Rating my recent fine-dining experiences: some surprises

Soft-shell crabs at Jean-Robert's Table

Thanks to an unusual set of opportunities, during just over a week I dined at four notable restaurants, at least 2-3 of which would be on most people's lists of the best in Cincinnati. Based on those four dinners and considering all factors but most especially the quality of the food (always my top rating criterion), here's how they ranked. Note that #4 is a brand-new wine bar/light-bites enoteca and doesn't have the same aspirations as the others. This was my one and only visit to Enoteca Emilia, while I've dined many times at Local, La Poste and Jean-Robert's.

1. Local 127

2. La Poste

3. Jean-Robert's Table

4. Enoteca Emilia

You might be surprised that the Table ranked as #3, but my dining companions pretty much agreed that the food was fine, but didn't knock us out. On the other hand, the same bunch had dined on separate, recent occasions at Local 127 and raved -- if not dreamed -- about at least one thing they ate there.
For me, what disappointed at Jean-Robert's was my entree, a seasonal special of soft shell crabs. I love those little devils when they are cooked properly -- flash fried and as crispy as popcorn -- but so many restaurants just don't deliver. I decided to trust Chef de Cavel, and alas, he (or whoever on his staff actually prepared them) failed. The crabs looked crispy when the waiter set them before me, but then he poured a sauce over them that did what I dreaded: made them soggy.
At La Poste just the night before, I had a light meal of melon/tomatillo gazpacho and a bowl of delicious mussels and clams. Clearly not as ambitious as what de Cavel does, but every bite was perfection.
I've written (below) about my terrific dinner at Local 127 a week earlier, where my friend and I oohed and ahhed our way through entrees and a cheese plate, accompanied by cocktails and wine.
I also blogged about Enoteca Emilia, so if you care, scroll on down to read about that.

On other criteria in addition to the food quality, here's how I rate my experiences:

Table service: Local 127 -- excellent; La Poste -- excellent; JR's -- very good; Enoteca -- very good.
Wine/cocktail service: Local -- very good; La Poste -- very good; JR's -- excellent; Enoteca -- excellent
Wine/cocktail selection: Local -- excellent; La Poste -- excellent (especially wine); JR's -- very good; Enoteca -- good.
Ambience/Friendliness of Staff: All excellent

The Healthy Foodie does Jean-Robert's Table (Birthday Dinner)

When choosing where to go for my bday dinner, it was a no-brainer: try the most anticipated restaurant to open in Cincinnati within the past several years. Jean-Robert de Cavel is our city's most celebrated and most talented chef, and the whole local foodie world has awaited his new venture, Jean-Robert's Table. They've been up and running for at least a month, plenty of time to iron out any kinks. We were thrilled to put on some nice threads and head downtown to check it out.
The place has a beautiful interior. It feels spacious and cozy at the same time, with exposed brick arches separating the two main dining rooms and a comfortable bar with a few lounge tables along one wall. We arrived a half hour before our reservation, grabbed a table in the bar, and had a drink -- Champagne for the birthday girl and a cocktail called The Belgian (featuring Belgian ale, vodka and a few other ingredients) for my husband.
Chef walked by and we had a nice chat with him, getting his guidance on what to try from the dinner menu. Our bar server Molly also gave us some tips.
When we were seated, we selected from a moderately extensive menu of about 10 appetizers and a like number of entrees.
We liked all our dishes -- photos are above. For starters, I had a nightly special shrimp salad with watermelon and cantaloupe chunks and a rich dressing; he tried the "surf and turf" (tuna and beef) tartar.
His entree was the bacon-wrapped salmon, and I went with the skate wings. Despite the bacon wrapping, his dish actually was less rich than mine, but only because we had them leave off the cream sauce that came with his. A bottle of Calera Pinot Noir from California's Central Coast complemented our fish entrees very nicely--in fact, we loved the wine and plan to look for it retail.
Since it was my birthday, I also indulged in a lavender-honey creme brulee as dessert.
I'd have to say that the bacon-wrapped salmon was my favorite of all that we tried.
We enjoyed the evening very much, but truth be told, the food was too rich for my taste -- even as a birthday treat. Next time I will order more carefully and steer clear of a starter with a mayonnaise dressing AND an entree floating in too much oil.

