Unusual

Just a short posting to mention two things last week, eating out, that seemed unusual.
Thursday night, 6 of us met for dinner at "Mecklenburg Garden" 302 East University 45219, 513-221-5353. We have become friends with the new owner so it was not shocking when he told me that he had purchased the items that I use to make creamed herring. We had discussed fully this dish for the "New Year". What was different was that he than asked if I would excuses myself from the table and go into the kitchen and prepare some, which they would then serve for our appetizer. I did and they did.
The next surprise was when the bill came and we asked that it be split between the three credit cards. The unusual, to me, part was how they accomplished our request. The final tally for each couple was a print out of all that the table had consumed with each item costed, to the exact penny, at one third the stated price. Fun and sort of helpful to anyone who wants to remember what we all had to eat and drink.
Saturday night we attended at CSO dinner before the concert. The Symphony does a series of these events for different constituency's. I have attended many such affairs and even more fund raisers and have seen a lot of chicken breasts and cut green beans, although high donation events ofter stretch for a piece of salmon and even a small fillet.
This dinner was for a spectrum of interested CSO subscriber and imagine my surprise when a singularly different menu was presented. We started with a tossed salad accompanied by a Goat Cheese bisect. The main plate was two excellently braised short rib served with rice pilaff and an attractive medallion of carrot and zucchini covered lightly with seasoned bread crumbs. Our dessert was an individual pear tart served on a milk chocolate and raspberry sauce. All unexpected and a delight for the average, foodie, benefit attendee.
Will the world of institutional dinner ever be the same?