Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Something Old, Something New

You know the rest of the line.
Saturday night, with another couple, we had dinner at "Otto's", Main St. Covington, KY. From postings on this Blog, that's old news. Saturday my meal was outstanding. After the usual Bombay I had the iceberg wedge, good sized, crisp and with the balsamic dressing, cheese crumbles and bacon bits a wonderful salad. I ordered for my main course the salmon, medium rare towards rare and received a beautiful plate with a large piece of salmon, done to perfection and topped with a semi-sweet slightly spicy glaze, The accompaniments were excellent, crisp, sweet potato fries and roasted and sauteed Brussels Sprouts with a butter and bacon sauce. It was a meal done perfectly and reinforced my admiration for the restaurant that Paul Weckman, his wife and his staff have built. The current kitchen staff are to be complimented for the meals they prepare and serve.

"Suzie Wong's" Asian Eats, 1544 Madison Ave. Cincinnati, OH 45206, phone 513-751-3333 was a new experience for Marilyn and me. I commented in previous postings about the number of Asian type restaurants that have settled in the Hyde Park area, I believe at least 15, but "Suzie Wong's", from my first experience, is a very good addition.
The restaurant is under the professional management of Alex Chin, who previously operated "Pacific Moon" in the Market Place of Montgomery. If I understood Alex correctly he functions as the Executive Chef, Manager and operator while the ownership is with a group of partners based in Chicago.
We had been warned the they have not yet received a liquor licence and so we brought an excellent Petit Shyra, a very full bodied red, which fit perfectly with the items ordered. Incidentally the "corkage" is $5, very reasonable.
The four of us split and order of "Pot Stickers", pan fried, but also available steamed if one really wants to behave. I chose Bi Bim Bap, as recommended by our server. This is a Korean dish prepared in a heavy iron pot with rice covered by marinated beef strips, fresh spinach, heated kimchi and raw bean sprouts. The very spicy red Korean sauce is wisely served "on the side". I found everything excellent from presentation to flavor and temperature.
Marilyn had her standard Asian dish, Pad Thai, beautifully served on a stainless steel platter and accompanied with a few colorful vegetables as decoration. The other women ordered Korean Kalbi, marinated and Bar-B-Qued beef ribs, off the bone, served with ones choice of rice. I tasted the beef and found it very satisfying. It was an extremely large portion, as all seemed to be. The fourth dish was Vietnamese Pho. the famous beef soup with noodles and vegetables. The only comment on this item, since I didn't taste, was it came steaming, as soup should, in a very large bowl, looked rich and was more that the other male could eat.
The total evening, except for the cost of the wine, which in this case was a gift and expensive, was $36/couple including gratuity. Very reasonable for fine food and service.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Hey Joe,
Enjoyed meeting you last night and I am enjoying your blog. It will be a great resource for us.

Lisa

Unknown said...

Hey Joe,
Enjoyed meeting you last night and I am enjoying your blog. It will be a great resource for us.

Lisa