Opening set for Jean-Robert's Table

According to the Cincinnati Enquirer article today, the much anticipated Jean-Robert's Table will open for business on August 10th (a Tuesday).

The upscale casual, French-themed restaurant is at 713 Vine Street downtown, formerly a Longhorn Steakhouse and other eateries.

This will be our city's most renowned chef's step away from high end fine dining.

Polly Campbell's article lists some of the menu options, so if you're interested, click on the link above to read all about it.

Update on Jean-Robert's new restaurant

We've all been waiting eagerly for the opening of Chef de Cavel's next Cincinnati restaurant.
My husband ran into Jean-Robert last weekend at Findlay Market and asked him how things are coming along at Jean-Robert's Table (713 Vine St.).
Chef says that the "relaxed French" eatery should open between mid-July and the beginning of August.
That's soon, and exciting!

Dinner at the Summit Restaurant

We introduced two of our foodie/wine-loving friends to the hidden gem in town called the Summit Restaurant. It's the fine dining establishment connected to the Midwest Culinary Institute at Cincinnati State College, a neighbor of ours here in Clifton.
If you're not familiar with this excellent dining option, you really ought to check it out. The Summit serves dinner Thursday - Saturday under the guidance of professional chef Matt Winterrowd, assisted by top students from the culinary school.
We went on an extra-special evening when our city's top chef participated in the kitchen by contributing one starter and one entree to the already-enticing menu at the Summit. While Jean-Robert de Cavel gets his new downtown eatery ready to open later this spring, it was a wonderful treat to partake of his cooking--and his delightful personal presence after the meal.

Above are photos of some of our choices. My personal favorites were the stellar lobster duo (top photo), J-R's appetizer of lobster salad next to a cup of lobster bisque. It was even better than it sounds, thanks to Chef's inventive touches. I love how he selected common ingredients for both the salad and the bisque -- such as apple, watercress or black truffle -- and yet produced two distinctive but complementary taste sensations. As far as I could tell, most diners found this treat as irresistible as I did, along with two of the three accompanying me at our table.

Our entrees included Chef de Cavel's rich beef and bison preparation with a complex red wine/chocolate sauce and Chef Winterrowd's red snapper preparation. Both got oohs and ahhs from my companions.

Finally -- dessert. The chocolate one (second from bottom) was a hit at our table, but it's the final photo of my coconut cloud (I think it was called) that was my second-favorite dish of the night. I could eat that every night: very light coconut ice cream -- more like ice milk or granita -- with crunchy basmati rice and tropical fruits. It was not too sweet, not too rich and a positively perfect finish to a marvelous meal.

Lunch on the Land -- Benefit for Findlay Market

On Sunday afternoon, over 125 foodies braved the weather to gather at Turner Farm in Indian Hill, OH, for the first annual "Lunch on the Land" yum-fest. An array of Cincinnati's most prominent and talented chefs--from Julie Francis (Nectar) to Josh Campbell (World Food Bar) and Jean-Robert de Cavel (pictured above)--cooked a delectable five-course meal, with each course accompanied by wines selected by Vanguard Wine Imports' Jeff Hickenlooper and donated by The Party Source.

Highlights? The first course of beer braised baby back ribs served with pickled cucumber and watermelon was outstanding, if not necessarily a stellar choice for the health-conscious. It was really delicious, though, and did not seem fatty at all. My husband's fave was the second course, a beet, goat cheese and pistachio tart topped with locally grown watercress. Shots of each of those are with this post--the tart is at the top, and the ribs below.

The wines were interesting, but our favorites there were a 2007 Angels Landing Stags Leap Cab Sauv and (biggest surprise) the Tomasello Blueberry Wine served with dessert.