live up to the hype—just like Top Chef, we know that chefs don’t do their best work when doing “entertaining” gigs—it’s just too tough of an environment!

Overall, I love what the event was ABOUT.  I just wished for… a little more.

Bockfest:  Cincinnati’s Spring Rites

Last night, we headed down to Bockfest, and I’ll admit it was my first one!  Twelve years in this town and I just never made it down to this celebration of Over the Rhine, Bock Beer, goats (don’t ask), and German culture.  Dozens of bars and a brewery (dubbed Bockfest Hall for this weekend) open their doors, serving Spring’s new brews on draft and a party/carnival atmosphere.

I loved it.

It reminded me of Cincinnati’s greatest summer festivals, but indoors, and celebrating the coming of spring—which always gets me excited!  We sampled the wares at a few spots—at Arnold’s we tried a new Spaten Bock for the season—a little dark and rich for me, but tasty.  At Courtyard Cafe, we tried the new Emancipator (Christian Moerlein’s Doppelbock) and it was a vision!  Light and tasty, but still with the hint of caramel flavor that distinguishes a good bock beer.  It went great with the bockwurst sandwiches we had to celebrate the season!

At Mr. Pitiful’s, we enjoyed the “host beer” Schoenling Bock, my favorite of the night—perfectly balanced, warm flavors, very inviting.

And at Bockfest Hall, we enjoyed the sounds of Strawboss, doing the party band honors, and enjoyed a couple of tacos from Senor Roy’s (both trucks were in the lot for this evening—they seem to be friends not enemies, such a Cincinnati way for food trucks to get along!) and a waffle from Taste of Belgium for the long walk back to the car.

I highly recommend this festival—and if you’re reading this today (Sunday) the party goes on!  Get down to Over the Rhine and enjoy it!

And if you miss it… well, find your own way to welcome Spring, because it’s here!

Made a stop at new Over-the-Rhine eatery The Senate, now in it’s second week of full operation. The concept is kind of locally-sourced, upscale street food. The space is tiny but very attractive- quite comfortable for lunch, but the thought of the place with all the bar stools full would seem awfully cramped for such an upscale joint.

I had such an excellent lunch experience there yesterday! I’m going to post a full review in the coming days after also giving dinner/evening a try, as the food selection, higher prices, and numerous craft brews all seem perfectly suited to a nice dinner.

But lunch: we enjoyed a cholesterol-boosting, cash-draining lunch that really was delicious. My dining companion had an excellent Senate burger with best-in-the-city duck-fat fries, and I enjoyed one of their substantial and whimsical hot dogs (the croque Madame if you’re interested) along with a bizarre and poorly named (but very tasty) “poutine” made with pulled pork belly.

Lunch was delicious (especially for downtown!) but very expensive- >$25 for a hot dog, fries, and ice tea after tip. The food quality and atmosphere will absolutely bring me back, again likely for dinner. A fuller review after another visit or two!

More fun stuff this weekend, including Art of Food and Bockfest- stay tuned!

Really delicious, guys! Nice pressed bread, all the right meats, cheeses, mustard, pickle, and one CDW addition: caramelized onions. Actually made me (briefly) forget about their burger- and about taking pictures- at least until it was half-gone! (Cafe de Wheels, all over Cincy- today for lunch at Walnut/Court)

It feels a little bit like we’re all sitting around Cincinnati (semi-)patiently waiting for spring.  It’s an interesting feeling, but with the past month being so blowy/snowy, I think folks are just bearing down and waiting things out.  One of the impacts I’ve noticed is a pretty small number of folks dining out—it’s been hard to find ANYWHERE with a wait or without an open table.  (Last weekend, it was Terry’s Turf Club at 7:30 on a Saturday night, and we pretty much sat right down.  That says it all!)

But it DOESN’T mean that there aren’t lots of interesting things to see and do these days.  Last night was an excellent example and was one of the most interesting and enjoyable meals I can remember in a long, long time.

In this unassuming building on the campus of Cincinnati State college in Clifton lies the venerable Midwest Culinary Institute, a place where I took very memorable and productive classes for a year.  On this particular evening, we were headed to their full-on working restaurant, The Summit.

Even though I’ve never had a meal there, from my affiliation with MCI (which I freely admit to!) I know that this place is very important to Cincinnati’s food culture, for three important reasons.  First, MCI is responsible for schooling or retaining many fine chefs in Cincinnati, many of whom have used their time here to prepare to launch new ventures in Cincinnati (and beyond).  It’s the sort of thing that can fuel an ongoing culinary culture.  Second, in addition to getting excellent chef-students, it brings excellent chef-instructors to town who have lots of experience running professional kitchens and lets them drop anchor in town to teach…and bring their considerable skills to other Cincinnati establishments on evenings & weekends, again raising the profile and quality of local dining.  And third, MCI staff—fueled through The Summit—can use the space and their strong credentials to put on special events that provide lots of direct interesting evenings here in town.  Last night was one of those.

MCI made big local news last year when they announced that Jean-Robert de Cavel (needs no introduction, right?) was to be their Chef in Residence, joining Chef John Kinsella (Head Instructor, and a Certified Master Chef) to further elevate the role of the MCI in Cincinnati’s food culture.  Over the past month, de Cavel has done a lot for the school—a little bit in the kitchen, a lot in the trade and media.  Last night, however, was the night de Cavel returned to the kitchen to cook for the diners at The Summit in a chef’s series that will bring in several of Cincinnati’s finest chefs.

The Summit is a perfectly nice fully-operating restaurant.  There aren’t tons of tables (this place is more about learning/teaching than it is about profit), the bar is a little lonely (beer and wine only, same reason), and the light is a little bright (gotta be able to see!).  But it’s earnest, hard working, and… well… interesting.  Getting to The Summit requires walking for a few minutes through a very obviously still well-functioning school, past the bookstore, past several classrooms (on this night, filled with step teams), past the cake lab, the baking kitchen, and the locker room.  And around the corner and into the warm (if slightly sterile) space.

