Too Fast Food

Friday night we had dinner at "Pera" in Mt. Lookout Square. I have reported on "Pera" at least once before. On previous visits there were only one or two other tables occupied, Friday the place was about 2/3 full. We meet at the restaurant an 7 PM and were back on the street, having eaten at 7:55.
"Pera" is owned, in part, by people who operated another, now closed, Turkish establishment in Northern Kentucky. To me this is a pale reflection on the original. "Pera" is BYOB( Bring Your Own Bottle) and charges NO corkage, a positive touch. Except for convenience, if you live in the Mount Lookout area of Cincinnati, there is little else to recommend a meal there.
We were hardly seated when the server asked if we were ready to order. The other couple, had brought the wine and responded by asking him to "give us sometime to converse and relax". Two minutes later her returned and was also sent away with the same message. This time the pause was possibly 5 minutes and upon this encounter we ordered two appetizers, for the table. An ordinary stuff grape leaves and a very tasty Feta roll in a Philo dough.
Marilyn and I had the lamb kabobs and split a Sheppard's salad, neither were a very large portion. The salad, chopped cucumber, tomato and feta in a light dressing was adequate. The lamb kabob, which we also split, had 6 small pieces of well marinated lamb, a scoop of steamed, white rice, no sauce, and some steamed mixed vegetables( tasteless). As you can easily tell I was not overjoyed. We paid our bill, approx. $40 per couple and adjourned to our Condo for dessert, coffee and a leisurely visit.

Last night we met a relative at the "Oriental Wok" at the Regency. It was her first visit and who know which one for us( maybe Ed is keeping count). Anyway it was easy for her to find and park and we had a pleasant evening of conversation, drinks, excellent appetizers and a split order of a good American Chinese standby, Chicken Chou Mein, one of Marilyn's comfort food.
The place was full and I was impressed by the number of families with both small and very young children. They obviously are getting their hospitality approach across to all their customers.