What I Ate This Week

The thing I’ve looked forward to all week is Saturday night dinner at Jean-Robert’s Table.  I’ll spare you the build-up:  it was excellent.  A refreshing, welcomed change from most places in Cincinnati and one that was among the most memorable meals I’ve had for the price in a long time.  It wasn’t flawless, and it wasn’t Pigall’s, but it’s not supposed to be either!

I’ll spare everyone the history lesson—if you don’t know about Jean-Robert de Cavel, his relationship with the City of Cincinnati, with his old partners, and with diners, there are lots of places to look and learn more that can do a better job with that than I can.  Suffice it to say that during a period of culinary fear and concern in Cincinnati, de Cavel has been one of only a few bright spots that were bright enough to keep our city on the food map.  He’s spent most of the past year working on plans for this restaurant, along with his really noble work at the Midwest Culinary Institute as chef-in-residence.

(In the interest in full disclosure, I earned a culinary arts certificate from Midwest Culinary, so you could argue I am biased, although I attended there before de Cavel joined, and I had been eating at his restaurants before that association, too!)

So this week, finally, was “opening week.”  I wonder who held the dates in higher anticipation—Jean-Robert, his servers, or the diners?  To be sure, all three were nearly constantly-spotted around the building and there was a kind of nervous, exuberant energy about the place that certainly isn’t in the long term plans for JR Table, but is full-on expected on the first Saturday night!

We “warmed up” at the bar.  We had intended to meet for drinks somewhere else before the game, but we were done in again by Reds game traffic and thought it easier just to head to the restaurant.  While at the bar, we got our first real look at the place—and it is stunning.  I find it hard to remember when this building was a Longhorn Steakhouse… or a Thai restaurant… or a reggae bar.  I visited during all three of those phases and by the end, the place had kind of a cumulative, garage-sale kind of ambiance that was charming in its own downtrodden way, but this was something wholly different.  It’s true that Jean-Robert invested a lot of his own money in the decor, and it shows.  I’ve eaten at a lot of places in town since I was transported here 12 years ago, and I can say that more than anyplace in Cincinnati (inclusive of Pigall’s), Table exudes a "welcome home, make yourself comfortable” kind of atmosphere that just feels right.  I felt like a regular from the first moment.  The colors of the walls, the bright windows, the worn feel of the bar…it all just worked.

While at the bar, we perused the drink menu which is very typical of what you might dream up for this concept—a dozen and a half wines by the glass/bottle (reasonably priced, most from $5-7/glass, with a list of 40-50 more by the bottle, ranging from $30-90 dollars, with lots in the $30-50 range.  Most are from France but several are Californian.  Almost hidden on the bottom of the menu are a fantastic selection of half-a-dozen beers on tap (including a Moerlein IPA, seasonal Bell’s, and a really nice Belgian), and four cocktails.  Between us, we tried three of the four cocktails—it struck me that they may not have served that many as the servers were still referring to the menu for the ingredients, but they were really nice.  All four are light, made with interesting ingredients—some with wine, some with Belgian beer—these are cocktails made for pre-dinner drinking.  It actually struck me as a bit innovative to have a small, light, refreshing cocktail list!

Once seated, we perused the food menu.  Make no mistake, this is a French restaurant; if you are looking for “American comfort food” you may need to stick to the burger or the salmon (which appeared to be more of an Asian preparation), but if you like French food without much pretention, there is much to choose from.  It’s not a prix-fixe menu and it isn’t separated into courses (other than appetizer vs. main) but our server—who was lovely, by the way—took our order and constructed a nice three-course experience out of it.

Before we received our starter, they brought a warm French baguette with butter—simple, warm, and very very flavorful.  For the starter, we ordered the deceptively simple-looking oysters.  We did not expect what we got, which is one of the most flavorful little dishes I’ve had in some time.  Explained to us as a gold-rush era California dish (where a successful prospector walked in and asked for the most expensive thing they can make—sounded a little fishy to us, can anyone verify?), we received a small (perhaps two-egg) cheese & herb omelet topped with some poached whole oysters, asparagus tips, and a slice of perfectly-cooked bacon.  Ladies and gents, this is the kind of food that could inspire someone to cook.  The omelet was moist without being runny, the oysters were firm without being rubbery, and the asparagus and bacon was a welcome surprise.  A stimulating, exciting appetizer!

