Light dining, with great drinking!

My favorite restaurant (not counting the high-end, once-in-awhile options) is La Poste in Clifton, Cincinnati. Happily, Clifton is my home 'hood and the restaurant is about a 10-minute walk from our house.

The food is good at La Poste, but the drinks are stellar. In addition to perhaps the best, most extensive and most adventurous wine list within a 200-mile radius, head bartender Suzy whips up some delicious cocktails. She's not satisfied doing the same things over and over, so every couple of months she creates a new list of about 10 fun drinks.

On her latest list, the "Hot Manhattan" is my favorite so far. I can't tell you the ingredients -- figs are involved, as well as a bit of Amaretto and of course bourbon -- but it has a kick from chili peppers that is just right. Not too spicy but enough heat to give it a great aftertaste.

Great bartender!

Here's a photo of Suzy with a couple of her drinks. For my meal, I just had their flatbread appetizer. They usually have a flatbread option but the one on the current menu is the best so far. It's lighter than most, with only a sprinkling of goat cheese. The crispy, cracker-like bread is topped with a mushroom spread, candied lemon peel, the goat cheese and frisee salad. Believe it or not, it was plenty of food.

Another time I went with my husband and we split the flatbread as an appetizer. I had the roasted pear salad and he had a salmon entree, rounding out the meal.

Flatbread that's a meal