While we waited for our friends, we had a glass of wine at the bar—the service wasn’t great, but then the dining room was pretty full and it seemed that anyone “tending bar” was doing so for their patrons at the tables, so we were (understandably, I suppose) an afterthought.  But that was all forgotten—and immediately so—when they took us to our table, to the back of the dining room to what is quite obviously the best table in the joint.  Want proof?  This is the view from my seat:

This little hidden table was tremendous.  The downside is that I likely wasn’t the best dinner companion because, I couldn’t help looking back into the kitchen, watching folks work.  Many of these employees are students, another several are full-time paid employees and oh yes, Jean-Robert was there.  This was for me, an incredible treat, to watch Jean-Robert cooking and instructing for nearly 3 hours.

Our excellent and attentive (if just a little dramatic) server Michael (apparently a part of JR’s team, though I never had him serving me at Pigalle’s) brought our amuse, a strange (though admittedly interesting) spoon of pie crust with banana and powdered ginger.  I made the mistake of inhaling as the spoon made its way to my mouth—forcing in ripe powdered ginger and nearly causing a coughing fit!  The amuse was tasty but a little different than what I think of a classic amuse—it was quite sweet and didn’t go an overly long way in whetting the appetite.  However, after looking at the menu, I was salivating plenty!

There was a full menu on this evening, full of delectable choices—I was intrigued by the sweetbread appetizer and the lovely-looking Asian-styled snapper, and on another evening I’d have happily given them a try.  But on this evening, Jean-Robert had a special appetizer and a special entree.  The first course was described as “Due of Maine Lobster ‘Salad & Bisque’.”  Interestingly, both courses were made with the same ingredients:  celery root, apple, watercress, and truffles!  The salad was arguably the best thing about the whole night—bursting with fresh lobster flavor!  The dish came across very light—the celery root kept the dish grounded and the light apple rounded it out beautifully.  Double that portion and call it a meal!  Fantastic!

The bisque was excellent as well.  The broth was VERY strongly flavored of lobster (maybe a bit more than most Cincinnatians would enjoy, but I’ve had similar strength on the east coast and have enjoyed it).  I think the truffles were unnecessary (though I’ll never argue with them!) and the dried apple slice was a little tough for the soup (requiring me to fold it up and take it in a single bite), but the flavors were excellent, with the celery giving the bisque lots of nice body.  This was an excellent way to get the meal started!

While we waited for the main (and I should mention that the courses were timed perfectly), our good dinner conversation constantly drafted to our private picture window on the kitchen.  It was a genuine delight to watch Mr. de Cavel work.  I wondered how much of his time would be spent cooking versus instructing, versus talking with patrons—and in fact, it was a good deal of all three.  Throughout the evening, he flitted from station to station, walking the students and cooks through important points of detail, carrying his spoon from place to place to taste seasonings and adjust flavors.  At the same time, he seemed to be responsible for several of his own elements, most notably a series of sauces in the back that I think were used for the main (though I’m not positive of this).  Above you can see him roasting beef bones for the marrow (again served with the main).  He seemed very comfortable here, and it made me wonder how much time he has spent in commercial kitchens recently.  But it was a bit soul-warming for this writer—who loves the too-infrequent time he gets to spend in the kitchen—to see a master so at home in this environment.

And what of the main dish?  It was substantial:  “Duo of Beef Tenderloin & Vista Ranch Short Ribs.”  They were very, very good.  The tenderloin on top was prepared a little more done than I had ordered but were very flavorful, topped with a little slice of marrow.  Unlike many current presentations (short rib is so hip these days!), the short rib was presented more like a pork belly, a thick cut, layering a hard-caramelized exterior with layers of fat and fall-apart tender short rib.  It was delicious and substantial.  both meats, which were stacked, sat atop a streak of very strong red wine and bittersweet chocolate reduction.  It was a lot of chocolate with a little bit of wine—it didn’t do a ton for the tenderloin, but it really made the short rib sing!  Alongside the meats sat a medley of mushrooms, spinach, roquefort cheese and pear—an interesting, light, and flavorful accompaniment.  And at the edge of the dish, a root vegetable gratin, a slice of stacked vegetables that—were the portion any bigger—would have become a regular object of my dreams.  Fantastic, lightly crusted, and bound in lovely thickened cream, this thing was a vision.

So the main was substantial and fantastic.  While it wasn’t what I had come to think of as classic “de Cavel cuisine,” it showed his deft touch of blending flavors and appreciating the season—and what was there, was delicious.

Between dinner and dessert, Jean-Robert made the rounds in the dining room—full of Cincinnati dining industry faces.  Several prominent restaurant owners, who I won’t name, were there to enjoy the meal, greet JR, and show appreciation for what he was doing that night for them, and for the city.  We had a lovely though brief conversation with him that showed him to be his usual genuine self—we talked of the meal, of The Summit, and of his restaurant under development.  It was clear even from our short conversation that he is very excited for this venture, and after this important reminder of what he can do in the kitchen… we’ll be first in line!

The evening ended with a lovely port and a plate of cheeses that hit the spot.  Is there anything better than a cheese plate after a fine meal?  After all the food eaten to this point, I couldn’t finish it all, but it absolutely left the perfect taste in one’s mouth as we headed back out into Cincinnati’s cold night.  But hearts and stomachs aglow, we were reminded of what this place, and this chef, has done for our fine city.

P.S.:  Apparently, lots of interesting things coming up here at the Summit, most prominently to include 10 Night, 10 Kitchens in April.  Buy your tickets now!