Several of us had the “house salad” as what amounted to our second course.  While there were some baby greens atop the salad, it really was a white and green bean salad with a little vinegar used to coax out the natural, earthy flavor.  It’s an unusual “house salad,” and I do think they may want to include a more traditional one on the menu in the future, but it was interesting and flavorful, though I suppose in the final analysis I could have done without it.

Mains amounted to a really tough choice—there were 11 dishes on the menu and we tried 3 between us, and I think everyone came away happy.  The men impulsively ordered the Trio de Cochon, as pork is always a good choice.  I might also have been slightly influenced by JR’s “pig shirt” he wore, which sounded like an endorsement to me!  It was really solid, a nice and well-constructed dish that was definitely worth the reasonable $22 price tag.  The “trio” was a thick, well-cooked (but perhaps slightly under-seasoned) pork chop, bit of pork belly, and one of the most amazing pork ribs I’ve ever had.  The pork belly was good (isn’t it always) but far from the best I’ve had—it was a little watery, I suppose.  But the rib was excellent, seasoned with a rub and cooked to the point where I have no idea how it even clung to the bone—they must handle them VERY carefully in the back!  When I’m eating barbecue, I never like fall-off-the-bone ribs, but in this context I’ll admit it was tremendously flavorful.  The Maytag mashed potatoes beneath added real sturdiness and character and helped bring it all together.  All told, a very nice dish and an impressive value.

S had the bacon-wrapped salmon, which she really loved.  The fish, which was Scottish wild salmon, was cooked to a perfect medium-rare and had a lovely smokiness to it, owing to the bacon, which worked well with the fish.  It came with serviceable wild rice with mushrooms and peas.  Another nice and simple dish that worked well.  We also tried the Chicken Breast a la Francaise, which was bright, flavorful, and juicy if not overly remarkable.  The wine was outstanding and the service was professional and excited.  (And not just because JR was wandering around!)  The only blemish on the strong record was the incredible amount of time we had to wait before the mains came out—we didn’t time it precisely, but I do honestly believe it was about a half-hour, as we spent three hours at dinner (not even counting our time at the bar).  Apologies were given (eventually) but no explanation offered.  I’m certain it is all about the timing on the first Saturday night, but a team as fussy about detail as this probably should have offered a little more than “sorry.”

Dessert was another mostly high mark.  We had a chocolate and macadamia-nut torte (background) that wasn’t served hot “molten”-style but was room temperature.  One bite, though, and it didn’t matter as it was rich, dark-chocolate driven, and balanced with those excellent macadamias.  It went well with the gelato bowl (though I’m not sure we’d have wanted to order the gelato by itself).  The only slight miss was the cheese plate (I am always a sucker for a cheese plate!)—when I asked about it, it was described as “2 sheeps, 1 goat, and 2 cows.”  I thought that was clever enough, but when the plate was served, no description of the cheeses followed—just kind of dumped on the table.  The cheeses were fine but wasn’t the kind of experiences I had had at other places (including Pigall’s).  Next time, it will be all about the chocolate!

So, how to sum it all up?  I, for one, am extremely excited about the possibilities at JR’s Table.  The space is breathtaking, the menu is extremely well-designed, the quality of the food is excellent for the price.  And yes, the price is extremely reasonable.  Each couple had three courses, plus dessert, plus a bottle of wine, and the bill was around $125.  Probably not an “average Saturday out” for any of us, but manageable for the strong quality of the food.  But it does bear mentioning that this isn’t Pigall’s.  It isn’t even really JeanRo Bistro.  This is a classic, but casual, dining experience.  Judging from the attire of the guests (including us!), I think we might have been expecting something a touch more formal.  But I think once we learn to get as casual as Jean-Robert (who gleefully wandered the crowd in his apron and a black T-shirt with a big drawing of a pig’s head on the front), we’ll certainly find our groove.  Call now!  Get a reservation!  And get in on one of the most unique and interesting food experiences around.

Big food week, with two big updates!  The first one relates to two interesting meals at places I’ve been meaning to go to for a while.  So I suppose that the other title for this post could be “Better Late Than Never!”

Sichuan Bistro:  Better Late Than Never, Part 1

I’ve been meaning to get to Sichuan Bistro for a long time.  It’s the kind of place you hear spoken about in reverent tones, everyone’s little secret Chinese restaurant.  One hears tell of traditional dishes, secret menus, and an uber-loyal Chinese resident following.  That’s the kind of thing that’s prone to get me excited… but it’s all the way in Mason!

