View

In my posting of Feb. 6 I reported on the "View" 2200 Victory Parkway, Cincinnati, OH 45206 phone 513-751-8439 and our evening there during their first week of operation.
I felt I owed myself and them another visit and so 4 of us went last night for a dinner that turned out to be a very pleasant surprise.
Upon arrival we were greeted by Gay Stephens, one of the owners, and a welcoming true presence in the restaurant. Marilyn and I were both surprised when she started the conversation with comments on what we had had on our previous visit and also a reference to the banter in which we had engaged. The place at 6:30 was about 1/3rd full, although others came in as the evening progressed, and so we had our choice of several tables. There is a slightly restricted "Pre-View" menu served from 4:30 to 6:30, at reduced prices, but after ordering drinks we perused the regular offerings plus the "View Parallel Tasting Menu", a four course meal at a price fixed $42.
Besides the early dinner menu Tuesdays are half price wine night so it should be of no surprise that are table chose a pleasant Chardonnay to be shared by the 3 of us who enjoy wine while we dine.
I opted for the Parallel Tasting Menu and am delighted that I did. The others had dishes from the regular list, chicken, calf's liver and shrimp, and all were please with their selections.
My dinner consisted of a First Course of Duck, prepared two different ways, as each subsequent course offering was. The duck came as a Crispy wonton stuffed with ground duck breast and goat cheese served on snow peas and hoison sauce. The other preparation was a crisp pizzelle with slices of duck breast, foie gras and an orange cranberry relish. The chef, a native of Argentina appeared with each course and gave a short explanation. He couldn't have been more accommodating.
The second course was built around scollop's. a Katalfi-wrapped oven roasted one over warm Napa cabbage Asian Slaw and another seared with roasted shitake mushrooms over a cauliflower puree to which was added a touch of tomato puree for coloring.
Because each of my dishes were prepared "from scratch" the pacing of the whole meal was leisurely, a fact the Gay had explained to the table when I ordered. At this point everyone was served a "pallet cleanser", a small scoop of lemon gellato topped by one fresh red raspberry. This came in a beautiful clear, heavy stemmed "Martini Glass".
On to course three: Bison. This plate contained Macadamian Crusted Bison Bracciole with fresh mozzarella and golden raisins over lemon infused pepe pasta( almost a grain) and a helping of Bison Tartar with thin sliced radish and a truffle(oil) quail egg over a micro green salad.
Before the fourth course arrived, one built around strawberries, the server, who was helpful, pleasant and officiant all evening, made a mistake of bring the dessert tray for the others to view. Unfortunately right in the middle was an attractive glass, divided platter, with three small wells, containing three different types of bread pudding, impossible for me to resist. Having no shame I asked if by any chance the bread pudding could be substituted for the 4th course of Strawberries. A few moments later the server returned with small plates, folks and spoons for all of us and a serving to the 3 bread puddings, Chocolate Chip, Blueberry and Orange Zest, for a us to taste and enjoy. What a true show of Hospitality. Not to be outdone the Chef sent out one of the the two Strawberry dishes, a large berry stuffed with nutella mascarpone served on a waffle like bisect with a covering of goat cheese "dulce se leche".
Luckily the portions are "tasting size" so that the wonderful meal is not overwhelming but just terrifically satisfying.
Having returned to the "View" for a second try was one of this "foodies" better decisions. It wont be our last visit.