I had a work situation this week that actually allowed me a lunchtime in Mason so I headed that way with a co-worker who had been before with a group of Chinese—it was an interesting experience for him as the group showed up, spoke to the staff in Cantonese, no menus were exchanged, and a big and delicious meal was brought to them.  It’s the kind of thing you see happen a lot in the restaurants of Beijing, actually, but isn’t so common here for food of any culture!

Anyway, this time out it was just us two very white non-Cantonese speakers.  But I did know about the “yellow menu,” the selection of dishes that tend to be very authentic that isn’t generally offered without asking for it.  (It was hardly a well-kept secret, though, as I noticed five other tables—all Chinese—ordering from the same.)  Anyway, we put an order in and gazed out on what for all the world looked like another strip-mall Chinese-American restaurant.  But the food proved the atmosphere wrong.

I had the Sichuan Pork Stir-Fry, and it was delicious, reminiscent of the kind of food I’ve had in China—and that’s an experience I haven’t had here in Cincinnati.  It was a bit oily, true, but the flavors were bold, the color was rich, and it didn’t require eggrolls or soup the way so many Chinese-American lunches do.  It was simply excellent.  My colleague enjoyed the sizzling pepper steak, which indeed came out sizzling, fajita-style, on a plate.  It was quite spicy but again the flavors were bold and this one was thankfully a little less oily.  Both dishes were prepared with lots of hot peppers but easy to eat around them to keep the spice level in check.

All in all, an EXCELLENT experience.  And as relates this post’s theme, authenticity was achieved.  The atmosphere, service, and food quality was more like my China experiences than anything else I’ve experienced locally.  Go!  Get the yellow menu!

Restaurant Week at Local 127:  Better Late Than Never, Part 2

I’ll admit that I’ve stayed away from Local 127 for a long time, given how long they’ve been open.  I’ll similarly admit that I was scared away by very spotty early reviews about pretention and lack of flavor and quality preparation.  I have been to the bar attached several times (most recently at Halloween as I wrote about) which was a quality experience, and I thought that the Do Downtown Cincinnati Restaurant Week would be the perfect introduction to this place.  (By the way, Do Downtown seems to be a quality organization and they worked with restaurants to put together some interesting menus!  One night left (Sunday) if you’re interested!  If you missed out this year, be sure to go next time out!)

We arrived in a bit of confusion—it seems that Local 127 has recently done away with valet parking.  This was a bit of a surprise—it’s a busy street and a restaurant with a bit of a self-styled reputation for being world-class, so a simple (and profitable) valet arrangement would seem to be necessary.  Add that to a Reds game that had just started, and the parking situation set our dinner schedule back 15 minutes or so.

Anyway, we arrived and were quickly seated.  Interestingly, the space looks almost identical to Pigall’s—they’ve changed VERY little.  This is also a bit of a surprise (though I had heard this from friends and other reviewers)—the style of cuisine really, truly doesn’t lend itself to the kind of soft elegance that Pigall’s exuded.  In fact, I’ll admit that it felt a bit like “the kids were playing in the grown-up’s house.”  I’d encourage the place to work a little more on an atmosphere that suits the interesting (and very vivid) kind of cuisine they are going after!

The menu—as most are for Restaurant Week—was largely set, with a starter and a choice between two second & third courses.  The server explained the menu in truly exhaustive detail.  I know this is a point of pride and equity for the restaurant, but honestly it struck me as being very pretentious in a day and age where lots of places filter their own water and source locally.  I appreciated the description, but could have done without the endless stream of adjectives!

But there was a dinner involved, so let’s talk about the food.  The starter was listed as “a tasting of pickled and cured,” and it was that.  This was tremendous, really really nice.  It included a bit of smoked chicken, some ham (from pork shoulder, technically), and some fish (might it have been trout?).  It was the perfect appetizer—small, tasty, and stimulating of the appetite!

Course two was a creamy, chilled potato soup.  The soup itself was thick and rich and had an interesting flavor of parsley and other fragrant herbs.  In any case, it was balanced, coated the stomach, and just plain lovely.  There were cubes of cooked potato in the center and some whisper-thin potato chips on top.  Again, this was a class dish and was a perfect 2nd.

For the main, I absolutely went for the “heritage pork with white grits, crispy shallots, and jus.”  It was not what I expected—I was served a small loaf of pork sausage on a deflated pool of grits.  The flavor was nice and bold for the sausage and would have served it very well as a side dish or accent.  But as a main dish, I personally found it ponderous and heavy, and far too strong to be balanced by the relatively meek grits.  I finished it (it was tasty) but was left with a very heavy feeling in my stomach.  Let’s just say I skipped dessert!

Overall, I enjoyed the meal and continue to feel that this place has lots of potential.  I don’t love the pretentious atmosphere, or really the atmosphere in general, and the food is inconsistent.  But a few of the things we enjoyed were really exemplary and at some point I certainly will give it another chance!

A Stop at Sung Korean Bistro:  Better Late Than Never, Part 3

I used to live very near Sung Korean Bistro, only about a block away in fact.  But when I was there, the building housed Aioli, an upscale (though maybe “too big for its britches”) bistro.  But in its place over the past few years has been Sung Korean Bistro, run by a family member of the original owners of Riverside Korean Bistro before it was sold.  (Got it?)

I’ll admit that I’m not thoroughly-versed in Korean food, but what I’ve had, I’ve loved.  Most of the “favorites” I know were on the menu at Sung.  It was hard to choose a dish, but ultimately I went with a couple of tested favorite.  For starters were the yachae pajun, wheat pancakes with egg and vegetables, beautifully folded.  It was tasty and thankfully not rubbery at all.  Nice!

For the main, I went with the standby dolsot bibimbap, served in a stone bowl which continues to cook and create an excellent fond of chewy rice.  I’ll admit that this was better than I expected, and potentially even better than at Riverside.  The flavors were bold and interesting, and the vegetables were not cooked beyond recognition.  I will absolutely be back!

OK, that’s it for part one.  Later this afternoon, I’ll be putting up Part 2—an evening at Jean-Robert’s Table!

A bit of an unusual set of posts this week, I grant you.  But you know, rather than let this blog hobby determine where I go and what I do, my life determines what ends up here.  So today, fine readers, you will learn about three at least somewhat interesting, slightly off-the-beaten-path eateries that you would find if you left town on Interstates 69, 70, and 71—much like I did this week!

Katzinger’s Deli in Columbus, OH:  A Deli Experience Without the “Zing”

On Monday we were in Columbus (for a show, of course) and were looking for somewhere interesting to eat.  I learned that there’s not a whole lot of consensus for where the “must eat” spots in Columbus are, but as much as anywhere else I could find, the reviews were very positive for Katzinger’s Deli in German Village, Columbus.  Being in German Village meant that you weren’t right on campus, which is generally disappointing since we enjoy people watching on campus (but a big part of me that still bleeds maize and blue wasn’t too disappointed).  Easy to find parking (thank goodness for summer) and we wandered in and were assaulted with:

I mean, my goodness.  I don’t mean to sound pejorative or anything, but I was standing in what actually looked like an Ohio branch of Zingerman’s Deli (my favorite, as some readers know, from Ann Arbor).  Wow!  Right on down to the meat selections and typefaces, it looked like Zingerman’s throughout, right on down to sandwiches which were named for an “Ari” who I can only presume is the Ann Arbor Ari.  It’s a conundrum I couldn’t figure out—a Columbus institution paying clear homage to an Ann Arbor institution.  The Ari reference in the menu aside, though, I couldn’t find a single mention of Zingerman’s, nor (understandably, I suppose) of Ann Arbor.  So it led me to wonder if perhaps instead of being a spinoff or homage, perhaps it was a copycat ripoff?  That would make me quite sad because in that case the plagiarism would be rampant!  Anyone know?  (And by the way, I checked:  Zingerman’s predates Katzinger’s by a few years.)

In any case, the experience wasn’t as magical—the place is cramped like up north but without good reason—it’s plenty big enough but they use some of their pantry items to make a little maze-like line that’s claustrophobic without benefit.  The sandwich selection isn’t quite as diverse, etc etc etc.  And most importantly, the food wasn’t as good.  But I’m comparing it with an extremely high bar, so it’s probably unfair.  The food here easily outclasses any deli experience I’ve got in Cincinnati and so it means this is our closest nice deli experience.

We split two sandwiches, a reuben and a brisket sandwich.  The corned beef is very strong-flavored (from a butcher shop in… you guessed it, Detroit) and kind of dominates the sandwich, but at least it’s good flavor.  The brisket was nice (for Ohio!) and balanced.  The potato salad was very forgettable, but every order gives you a free trip to the pickle barrel, so you can enjoy nice fat garlic pickles which we happily did.  All in all, a nice experience, worth your time…unless you have the means to get north a few hours on US-23 to the real deal!

Mad Anthony’s Brewing Company in Fort Wayne, IN:  Full of (not quite delivered) promise

Headed up to Michigan through the industrial town of Fort Wayne, it’s easy to end up someplace not very interesting.  As a quiet working town it’s got lots of bars and pubs but I’ve historically found it hard to end up somewhere really interesting.  (This is partly because I haven’t really known anyone there.)  But this time we fared better—with just a little research, we ended up at Mad Anthony’s Brewing Company.  Mad Anthony’s is a restaurant and bar with a few central Indiana locations, but they actually have a brewery which supplies suds to a number of other places.  Their Ft. Wayne location is the flagship.

The atmosphere is fun and casual, service is relaxed but friendly, and the beers are really, really nice.  (The pale ale in particular was very satisfying.)  In general, I’d say that the menu is “standard Midwest pub” but they have a seasonal menu which we ordered from.  For appetizers we had a basket of “Scooby Snacks,” basically fried potato wedges seasoned with (among other things) Old Bay.  Not enough to make it an entirely different dish, but it was tasty all the same and a nice pairing with the beer. 

I had a pulled pork sandwich from their “award winning BBQ team.”  The sauce and meat had nice flavor, but I get the feeling I either ended up with pork pulled from the burnt ends or else maybe (gasp) they microwaved it because some of the ends were a little chewy.  The brisket S had was significantly better, and very very smoky.  It wasn’t perfectly done but it surely was nice.  All in all, if you find yourself headed toward Lansing on I-69, you can do much much worse in the area.  Trust me!

Greek’s Pizza in Muncie, IN:  College pizza done right

On our way home today we decided to forego some of the usual haunts and make a stop in Muncie instead.  I’ve been by the town many times but never through it.  It’s the home of Ball State (and on campus we saw the David Letterman Communications Building, which was fun) and of course that means college hangouts.  Different atmosphere in the summer but we decided to try someplace that was at least on the student circuit.  Greek’s is straight out of the 80’s and it’s pretty clear that it’s not an act.  That arcade game’s an original and most of the photos and paraphernalia have been there since at least 1992.  Interestingly, word is that this is one of the places “Papa” John Schnatter worked while at Ball State.  Anyway, atmosphere is strange and fun and it doesn’t take much imagination to get a visual of this place lighting up on a Friday night in fall.

We had an iceberg lettuce salad (and it tasted as you’d expect).  The pizza, though, was really good for a college place.  The crust was a relative standard issue, medium pan thickness, a little chewy but not too much.  The sauce was a little sweet and very thin.  The cheese and toppings were very similar to how most folks would assemble a Boboli at home—all I can say is that it was a very comfortable pie, not at all greasy and pretty honest.  Pair all of that with college student prices and you’ve got yourself a pretty good deal right there.  Glad we stopped!

Anyway, I know this won’t overly serve the Cincinnatian on a day-to-day basis, but hopefully if you head out of town northeast or northwest you’ll find these choices of use to you.  I plan to revisit all three and would love to hear if I happened to hit one of your faves!

(P.S., can you blame us for stopping at a roadside ice cream stand on the way home?)

Well, it’s a first in my life, as far as I can tell: I finished a menu! In this case, the sandwich menu at “my cafeteria,” Wicked ‘Wich downtown. I wrapped it up with the chicken barbecue. As their sandwiches go, it was just middling (I think they fussed with the chicken a bit much), but it’s a tremendous survey of American deli sandwichery. Highlights have been their excellent southwest chicken (bold and flavorful) and their surprising meatloaf sandwich. Now that I’ve batted the cycle, I actually have the freedom to revisit some favorites! (chicken BBQ sandwich with cranberry slaw, Wicked ‘Wich, downtown)

It shouldn’t have been great, and it wasn’t. Shame on me. But get the cannoli- it’s tremendous! But probably unhealthy. (pork pasta special, Capri tavola calda, Walnut/5th, downtown)